- This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on October 13, Tuesday.
Welcome to CNBC Busines Daily, I'm Qian Chen.
Growth in international travel bookings from China fell in August for the first time since 2010 and continued to decline through September, according to ForwardKeys, a Spain-based travel intelligence company that analyzes Chinese airline booking data.
The decline came after China's summer stock market rout, as well as a weaker Chinese currency.
International bookings fell 8% in August compared to last year, and the situation got worse in September, with few last-minute bookings for China's Oct. 1 Golden Week Holiday.
From Sept. 1 to 21, international bookings from China fell 14% from the same time a year earlier.
This year through Sept. 21, the number of tickets issued to Chinese travelers to travel to the U.S. in November and December fell by 35% and 37%, respectively, from the same period a year ago, according to of ForwardKeys.
Europe isn't immune either, since the Chinese currency has weakened against the euro by about 5% in the past two months. Chinese bookings for Europe in November and December, year-to-date figures are down 7% and 33%, respectively, compared to the same time last year.
The devaluation of the Chinese currency over the summer, which makes foreign travel more expensive, also appears to be affecting plans. Among all destinations, the U.S. appears to be hit hardest because of the strength of the dollar, which has gone up by 3% against the yuan since the devaluation in August.
However, ForwardKeys' CEO Olivier Jager told WSJ that this slowdown might be short-lived, and Chinese bookings to international destinations might come back later this year.
In addition, the optimism towards Chinese travellers going to the US has also been boosted by the declaration of a 'Chinese-US Tourism Year' for 2016, by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to the US last month.
Chris Babb, CEO of The Group Tour Company, expects the number of Chinese tourists going to the US reaching 5 million in 2016.
[CHRIS BABB The Group Tour Company President & Owner] "the declaration of 2016 being the china-us tourism year and expecting upwards of 5 mn visitors both coming to the us and us citizens travelling to china, we're working very hard with our dmo and suppliers, to get some of our gateway cities and some of our destinations outside of these gateway cities are ready for the increased visitors in 2016"
According to the Fortune Magazine, each Chinese tourist spend about $6,000 in the US.
The U.S. has been the fastest-growing luxury market for four years, but this may be changing. With a stronger US dollar, inbound tourists, not just the Chinese, but also the Europeans and Japanese, are finding the U.S. very expensive now and might not be going or spending as much.
But Babb believes consumption towards Americans brands will still be strong.
[CHRIS BABB The Group Tour Company President & Owner] "I would say the real attraction especially here in the states is, i mean they want to buy LV they can go paris to do that. i think it's the iconic american brands, polo ralph lauren, coach is really really huge. they come with their shopping lists, with friends and relatives and coworkers on hwat they wanna buy. their spending power is really high and the prices here are much cheaper than in mainland china "
CNBC's Qian Chen, reporting from Singapore.
Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld