As the new year beckons, Malaysia continues to be a preferred travel destination among Chinese travellers. According to latest Airbnb data, Malaysia ranked 6th in the top outbound search destinations for guests from China this winter season.
The top 10 most searched countries and regions by Chinese guests on the platform this winter from December 2023 to February 2024 are:
Thailand
Japan
New Zealand
Australia
United States of America
Malaysia
Indonesia
United Kingdom
Norway
South Korea
Based on Airbnb mainland China users’ search data from 1 January 2023 to 30 September 2023 for winter outbound stays with check-in dates between 22 December 2023 and 29 February 2024.
Notably, Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur soared to the top 20 most searched cities and towns, coming in 16th and 19th respectively, with the former eclipsing other popular cities such as Auckland, Kyoto, and Paris.
Driving greater tourism growth
Since the reopening of cross-border travel in China last year, Airbnb has seen a surge in outbound travel by Chinese guests to a wide variety of destinations. This is underscored by a year-over-year increase in outbound travel searches of over 14-fold by Airbnb users in China for the upcoming Chinese New Year period.
Based on Airbnb mainland China users’ search data from 1 January 2023 to 30 September 2023 for winter outbound stays with check-in dates between 8 February 2024 and 18 February 2024.
Last year, searches for Airbnb trips to Asia Pacific destinations during the Golden Week Holiday period also increased approximately 17-fold year-over-year.
Notably, Malaysia ranked seventh among the most popular outbound destinations searched during this period ahead of New Zealand, France and the United States.
Based on a Kantar survey commissioned by Airbnb last June, Chinese travelers’ top five accommodation priorities are reliability (89%), amenities (84%), customer service and support (80%), uniqueness (80%) and convenient location (56%).
Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb’s General Manager for Southeast Asia, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, said, “Malaysia has long been a popular destination among Chinese guests on Airbnb. We are thrilled by Malaysia’s 30-day visa-free travel policy announced by the Malaysian government last November, given its potential to further boost Malaysia’s enduring popularity among Chinese travellers. We believe this initiative will unlock a surge in visitor numbers and significantly fuel Malaysia’s tourism resurgence post-pandemic. As a dedicated partner, Airbnb remains committed to playing a pivotal role in elevating Malaysia as a global destination and further propel the country’s tourism recovery and growth.”
As part of its efforts to continue attracting more Chinese travellers to the region, Airbnb last year launched a once-in-a-lifetime Southeast Asia island hopping getaway for Chinese travellers, which featured Langkawi, Malaysia amongst other islands in Thailand and Indonesia. One special guest and four companions got to experience an Airbnb Superhost stay and local activities showcasing the island’s vibrant community, hospitality and scenic beauty.
Airbnb is also collaborating with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to identify and promote Airbnb stays that have been officially certified by MDEC as digital nomad-friendly DE Rantau Hubs, to further establish Malaysia as a preferred hub for digital nomads in the region.
The findings were also based on Airbnb mainland China users’ search and searcher data from 1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023 for Golden Week outbound stays with check-in dates between 28 September 2023 and 5 October 2023 and a survey of 900 Chinese outbound travellers, commissioned by Airbnb and conducted by Kantar in June 2023.
