At the TravleDaily 2025 Digital Intelligence Conference - Shanghai held on May 22, Jason Li, General Manager of Guangzhou TravelDaily Digital Technology, delivered a keynote titled “A preview of Shanghai business travelers’ overseas summer plans.”
The insights are based on flight bookings made from January 1 to April 30, 2025, for departures between June 1 and August 31, 2025, all originating from Shanghai. The data was aggregated from multiple corporate travel partners.
Europe emerged as the top destination, with 42.6% of bookings. Due to its high average ticket price—RMB 11,000 (about USD 1,540)—Europe-bound travelers contributed more than half of the total advance sales revenue.
In terms of regional distribution, Europe leads at 42.6%, followed by Asia at 34.1%. Combined, these two regions account for more than three-quarters of outbound trips. The North American market remains sluggish, making up only one-sixth, likely due to ongoing visa challenges.
The narrowing price gap between economy and business class, along with growing comfort expectations among Chinese business travelers, has led to a notable shift: 17.1% of Shanghai’s outbound summer bookings are in business class.
Despite representing a smaller traveler share, business class contributed 45.4% of airline revenue, while economy class made up 80% of passengers but just around 50% of revenue.
In airline preferences, China Eastern leads among domestic carriers, with Air China in second place. China Southern and other mainland airlines were notably absent from the top rankings. Interestingly, more than half of Shanghai’s business travelers favor foreign carriers such as Emirates, Finnair, and Air France for outbound flights.
Trip duration strongly correlates with destination: about 40% of travelers to Asia stay for less than a week, while most Europe-bound travelers opt for 1-2 week itineraries. The North American market stands out: 30% book one-way tickets, and when combined with trips longer than a month, over 50% of trips indicate long-term assignments.
Transit hub preferences show clear patterns. Over 80% of intra-Asia flights are non-stop. For Oceania, nearly 30% of passengers transit through major hubs like Guangzhou, Hong Kong, or Singapore, although more than half still choose direct routes.
Travel to Europe sees stiffer competition among transfer hubs, with routing through the UAE, Beijing, or Finland. In contrast, limited direct flight options to the U.S. lead Shanghai travelers to rely heavily on connections via Japan and South Korea.
The African market is particularly notable—Ethiopian Airlines alone captures over 30% of Shanghai’s business travel traffic to Africa.
