1. China’s local governments are expanding efforts to attract older travelers with subsidies, land incentives and health-care services, seeking to turn retirees into a source of consumer spending and economic renewal [para. 1]. The campaign targets active seniors—newly retired, relatively healthy people with time to travel—as the “silver economy” matures [para. 2]. For regions with depopulation or industrial decline, long-stay retirement tourism is also a strategy to bring in outside spending [para. 3].
2. Jilin province plans to set aside 100 million yuan annually for three years from 2027, aiming by 2028 to develop 80 long-stay health-tourism institutions, 30 clustered residential communities, add 30,000 care beds, and attract 3.8 million annual visits [para. 5]. Guizhou has established a provincial fund and encourages “travel-residence loans” and insurance-linked long-stay products [para. 6]. Yunnan allocated nearly 7 million yuan in subsidies for more than 60 pilot projects, targeting total long-stay consumption above 100 billion yuan by 2030 [para. 7]. In 2025, nearly 980,000 older people took long-stay trips in Yunnan, up 91.8% year-on-year; silver-hair travelers accounted for 17.24% of long-stay visitors in the first half of 2026 [para. 8]. Dali secured 1.06 billion yuan in central funding for medical-care infrastructure and plans 50 health-tourism villages [para. 9].
3. Qingdao supports using existing real-estate land for senior-health housing, with qualifying health-service centers counted in floor-area ratios and their land value excluded from price assessments [para. 10]. Hainan offers price discounts and preferential policies for approved wellness projects [para. 11]. Local governments investing in this sector generally fall into two groups: tourism-appeal regions—warmer southern areas in winter, cooler northern areas in summer, and Guangdong leveraging Greater Bay Area proximity—and areas with severe population loss or resource-industry decline [para. 12][para. 13][para. 14]. Jilin fits the latter: its natural population-growth rate fell to minus 6.37 per thousand in 2025, and its population declined by 3.37 million from the previous census [para. 15].
4. Long-stay health tourism is emerging as a significant part of China’s silver economy. A 2024 State Council policy document called for a nationwide cooperation platform and cultivation of long-stay retirement destinations [para. 17]. A report counted 84.316 million retirement-tourism trips between July 2024 and June 2025, with 53.7% by people aged 60-64 [para. 18]. The industry is projected to reach 5 trillion yuan by 2035, or 16.7% of total silver-economy output [para. 19]. An expert estimated the senior-tourism market at 600 billion to 1 trillion yuan, with major operators including Trip.com’s Laoyouhui and Dongli Retirement Club [para. 20][para. 22]. Customers are concentrated among retirees from state-owned enterprises, agencies, and public institutions with generous pensions [para. 23]. Growth is driven by chronic-disease rehabilitation needs, cultural demand among highly educated retirees, and support from adult children [para. 24]. The model is shifting from isolated destinations to comprehensive systems combining medical care, culture and smart services, viewed as consumption upgrading rather than a substitute for conventional elder care [para. 25][para. 26].
5. The sector faces significant problems. An opaque market drains spending power; some companies use sales meetings and travel promotions to sell supplements and other products [para. 29]. Many projects marketed as health-care developments are essentially property schemes disconnected from seniors’ needs, underinvesting in services [para. 31]. Nationwide, fewer than half of health-tourism projects remain in operation three years after opening [para. 32]. Scams have emerged: one company illegally raised more than 24.4 billion yuan over eight years by promoting “happy retirement” programs involving free or low-cost travel [para. 33].
6. Health-care access and elder-care services must keep pace. In Beihai, Guangxi, hospitals open dedicated clinics for migratory retirees from November to April, providing guided services for those 70 and older and recognizing out-of-town test results [para. 35][para. 36]. Hainan allows eligible long-stay residents to join basic medical and long-term care insurance and is improving cross-regional reimbursement; it currently covers severely disabled elderly insured elsewhere and plans to expand coverage to moderate and mild disabilities [para. 37][para. 38]. Li Lu of the National Development and Reform Commission says retirement-tourism destinations need to strengthen rehabilitation, nursing and emergency medical services, better integrate medical care with housing and elder-care functions, and expand professional training [para. 39].
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