South-east Asia has been a popular destination for some time, but Chinese travellers are now flocking to the region in greater numbers. This follows a diplomatic spat last November that prompted them to abandon Japan – previously among their top destinations.

China Trading Desk’s (CTD) Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Survey has revealed that travel retail continues to offer strong commercial potential, highlighting the need for operators to shift their focus from stimulating demand to capturing spend from travellers already on the move.

China Trading Desk (CTD) has released findings from its Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Survey, showing that China outbound travel has settled into a more routine market, but travel retail remains a live commercial opportunity.

New research from China Trading Desk highlights a stable level of airport retail intent among Chinese outbound travellers, even as conversion challenges persist around price, product availability and time constraints.

Chinese New Year 2026 delivered the headline the industry wanted: Chinese travel is back, traffic is up, and confidence is returning. But an increase in Chinese travellers actually flatters to deceive. Recovery in movement is not the same as recovery in monetization. The real post-CNY story is not whether Chinese travellers moved – it’s whether brands, retailers and destinations were still relevant enough to capture the wallets moving through them.

CTD’s Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Sentiment Survey shows a steadier market, tighter conversion windows, platform-led discovery, flight-first booking, and continued travel retail opportunity.

The financial and logistical troubles the Iran war is causing for the global aviation industry are compounding by the day, with the number of cancelled flights to Middle East hubs surpassing 23,000 since fighting began.

Thailand led the list of destinations for Chinese tourists travelling overseas during this year’s extended Lunar New Year holiday, as former favourite Japan saw arrivals plummet amid a political dispute with China over Taiwan.

Southeast Asia emerged as a favored destination for Chinese tourists during this year's Spring Festival holiday, drawing substantial visitor flows diverted from Japan, several travel agencies told the Global Times on Wednesday, after reports said that Japan had lost about 50 percent of its Chinese arrivals.