Are Chinese tourists spending more or less?

Siam Paragon, Bangkok

Singapore reports lower-spending Chinese tourists [1] while Korea reports soaring numbers from them [2], overtaking Thailand, currently on a decline, as their top destination [3]. These seemingly conflicting headlines reflects the evolution of Chinese tourists abroad: they are not the “same” tourists, they are different groups and different generations each affecting changes in different directions. Last week’s article, "Where is the Chinese tourists' money going?" explains how Chinese tourists fall into three key groups where the tourists to Singapore reflect the receding tide of “Hedonists” while the soaring numbers to Korea comprise the rising tide of the “Wenyi” and in Thailand the growth of the “Traditionalists” has been affected by both the end of zero-cost tours and their uneasiness about pictures of unrest.

Legacy airlines in upheaval: Keep or ditch the economy class?

AirAsia in Thailand

Conventional wisdom says that the LCC (Low Cost Carrier) model only works for short-haul flights and cannot compete with the legacy carriers for the long-haul business. But most legacy carriers know full well that it is only a matter of time until they are challenged by the LCC on the long-haul. Already AirAsia X and Norwegian are demonstrating that conventional wisdom is wrong and that the LCC model is not limited to the short-haul business. Lufthansa is toying with the idea of creating a long-haul LCC to South-East Asia and India in addition to its regional Eurowings and its low-cost Germanwings. With Norwegian now offering low-cost service to Bangkok from northern Europe, it is obvious that Lufthansa would stand to lose some of their economy business to Norwegian.