How ‘special forces travelers’ are making – and then breaking – Chinese tourism destinations

Hong Kong CNN —

Diners huddling around barbecue grills used to be a familiar sight in the streets of Zibo.

The previously nondescript city in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong became one of China’s hottest spots for domestic tourism last year thanks to its affordable and juicy skewered meat.

But by the end of 2023, the craze had largely subsided, with images on social media showing empty barbecue shops.

One neon light sign read: “I know you’ll be back, Zibo. We are waiting for you.”

Zibo, just three hours by train from the capital of Beijing, is one of a number of Chinese cities that have benefited from a flood of local tourists gravitating towards cheap holiday destinations as China’s economy slows.

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They’re known as “special forces travelers” because, like soldiers, they move from one checkpoint to another under incredibly tight schedules, often over weekends or short holidays.

These travelers provide an economic lifeline to struggling cities as China grapples with slumping domestic consumption and waits for a recovery in foreign tourist numbers.

China recorded 35.5 million visits from foreign nationals in 2023, just 36% of the 97.7 million who came in 2019, according to the National Immigration Administration. For the first half of this year, 29.22 million foreign nationals entered and exited, according to the latest figures.

But the flash-mob-style approach of “special forces travelers” – switching from one community to the next – has called into question whether that type of domestic tourism is sustainable in the long term.

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