When traveling abroad for the Lunar New Year, Chinese tourists in recent years have been known to stock their suitcases with advanced toilet seats, rice cookers and other goodies from overseas. This year, it seems they’ve eschewed their previous favorites for more germane items, including tissue paper, nail polish, electric toothbrushes and condoms.

Six million Chinese tourists traveled abroad during this year’s weeklong holiday, spending a record-setting 90 billion yuan overseas, according to an estimate by the China Tourism...