Even as an economic slowdown dampens domestic consumer spending, China’s travel boom shows no signs of abating thanks to adventure-seeking millennials, says Jane Sun, 56, CEO of online travel bookings platform Trip.com. “If you ask young people today in China, what is their number one priority, everyone will tell you travel is number one,” she says in an interview on the sidelines of the recent Forbes Global CEO Conference in Bangkok. “Covid has changed people’s mindset.”
Chinese travelers are forecast to spend 1.8 trillion yuan ($250 billion) this year on international trips, up 42% from the previous year and surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 1.7 trillion yuan in 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Travel demand in the world’s second largest economy has been resilient due to a fundamental shift in the spending habits of young Chinese after experiencing lockdowns during the........