The US: Chinese Travellers Are Still Coming — But How They See America Has Changed

For thebridgereaches.com readers · Based on traveller interviews and destination data from China's 2026 National Day holiday period

For America's hotels and restaurants, the Chinese-traveller market carries a signal that is easily misread. On the surface, the number of Chinese visitors to the US is nowhere near its 2019 peak — that year about 2.8 million Chinese travellers visited the United States and spent $33.3 billion. In 2025 that figure sat somewhere between 1.5 and 1.6 million, less than half the peak. But if you fixate only on "the numbers haven't come back," you miss a more important change: the people coming back are not the same crowd as before, and the way they see America is not the old way either.

During the 2026 National Day holiday, Yellowstone National Park, Antelope Canyon and Arches National Park were still packed with Chinese travellers, and hotel lobbies rang with dialects from all over China. But a tour guide who has led US groups for a decade observed that travellers "no longer chase impulse spending — they care more about immersive experiences." That one line points to what American businesses need to relearn: the Chinese tourist's "filter" for America is fading. They no longer pay for the label "the American dream"; they pay for concrete, perceptible experiences. And the starting point of that experience is often the Xiaohongshu (RED) search box a few weeks before departure.

What has changed about them

Visit California's read on the 2026 China market is blunt: Chinese travellers are shifting from traditional group tours toward free independent travel (F.I.T.), personalisation and luxury experiences, and their travel inspiration and planning are "increasingly mobile-first, influenced by social platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Weibo."

This means two things. First, the "must-go list" is losing its grip. In the past, a Chinese visitor to the US came for the standard package: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Yellowstone. Today the F.I.T. traveller's itinerary is more scattered and more personal; their choices depend on what specific "moment" they saw on social media, not on a travel agency's packaged product. Second, the decision is made long before arrival — but the window is shrinking. A traveller may start scrolling content months before departure, yet the actual window for booking hotels and restaurants may be only a few weeks. If a restaurant or hotel is not in their search results during those few weeks, it is not in the itinerary.

There is also a less obvious but important shift: shopping's share of spending is falling while experiences rise. The retail price gap between the US and China is narrowing, and Chinese consumers have more luxury options at home, so the old driver of "come to America to shop" is weakening. In its place come high-end dining, Broadway shows, national-park experiences, and "story-worthy" stays. Visit California's data confirms this: Chinese travellers still see California as North America's top destination for "high-end and experiential travel," but what pulls them in is depth of experience, not shopping bags.

Interview: a Chinese traveller in the US West during the National Day period

Q: Why did you choose the US this time?

A: Honestly, I hesitated. The visa is a hassle, there's the EVUS registration, and there's a lot of online content about safety in the US. But I'd always wanted to see Yellowstone, and this time I managed to string together thirteen days off — I felt that if I didn't go now, I might never get the chance later. We joined a 26-person group, but from the guide to the members, everyone knows these big groups are getting rarer; everyone is moving toward independent travel and small groups.

Q: After arriving, was it what you imagined?

A: Yellowstone really was breathtaking — the Grand Prismatic Spring, Old Faithful, those geothermal landscapes you just can't see at home. But to be honest, the scenic areas were full of Chinese people, with queues for photos, and several times I had this weird feeling I hadn't left the country. Still, one thing left a deep impression: at the hotel front desk, an American employee saw our group of Chinese and proactively said "Happy National Day" in Chinese. He said they'd specifically learned it, because so many Chinese travellers come during the holiday. That little detail made everyone feel really comfortable.

Q: Was there anything you felt glad to have known in advance?

A: On RED someone said the food choices inside Yellowstone are few and expensive, and it's best to stock up on dry food before entering the park. Glad I saw it — we bought a huge load at the supermarket the day before. Also, someone recommended a local restaurant in the town of Jackson that locals actually go to, not on the group-meal list. We found it ourselves and ate there — far better than the group meal. If I hadn't seen that note, I'd probably have just eaten casually with the group.

Q: Will you come again?

A: Maybe, but not on a group tour. Next time I want to drive the West Coast myself, or spend a few days in New York — not to see the sights, just to wander the neighbourhoods and eat. I've seen some posts on RED about local New York cafés and bookstores; that kind of thing attracts me far more than a "Statue of Liberty check-in."

Why "seeding early" matters for US businesses

America's position in the Chinese traveller's decision is going through a subtle but critical turn. It remains one of North America's largest long-haul destinations, but the appeal of "America" as a whole is declining, while the appeal of "one specific city, one specific restaurant, one specific stretch of road" is rising. Travellers no longer come because "this is America" — they come because "I saw this on RED."

A real case comes from a boutique hotel in Sonoma County, California. The owner, Malin, first tried adding the hotel to group itineraries through a travel agency in Guangzhou. The result: over six months, two bus groups came, each guest spending about $180 — less than half of an American guest — and leaving not a single review that future Chinese travellers could find. She then changed tack: she opened a RED account and posted real content in Chinese — the grape harvest, real room photos, staff introducing the wine list with Chinese subtitles; she rebuilt the Ctrip page with Chinese descriptions and live pricing. Within a year, Chinese direct bookings grew from near zero to about 6% of room nights, per-guest spend rose to about $310, above the average American guest, and most of those orders required no travel-agency commission.

The logic of this case is simple: independent travellers research on RED and book on Ctrip; when they feel "individually cared for" rather than "herded onto a bus," they spend more. For America's restaurants and hotels, this means your marketing budget need not go to "making more people know America" — it should go to "making the right person find your corner on RED."

There is one more easily overlooked detail: the payment experience itself is part of the seeding. Visit California has already partnered with Alipay, linking pre-trip promotion with on-the-ground payment touchpoints. A traveller seeded on RED who arrives at your door and finds Alipay turns that smoothness straight into a good review and a second round of sharing. In a market where Chinese travellers are increasingly sensitive to "is it worth it," this feeling of being "caught and held" has more staying power than a pretty menu.

One sentence for US businesses: the Chinese travellers coming to America no longer pay for the two words "America." They pay for that one glimpse of Yellowstone, that one cup of coffee in New York, that one night in Sonoma. Your "moment" needs to be sitting in their RED collection folder before they depart.

Published by thebridgereaches.com. The interview is based on a composite of public shares and industry research from Chinese travellers to the US during the 2026 National Day period; the person's name is a pseudonym. Sources: US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA / NTTO); Visit California; Skift; Chuanguan News / Cover News; Marketing to China; Dragon Trail International and other public sources.