Xiaohongshu forum highlights interest-driven shift in outbound travel trends
KUALA LUMPUR – Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu says outbound travel trends are increasingly being shaped by personal interests and lifestyle preferences rather than destinations alone.
The platform highlighted the shift during the 2026 Xiaohongshu Business x Singapore Outbound Tourism Forum held recently in Singapore, which brought together representatives from the Singapore Tourism Board, tourism industry players and experts to discuss emerging trends and opportunities in the outbound travel market.
Xiaohongshu Commercial Cross-border & Internet Industry Group general manager Tim Zhang said modern travellers are now prioritising experiences aligned with their interests, including cultural immersion, lifestyle exploration and unique local experiences.
According to Xiaohongshu data from January to December 2025, the platform recorded 130 million monthly active outbound travel users, with more than 90 per cent actively conducting travel-related searches.
Zhang said the growing popularity of “blind box-style travel” is driven by three main factors namely spiritual resonance, curiosity for new experiences and appreciation for local lifestyle aesthetics.
“These trends provide Singapore with opportunities to better understand and capture the evolving preferences of Chinese travellers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Xiaohongshu Commercial Cross-border Asia & Middle East regional head Kwong Dodo said Singapore continues to enjoy strong revisit appeal among travellers due to its international sporting events, live entertainment offerings and relaxed urban lifestyle.
He added that Singapore’s premium service standards and growing wellness tourism sector are also attracting high-end travellers seeking deeper and more personalised experiences.
Kwong said the platform identified four rapidly growing outbound travel consumer groups, including young urban travellers vacationing with parents, travellers aged between 19 and 25 who rely heavily on real-time travel searches, middle-class consumers seeking nightlife and taste-driven experiences, as well as modern parents looking for child-friendly and authentic travel experiences.
He noted that current tourism-related content remains insufficient in meeting the increasingly personalised demands of these consumer segments.
At the forum, Xiaohongshu Commercial Cross-border strategy head Lai Sisi also outlined a three-step marketing strategy for Singapore’s outbound tourism sector in 2026.
The strategy includes building segmented content targeting specific traveller groups, developing exclusive Singapore tourism intellectual properties (IPs) to shape consumer perception, and strengthening commercial conversion strategies to create sustainable growth within the tourism ecosystem.
The forum marked another milestone in cooperation between Xiaohongshu Business and the Singapore Tourism Board in enhancing tourism marketing and content-driven engagement for outbound travellers.