Tag: Overseas Study

The sustained growth of Chinese outbound medical tourism is underpinned by two macroeconomic trends: rising disposable incomes and increasing healthcare prioritization. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC), per capita disposable income has grown steadily since 2022, amplifying household purchasing power. Concurrently, healthcare expenditure as a percentage of total consumption has risen sharply, as noted in the Statistical Communiqué of the People’s Republic of China (2020–2025). This dual trend reflects a structural shift toward health-conscious spending, creating fertile ground for cross-border medical travel.

 

 

01 Treatment Purpose Segmentation

According to L.E.K. analysis, Chinese outbound medical tourists fall into three primary categories:

Critical Care Patients (40% of travelers, data from Analysys): Predominantly seeking advanced treatments for cancer, organ transplants, and neurological conditions in the U.S., Germany, Japan, and Singapore due to superior technology and expertise.

Preventive Care Seekers (28%, data from Analysys): Focused on health screenings and genetic testing, often opting for Japan, South Korea, or Singapore for proximity and cost efficiency. This segment offers high customer lifetime value (CLV) due to recurring engagement.

Aesthetic Medicine Consumers: Primarily traveling to South Korea for cosmetic procedures, driven by cultural alignment with East Asian beauty standards.

 

02 Outbound Medical Service Type Allocation

The Special Analysis of the Overseas Healthcare Market 2017 by Analysys reveals a clear hierarchy in Chinese outbound medical service demand. Critical care dominates, constituting 40.2% of all Chinese outbound medical travelers, driven by high-complexity treatments such as cancer therapies, organ transplants, and advanced neurological interventions.

Health check-ups represent the second-largest segment at 28%, reflecting growing consumer emphasis on preventive care and early disease detection. Unlike critical care, which is characterized by low frequency and high costs, health check-ups offer recurring engagement opportunities, positioning them as a high-potential driver of customer lifetime value (CLV).

Residual ancillary services (14.6%) encompass post-treatment rehabilitation, chronic disease management, and non-urgent specialized care. Cosmetic surgery accounts for 12.2%, underscoring the sustained demand for aesthetic enhancements, while the remaining 4.9% includes niche categories such as experimental therapies and rare disease treatments.

This allocation highlights two strategic priorities. Critical care remains the cornerstone of outbound medical travel, demanding partnerships with globally accredited institutions. Health check-ups and ancillary services present untapped potential for recurring revenue streams through bundled offerings and loyalty programs.

 

 

03 Destination Preferences

The U.S. dominates the critical care market (70% share), leveraging its reputation for innovative therapies and FDA-approved drugs. Japan ranks second (19.2%), appealing to cost-conscious patients through predictable pricing and geographic proximity. The U.K. (8.7%) attracts patients seeking high-quality care at lower costs than the U.S.

 

 

04 YOYI DMP’s Target Persona: Health Pioneers & Beauty Pursuers

Marketing for critical care treatments, such as cancer treatment, is strictly prohibited by the Chinese government. However, advertising for preventative treatments and cosmetic surgeries remains both permissible and highly popular.

The 96.7 million-strong health & beauty segment covered by YOYI DMP skews male (54%) and young (74% aged 25–34), with 81.5% being car owners—a strong indicator of high disposable income. Key engagement channels include auto-centric touchpoints (4S stores, car service apps, and DOOH in parking lots) and premium lifestyle platforms.

Married consumers (60%) require cross-device targeting strategies, such as OTT-to-mobile or DOOH-to-mobile campaigns. Singles (40%) respond well to empowerment-driven messaging, like “Better Me”.

Strategic targeting across online and offline channels is essential to effectively reach and convert this lucrative audience.

 

 

05 Strategic Recommendations

Regulatory Compliance: Avoid direct marketing for critical care; focus on educational content and KOL partnerships.

Precision Targeting: Utilize YOYI DMP’s cross-screen ID mapping to reach high-intent segments.

Service Differentiation: Design personalised aesthetic packages (e.g., minimally invasive procedures for men) and hybrid medical-tourism experiences.

The Chinese outbound medical tourism market demands a nuanced, data-driven approach. Stakeholders must align with regulatory constraints, prioritize hyper-personalized engagement, and leverage granular consumer insights to capture growth.

For deeper insights into the Chinese outbound medical service persona—including city-level distribution, app preferences, behaviors, and more—as well as strategies to target, engage, and convert this audience, feel free to reach out to us at marketing@yoyi.com.cn.

Our experts will craft a tailored marketing strategy based on DMP-driven insights to meet your specific needs.

Source of featured image: Photo by David Trinks on Unsplash

According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, the number of Chinese students studying abroad has rebounded significantly. After a rapid recovery from 451,000 in 2020 to 661,000 in 2022, followed by a strong increase from 545,000 in 2023 to 704,000 in 2024, the figure has now returned to pre-pandemic levels.

 

01 Top Education Destinations

Data from the 2024 White Paper on Chinese Students’ Overseas Study Preparation published by New Oriental shows that the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia remained as the top three most popular study destinations in 2024. Asia also demonstrated remarkable performance, with Hong Kong (China) ranking fourth on the list. Notably, Australia secured its position among the top 3 preferred destinations for the first time, while Asian regions showed particularly strong appeal.

 

 

Over the past decade (2015-2024), the U.K. and the U.S. have alternated as the most sought-after study destinations. During the first five years, the United States maintained its dominance through its world-class educational resources and robust academic strengths, attracting substantial numbers of Chinese students. However, in the latter half of the decade, the United Kingdom surpassed its counterpart by leveraging its shorter program durations and relatively stable political climate, ultimately becoming the preferred choice for prospective Chinese international students.

Factors behind might include education capabilities & qualities, working prospects, university/major rankings, safety, culture, and budgets. According to Qide Education’s 2025 Chinese Overseas Study White Paper, from 2021 to 2025, education capabilities & qualities stays in the first place; working prospect, university/major rankings, safety, and culture keeps in the 2nd place to the 5th place; budget kept growing from the 8th place to the 6th place, indicating the importance of total spends grows year on year.

 

02 Budget, a factor with growing importance

The average budget for studying abroad in different countries and regions diverse from 500 thousand RMB to 625 thousand RMB. Basically, the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. are the top expensive study destinations for Chinese students. While Japan, Europe, and other Asia countries are more economically friendly.

 

 

03 YOYI DMP said:“ Affecting the end-user while persuading the key decider.”

3.1 Students and Parents, the duo system in China’s studying abroad

The unity of Chinese families gives students more freedom of studying choices. The parents would like to invest in their children’s education even after their age of 18. Therefore, the study abroad context of Chinese students is quite different from that of the other parts of the world. The children make their international studying decisions together with their parents, and their parents will support them financially.

Hence, it’s important to affect students and their parents together in their interests period and convince their parents in the buying period.

3.2 Education Background that affects the way of communication

Here’s an educational allocation for Chinese students who would like to study or are currently studying abroad. In Conclusion, from the students’ perspective, the younger generation with a high school degree or below would like to prepare for their overseas education for a bachelor’s degree and below, which accounts for 52% of the overall group. While those with bachelor’s degrees would also pursue a higher degree, on master’s or doctor’s degree, which halves the number of students with a high school degree and below. As high school students are more likely to spend more years on their attaining their degrees than the bachelors, hence they might spend more.

For their parents, 68% have a bachelor’s degree and above, which means colleges abroad need to choose a more acceptable way to communicate with them, especially through data and facts to declare the prosperous future they can bring to the students.

 

 

For both students and parents, the gender is almost even. The majority of students are under 24 years old, and over 86% of parents are between 40 and 50.

 

 

3.3 Lower-tier cities with great potential

Among the top 10 cities where intended international students locate, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are all 1st -tier cities, and 6 other cities are the new 1st -tier cities. 1-st tier and new 1st-tier cities demonstrated a high level of commercial resources concentration, city hub connectivity, urban population activity, lifestyle diversity, and future potential.

 

 

And from the full picture, (New) Tier 1 Cities cover 31% of overseas studying audiences. However, all tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4 cities holds around 20% of overseas studying audiences, which cannot be ignored by education destinations. Actually, studying abroad is no longer a special treat for Chinese population in accordance with the quick development of economy. Overseas study shows a trends of being normal and populist in China.

 

 

To learn more details on overseas study persona in China and how to target, drive interests, engage and convert them, please feel free to contact us by email: marketing@yoyi.com.cn. Our professionals will establish a suitable marketing strategy based on our DMP insights according to your needs.

Source of featured image: Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash