A survey shows a record high number of Chinese respondents—more than 60%—who plan to travel in-depth in 2018. “In-depth travels” is a term used by travel websites in China to describe the type of trips that involve more unconventional journeys beyond the typical tourist experience. For the very first time, Africamoved up to first place as the top in-depth travel destination Chinese travelers hope to visit in 2018, dethroning the ever-popular Japan and Australia.  Deal experts say the rapid growth in popularity in exotic destinations such as Morocco and Tunisia is largely due to relaxation of visa requirements for Chinese nationals. Chinese passport holders have been granted visa-free access to visit Morocco since June 2016and Tunisia since February 2017, and visa-on-arrival access to enter Tanzania and Egypt. There was a 378% year-over-year growth in Chinese arrivals in Morocco and 240% in Tunisia during the six months after the easing of visa requirements, which pushed Morocco to first place and Tunisia third as the destinations that enjoyed the greatest growth in Chinese visitors (source: ForwardKeys, October 2017).

Among the destinations in Africa Chinese are most interested in Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar and Tanzania, according to Travelzoo’s website statistics.

Furthermore, the survey showed a 25% increase in the number of requests from  China who plan to take five or more overseas holidays in 2018. Statistics show the click-through rates of Morocco deals have increased 20% since the visa-free Morocco access was announced. Now that the major visa restrictions were lifted Chinese travelers are keen on Africa and their friends will follow. 2018 is about time that Africa took off and continued to grow in popularity throughout the year.