A report from GetGoing Travel Insurance identifies China as the world’s largest source of international travel spending.
The ranking highlights three Asia-Pacific nations among the top spenders: China leads the list, South Korea ranks seventh and Australia appears at ninth. Chinese travelers spent an estimated $257.7 billion on international trips—more than the combined spending of the United States and Germany.
Top destinations for Chinese tourists include Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Hong Kong welcomed approximately 44,450,000 visitors, Macau received about 17,225,000 visitors and Taiwan saw roughly 10,700,000 visitors. GetGoing Travel Insurance notes that Macau’s casinos and entertainment offerings make it a particularly strong draw for visitors.
Macau’s small resident population—around 632,418—translates to a visitor-to-resident ratio of roughly 27:1 for the year.
Korean travelers most frequently visit Japan, China, Thailand and the United States, while Australian travelers tend to go to New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In the Americas, travelers from the United States spent more than $135 billion on international travel, marking a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Popular overseas destinations for Americans include Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic and France, with about 35,100,000 U.S. travelers visiting Mexico.
The United States also ranks as a top destination for visitors from the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea and Australia.
This study focuses on international travel and does not include domestic tourism. For the full findings, see the complete report from GetGoing Travel Insurance.