Number of Chinese visitors to double

The number of Chinese visitors to Ireland is set to more than double in the next five years as a new study shows that China has overtaken Germany and the US as the world’s biggest spenders on overseas travel.

The second annual Chinese International Travel Monitor, released yesterday by Hotels.com, reveals significant insights into the changing behaviours of Chinese travellers.

Chinese travellers spent the equivalent of $102bn (€76.3bn) on international travel in 2012, an increase of over 40% on 2011. The number of outbound trips by Chinese, which stands at 8m a year, is expected to grow to 100m by 2015.