Destination desolation

A Thai food festival in Bangkok in July attracts a huge audience. GAO JIANJUN/XINHUA

Southeast Asian countries continue to lure Chinese tourists. But fewer are answering their call. 

The relative decline of Chinese tourists to Southeast Asia is to an extent a story of paradise lost－but is perhaps more so a testament to new paradises found.

Outbound Chinese travel to the region has plummeted this year－by nearly 40 percent in Singapore's case.

Discussion surrounding the startling drop－the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' five-year tourism development plan is aimed toward Chinese and Indian visitor influxes－has largely honed in on a new, perceived undesirability of old favorite destinations.

Media point to territorial disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam; the disappearance of flight MH370; Thailand's instability; and Singapore losing influence as a gateway to aforementioned destinations.

That's all true.

But insiders explain the bigger picture is the otherwise changing dynamics of China's outbound tourism.

The United Nations World Travel Organization's Asia-Pacific director Xu Jing calls the widely reported view of a decline of Chinese tourists to the region a "misconception".

"There's a slowing of growth rates to some destinations," he says.

"But if you're talking about sheer volume, it remains large. Southeast Asia is still a big slice of the cake. It's still a very attractive destination. Take the natural beauty with the cultural component of travel－Southeast Asia will remain a major destination for Chinese."

Xu believes the relative reduction is more about the outbound Chinese market's maturation and new countries better courting it.

"The changing behavior of Chinese travelers is the result of the previous 10 years of travel experience," he says.

Many took their first international trips in Southeast Asia and now seek something new, Xu says.

And more countries better realize Chinese have been the world's biggest spenders on international tourism in the past five－and especially the past two－years, he says.

"Now, (Chinese) are going to Europe and North America."

Xu points to Maldives as an example of a country that early on devised savvy for courting Chinese.

"Nobody would've guessed Maldives would become (a major) beach tourism destination for Chinese 10 years ago," he says.

"It all depends on how you market to the Chinese. Maldives has made great efforts to effectively penetrate the Chinese market."

Southeastasiatrip.com product manager Peggy Lyu explains: "The impact (on Southeast Asia) can be interpreted as a relative growth of Chinese traveling to other countries. Take South Korea and America, for instance, bringing in more (Chinese currency) to their shops, hotels and restaurants."

South Korea has emerged as Chinese tourists' No 1 international destination as Southeast Asian visits decline, with Japan as a close second, following a 2012 dip due to sour relations.

China accounts for about 40 percent of Korea's inbound tourists, compared to 23 percent two years ago, Hong Kong Polytechnic University's tourism professor Brian King says.

"The relativities are important," King says.

"The air-seat capacity from China into Northeast Asia, including Macao, Taiwan and Hong Kong, is about three times the size of its equivalent into Southeast Asia. Korea is probably the main beneficiary and has been experiencing consistently high growth out of China."