Hong Kong and Macau are currently the main draws for mainland Chinese travellers due to their many attractions, but there is a shift in travel trend to destinations within Asia and further afield for holiday breaks, says TripAdvisor.

In the travel site’s recently released list of the top 20 most popular outbound destinations for Chinese travellers, Hong Kong is the top choice followed by Phuket (Thailand) Taiwan, Bangkok (Thailand) and Paris (France) making up the top five.

The remaining 15 are mainly in Asia, with one each in the Middle East (Dubai) and US (New York), and three in Europe (Paris, Rome, London).

The findings are based on the unique visitors to daodao.com, a customised version of TripAdvisor designed specifically for Chinese travellers, in July and August 2013 to research outbound destinations. The numbers of search over these two months increased over 250% compared to the same period last year.

Within the 20 destinations, Kyoto (Japan), Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia), Hanoi (Vietnam) and Jeju Island (South Korea) showed the highest year-on-year y-o-y) growth at triple digits. Outside of these 20 cities, destinations on the rise with over four times y-o-y growth from daodao users include Siem Reap (Cambodia), Pattaya (Thailand), Sabah (Malaysia) and Berlin (Germany).

Lily Cheng, managing director, TripAdvisor China, noted that while Hong Kong and Macau continue to draw millions of mainland tourists every year with their unique roles as duty-free shopping havens supported by easy transport links, family-friendly attractions and onward air routes to other international destinations, there is a shift with travellers looking at Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and beyond.

“This new generation of Chinese outbound travellers is making their own decisions about where to go, where to stay and what to do by doing their own research online, going beyond the old stereotype of big buses of group tourists. These travellers are savvy, sophisticated and do make an effort to understand and respect the local culture by doing a lot of online research before their trip,” she added.

In 2012, China exceeded the US and Germany to become the world’s largest source market for outbound tourism by expenditure. Capturing a share of this growing market has become a top priority for tourism boards and travel suppliers alike, said TripAdvisor.

According to the China Tourism Academy, the Chinese outbound travel market is estimated to reach 94 million trips in 2013, up 15% year-on-year. These travellers are estimated to spend USD117.6 billion on their trips, up 20% year-on-year.

Top 20 destinations (comparing y-o-y July and August 2012 versus July and August 2013):

1. Hong Kong, China (50%)
2. Phuket, Thailand (250%)
3. Taiwan (350%)
4. Bangkok, Thailand (270%)
5. Paris, France (360%)
6. Dubai, UAE (210%)
7. Macau, China (50%)
8. Seoul, South Korea (180%)
9. Singapore (170%)
10. Bali, Indonesia (310%)
11. Rome, Italy (180%
12. Chiang Mai, Thailand (180%)
13. New York, United States (280%)
14. London, United Kingdom (120%)
15. Jeju Island, South Korea (570%)
16. Boracay, Philippines (360%)
17. Kyoto, Japan (580%)
18. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (550%)
19. Hanoi, Vietnam (510%)
20. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (190%)