China

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the start of 2021. The ONS have made every effort to produce high-quality estimates for the periods when IPS data is not being collected but have not been able to produce a full set of results. See the 2020 inbound page for more information. Data for 2021 and 2022 was also impacted by COVID-19, more information can be found on the About IPS page.
Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019. You can access data detailed data from 2020 onwards on the latest annual page.
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$bn) | 254.6 |
Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 1 |
Number of outbound visits incl. Hong Kong and Macao (m) | 104.2 |
Number of outbound visits excl. Hong Kong and Macao (m) | 74.8 |
Most visited destination overall | Hong Kong |
Most visited destination overall (excl. Hong Kong and Macao) | Thailand |
Most visited destination in Western Europe | France |
Key demographic and economic data
Measure | 2021 |
---|---|
Population (m) | 1,444.7 |
GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 17,689 |
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 6.7 |
Annual GDP growth (%) | 8.1 |