A report released during the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services by the research institute under the Ministry of Commerce highlights a persistent challenge: China's inbound tourism has yet to fully convert its large visitor numbers into commensurate consumer spending. In 2025, revenue per international trip to China stood at $357.3, just 29.1% of the global average, underscoring a significant untapped economic opportunity.
The report, which studies the mechanisms driving consumption from inbound travel, suggests that the next phase of growth depends on extending visitor stays, deepening spending, and improving how tourism services convert demand into revenue. To analyze this, it introduces a five-dimensional framework covering tourism supply capacity, destination appeal, transport accessibility, service quality and experience, and broader socio-economic conditions.
Among these factors, the report finds that improving service quality and overall visitor experience delivers the strongest boost to unlocking growth potential. Moreover, coordinated upgrades across multiple dimensions produce noticeably better results than efforts focused on a single area, pointing to the need for a holistic strategy rather than isolated fixes.
Speaking at the event, a vice president of TRIP.COM-S (09961) stated that tourism is not only a driver of consumption and economic development but also a meaningful channel for cross-cultural exchange and mutual understanding. The company reiterated its goal of helping attract 200 million inbound visitors over five years by assisting more Chinese destinations and travel businesses in reaching global markets.
Data shared by the platform shows that in the first quarter of 2026, TRIP.COM-S served roughly 7 million inbound travelers, with inbound travel orders surging around 90% year-on-year. In the first half of 2026, the number of domestic hotels on the platform fulfilling inbound orders reached 139,000, up 33.6% compared to the same period last year. Growth was especially pronounced in smaller cities, where hotels in fourth-tier and fifth-tier cities accepting inbound bookings expanded by 46.2% and 47.9% respectively, well above the national average rate of increase.