As Chinese tourists' willingness to travel abroad rebounds, the United States has reemerged as one of their key destinations. According to the 2024 National Day Holiday Travel Trend Report from China's Tongcheng Travel Group, there has been a surge in long-haul travel bookings, with the United States ranking high among the preferred destinations. The world-famous San Francisco in the United States remains a perennial favorite. "It's one famous city in the United States. I think it's very important for our children, for their experience," said Cam Li, a tourist from China. "After the COVID-19 pandemic, all kinds of travel have reopened, so we decided to come together. Now, both the visa and travel process are much more convenient," said Wu Yiting, a tourist from Shanghai. The influx of Chinese tourists is making positive impact for local economy, bringing new business opportunities and development momentum. "I definitely see the tourists coming back from China. Whether they be coming as tourists for fun or business, tourism. Most of the time, when the tourists come through, they are in families. They're coming single, solo. But what I am seeing is that business groups are coming through delegations," said Darlene Chiu Bryant, executive director of GlobalSF, a San Francisco non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating global access for local businesses. While the number of Chinese visitors has not yet reached the pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, Chiu Bryant has noticed an increase in travelers from places beyond China's best developed cities. "We're seeing people coming from Suzhou, people coming from Guangxi. We do see people coming from tier two cities and even tier three. Having the Chinese tourists are important to the city. We have a huge restaurant sector here, and we want them to continue to thrive. And Chinese tourism does help with that," said Chiu Bryant. Another top destination in California is Silicon Valley, the home to many tech giants. "They love that they're at Silicon Valley. Right? They get to see Facebook, Meta, and Google. And actually see what is going on with AI now, because that is definitely the biggest buzz. And, San Francisco being the center of innovation, they do want to be here," said Chiu Bryant. Parents and schools are also bringing children to visit the renowned tech companies as part of study tours, allowing the children to have fun while experiencing global technology development firsthand. "We will visit some universities like Stanford here and some very famous companies, IBM, Google, technology companies, and know some information about the latest AI development," said Scarlett Yang, a tourist.
United States back to be key destination for Chinese tourists
