Chinese travellers want three Es in 2025: events like the history-making Taylor Swift Eras tour, eco-tourism and a helping hand for elderly tourists.
The destinations that get the recipe right can expect to enjoy a surge in visitors from the country, said Jane Sun, chief executive of Trip.com, one of the world's biggest travel companies. Its parent company also owns Skyscanner.
She spoke to The National at the World Economic Forum in Davos about what she expects to happen in the travel sector this year and beyond. Despite fears of stagnant growth in China and a cost of living pinch, Chinese outbound travel is likely to exceed 130 million passengers in 2025. Some estimates say it could reach or exceed the high of 155 million, recorded in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We're very excited to see the new trends, which we call the three Es: the first E is events plus travel - young people are very interested in a Taylor Swift concert, F1, Olympic Games - we call this plus-travel," Ms Sun said. "The second is eco-friendly – people are very interested to join those with green travel initiatives."
These include the availability of electric cars, now the norm in China, and hotels with low emissions and green credentials. The third E is elderly friendly travel, which global destinations need to understand better, Ms Sun said.
"In China, the retirement age is quite low - anywhere between 50 and 60. And this is the generation that made very good money," she added. "Now they are healthy, they are energetic, they are ready to travel around the world. Any company that offers a good package that is elderly friendly will benefit."
Lure of the Middle East
Destinations in the Middle East are among the most appealing for Chinese travellers, owing to low crime rates and visas that are simple to obtain. Staff at hotels from Egypt and Jordan to the Emirates who have Mandarin language skills do much to make visitors feel at ease.
Despite the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, the region remains a strong draw for the world's largest travelling public. Flights from Beijing to Dubai cost as little as $380 and are often far cheaper than domestic trips in China, including to the tropical island of Hainan. More than 450,000 Chinese visited Dubai in the first nine months of 2024.
"The Middle East is very interesting for lots of people in China. They offer free visas or visa upon arrival - and Middle East airlines are doing very well," Ms Sun said. "The airports are beautifully built, it offers great history and very friendly people, so we bring lots of customers to the Middle East."
Destinations such as Dubai, the seventh most visited city in the world in 2024 due to the arrival of 18.2 million tourists, Abu Dhabi and Doha have surpassed European cities when it comes to visa access. "Dubai and Abu Dhabi, it's very easy to access these cities," Ms Sun said. "Doha is also very easy and Saudi Arabia is also opening up. And Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand also offer free visas."
Easy visas
Ms Sun added that some countries that do not offer free visas have benefitted from shortening the application process, including Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Switzerland. She noted that the EU continues to "take too long ... to apply for visa".
At a time of conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the threat of a trade war with China from Donald Trump's new administration in the US, travel remains the strongest way to break down barriers, Ms Sun added.
"I would like to see people use travel as a bridge to enhance international exchange and promote global peace," she said. "Our mission is that when we send people far away, we are bringing the world closer."
Davos 2025: in pictures
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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