Skift Take

Think Iceland was an unexpected favorite for Chinese tourists, what would you say about Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan and Iceland have emerged as favored destinations among Chinese tourists, while Thailand continues to struggle with perceptions of safety, according to Dragon Trail International’s latest Chinese consumer sentiment research.

The data was shared exclusively with Skift. On Wednesday, data firm ForwardKeys and Dragon Trail will be sharing these insights in a webinar.

Iceland first emerged as an unexpected favorite in Dragon Trail’s August 2023 survey, and it continues to remain in the top 10 most coveted outbound destinations. It is boosted by depictions of natural attractions, such as aurora borealis and volcanos on Chinese social media and reality TV.

Janice Meng, a market research analyst at Dragon Trail, emphasized the impact of popular reality shows. The TV show "Divas Hit The Road" helped familiarize Chinese tourists with Ice