#ChineseTourists

Europe is seeing a renewed wave of Chinese travellers this summer, driven by strong outbound demand from China and weakening interest in the United States, and analysts are asking whether US policy under President Donald Trump helped redirect that traffic. The European Travel Commission reports a sharp rise in Chinese intent to visit — 72 per cent of Chinese respondents say they planned to travel to Europe for the May–August period — while tourism industry publications covering flow patterns report arrivals from China to Europe rose year‑on‑year in early 2025.

Europe is seeing a renewed wave of Chinese travellers this summer, driven by strong outbound demand from China and weakening interest in the United States, and analysts are asking whether US policy under President Donald Trump helped redirect that traffic. The European Travel Commission reports a sharp rise in Chinese intent to visit — 72 per cent of Chinese respondents say they planned to travel to Europe for the May–August period — while outlets covering tourism flows say arrivals from China to Europe rose year‑on‑year in early 2025. At the same time, inbound tourism to the US has softened, prompting debate about whether political and trade tensions have discouraged Chinese and other long‑haul visitors from booking American trips and instead pushed them towards European destinations (South China Morning Post: Europe is expecting a wave of Chinese tourists). (European Travel Commission Long‑Haul Travel Barometer 2/2025). (Bloomberg analysis of Chinese travellers and Europe, June 2025).

Thailand’s tourism industry, long reliant on a steady influx of Chinese travellers, is now undergoing a major strategic shift as arrivals from China continue to disappoint, prompting the kingdom to intensify efforts to attract visitors from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Recent statements from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reveal that the agency has lowered its 2025 forecast for foreign arrivals to 35 million—a significant drop from the previous target of 40 million—due primarily to the underwhelming recovery of the Chinese market. This new reality is reshaping both marketing and investment priorities for Thailand’s second-largest economic sector, with implications for businesses, workers, and communities nationwide (South China Morning Post; Bloomberg).