China

From 22 May we will be working to update all of the data and documents on this page following the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revision of the International Passenger Survey (IPS) data for 2009-2018 and the released detailed 2019 data. UK data will be updated first and followed by the regional data from 27 May. Please be patient as we update these pages or contact the VisitBritain research team if you have any questions- VB/VEResearch@visitbritain.org. Thank you.
Visitor characteristics
- Chinese visitors tend to be younger than the average visitor to the UK: 43% of visits from China were made by people aged 16-34 years old in 2019
- Those visiting Britain from China are more likely than average to be making their first visit: only 29% of the holidaymakers from China departing the UK in 2015 (excluding British expats) had already visited the UK within the past 10 years
- Almost all holiday visitors from China are Chinese nationals
- 78% of departing visitors from China (excluding British expats) were ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a visit in 2017
Popular activities
Global context
Measure | 2019 |
---|---|
International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 254.6 |
Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 1 |
Number of outbound visits incl. Hong Kong and Macao (m) | 107.9 |
Number of outbound visits excl. Hong Kong and Macao (m) | 76.3 |
Most visited destination overall | Hong Kong |
Most visited destination overall (excl. Hong Kong and Macao) | Thailand |
Most visited destination in Western Europe | Italy |
Key demographic and economic data
Measure | 2019 |
---|---|
Population (m) | 1,434.5 |
GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 17,766 |
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 7.7 |
Annual average GDP growth in the past year (%) | 6.1 |