Chinese Tourists Love Adventures [New Trend]

Here’s a list of adventure activities Chinese tourists love and the top 10 countries popular among young Chinese travelers seeking adrenaline and unique experiences, based on trends from Chinese travel platforms like XiaohongshuMafengwo, and Douyin:


Top 10 Adventure Activities Loved by Chinese Tourists

  1. Glacier Hiking & Snow Adventures
    • Ice climbing in Iceland, snowmobiling in Norway, or trekking Patagonia’s glaciers.
  2. Volcano Exploration
    • Hiking active volcanoes in Indonesia (Mount Bromo) or Hawaii.
  3. Deep-Sea Diving & Snorkeling
    • Coral reef diving in the Maldives, Great Barrier Reef (Australia), or Thailand’s Similan Islands.
  4. Wildlife Safaris
    • Tracking gorillas in Rwanda, spotting the “Big Five” in Kenya, or whale-watching in New Zealand.
  5. Desert Adventures
    • Camel treks in Morocco’s Sahara, dune bashing in Dubai, or camping in China’s own Gobi Desert.
  6. Extreme Sports
    • Bungee jumping in New Zealand, skydiving in Switzerland, or paragliding in Turkey’s Ölüdeniz.
  7. Cultural Immersion Treks
    • Hiking Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit, exploring Peru’s Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, or walking Japan’s Kumano Kodo.
  8. Road Trips & Self-Driving
    • Scenic drives like Iceland’s Ring Road, Australia’s Great Ocean Road, or California’s Pacific Coast Highway.
  9. Cave Exploration
    • Visiting Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave (world’s largest) or spelunking in Waitomo Glowworm Caves (New Zealand).
  10. Aurora Chasing
    • Hunting the Northern Lights in Norway, Finland, or Canada’s Yukon.

Top 10 Countries for Adventure (Young Chinese Travelers)

  1. New Zealand
    • Why? Bungee jumping, Milford Sound kayaking, and Middle-earth (LOTR) hikes.
    • Visa: Simplified e-visa process.
  2. Iceland
    • Why? Glacier hikes, volcanic landscapes, and Northern Lights.
    • Visa: Schengen visa (easy access for Chinese passport holders).
  3. Thailand
    • Why? Jungle ziplining (Chiang Mai), island-hopping (Krabi), and ethical elephant sanctuaries.
    • Visa: Visa-free for 30 days.
  4. Japan
    • Why? Skiing in Hokkaido, climbing Mount Fuji, and Okinawa diving.
    • Visa: Simplified for Chinese tourists.
  5. Norway
    • Why? Fjord kayaking, Arctic Circle camping, and reindeer sledding.
    • Visa: Schengen visa.
  6. Australia
    • Why? Great Barrier Reef diving, Outback 4WD adventures, and Sydney coastal hikes.
    • Visa: Online e-visa options.
  7. Nepal
    • Why? Everest Base Camp trek, paragliding in Pokhara, and Himalayan cultural trails.
    • Visa: On-arrival for Chinese nationals.
  8. South Africa
    • Why? Shark cage diving (Gansbaai), safari in Kruger Park, and Table Mountain hikes.
    • Visa: E-visa available.
  9. Turkey
    • Why? Hot air ballooning in Cappadocia, paragliding over Ölüdeniz, and hiking the Lycian Way.
    • Visa: E-visa for Chinese citizens.
  10. Canada
    • Why? Rocky Mountain trekking, Banff National Park canoeing, and Northern Lights in Yukon.
    • Visa: Requires prior application but popular for its wilderness.

Key Insights

  • Social Media Drives Choices: Destinations with “Instagrammable” landscapes (Iceland’s waterfalls, Cappadocia’s balloons) trend heavily.
  • Safety & Convenience: Countries with Chinese-friendly services (WeChat Pay, Mandarin guides) and easy visas rank higher.
  • Mix of Thrill & Culture: Young travelers seek a blend of adrenaline and cultural immersion (e.g., Japan’s temples + skiing).

Would you like details on how to market these adventures to Chinese travelers?

After the borders are open, China’s richest and most seasoned travellers are ready to leave the stream of shopping tourists and explore a new kind of adventure according to a new report. The new Chinese adventurer is going to new destinations in 2025

 

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A new survey by the Hurun Report and travel agency DIADEMA surveyed 203 high flyers about their trips in the past three years in order to know how they’re managing their trips, from the planning to the booking or the destination.

The study found that an increasing number of travellers are going to destinations like South America, Africa or the Poles. This new kind of traveller grows weary of the traditional shopping tour across the shopping capital of Europe and wants new experiences.

This new Chinese tourist seeks new experiences.

These new trips for these tourists are mostly holidays trips to islands and driving trips. We are talking about seasoned travellers with an average of 22 trips. They mainly try to seek out adventurous travels mainly in one of the following destinations: Artic, Antarctica, North Pole, South Pole and Africa as well as adventures into the wild. They tend to stay for 18 days and spend around 150000$ per trip

Hurun3

The study indicates that close relatives and friends are the muses for finding new travel destinations. However online booking sites such as Qunar or Ctrip are still very important when it comes to actual planning and booking. Meanwhile, travel agencies were chosen to be the main source of information for most adventurous travellers during their favourite trip of the year while 50% of all respondents book their hotel via travel agencies. In addition, 42% of the people asked in the study used third-party online booking and finally, only 28% used travel agencies to find a hotel room during such a crowded period.

Hotel Registration & Chinese OTA Agency

Inspiration and methods of booking

Comes to think of it, this is the logical evolution of the Chinese opening to the outside world: first, you go outside in a group, and once your knowledge of the outside world and your fear of the unknown is gone, you want to experience new things. Here we are at the dawn of a new period: Chinese are increasingly eager to go where the adventure is, to experience things they hadn’t before just as other countries did before them.

Hurun2

As the study shows family and friends are the prime factors influencing their decisions. This means that if a solution in web marketing could be designed to influence them one could influence large groups of tourists. The point would be not to aim at the tourists themselves but at their families. Networks such as WeChat, media and more global Internet Word of Mouth should work wonders here.

How to increase the number of bookings from Chinese?

????Expert tips:

  1. Optimize your website for Chinese visitors 
  2. Register on Chinese OTA. Ctrip and Qunar are the best choice
  3. Spread the word about your accommodation and services in Chinese media
  4. Use Baidu Ads for more traffic

Want to attract more Chinese adventurers?
We can help you to connect with adventurous Chinese tourists!

????Contact us now to get a Free Consultation.

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One Comment

  1. Very informative article that I must take advice serious in order to attract tourist from China into our company Denhum Holidays more so having it translated to Chinese language.

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