Booming Chinese outbound travel changes world tourism landscape

Huang Meng, a veteran reporter for a Chinese news outlet, still vividly remembers his first trip to Paris in the mid-1990s.When he entered the pyramid gate of the Louvre Museum, a mecca for Paris visitors, he saw there were free introductory pamphlets for visitors. But none of the handouts were in Chinese and as a result, he was lost in the huge maze of exhibits as he spoke only little English.

Last year, Huang visited France again. This time, he found not only pamphlets in Chinese in the Louvre, but also the museum's Chinese web page. Moreover, some shop assistants at the luxurious Galeries Lafayette department store spoke Mandarin, while hotels with many Chinese guests provided TV channels in their native language.

"I am very exited to hear Chinese spoken and see Chinese signs in Paris. It is convenient for Chinese tourists," Huang said. "And the hospitable French people really make me feel at home."

Huang's experience is not unique among the fast growing numbers of outbound Chinese travelers. While they are influencing the world tourism landscape in economic, cultural and other ways, the destination countries are also adapting themselves to the booming influx of Chinese tourists.

BOOMING CHINESE OUTBOUND TOURISM

Outbound tourism has become a lucrative business for travel agencies in China, and heavy spending by Chinese tourists overseas has contributed to the economies of destination countries.

In 2009, less than 5 percent of China's over 22,000 travel agencies were engaged in the outbound tourism business. But overseas tourism generated 22 percent of China's total tourism revenue, according to the China Tourism Academy (CTA).The profitable overseas tourism business has been sustained by the rapid growth of Chinese visitors going abroad.

Major tourist destinations across the world have seen surging numbers of Chinese visitors in recent years. In 2010 alone, 57.39 million Chinese traveled abroad, spending 48 billion U.S. dollars overseas, according to CTA figures.The World Tourism Organization has estimated that the total number of outbound tourists from China would reach 100 million by 2020.

Thailand has long been a popular destination for Chinese tourists. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says China will become the biggest source of foreign tourists in Thailand in two to three years.At present, the number of tourists from China ranks third in Thailand, after those from Malaysia and Japan.

"A surge of Chinese tourists in recent years has reshaped Thai tourism considerably. Thai tour companies accordingly try to organize package tours that meet the demands of Chinese tourists," said Sansern Ngao-rangsri, TAT deputy governor for Asia, Oceania and South Pacific.Thailand is not the only country that is making preparations for the arrival of larger numbers of Chinese visitors.In Europe, France is among the favorite destinations for Chinese tourists.

"Last year, the official figure of Chinese tourists in France reached 550,000. But the problem is that now with the Schengen Agreement, we don't know exactly how many (Chinese tourists have actually visited France)," said Paul Roll, managing director of the Paris Office du Tourisme et des Congres."We feel by 2020, when there are 100 million Chinese visitors (globally), 1 or 2 million will come to Paris, so this obviously means that we need to get prepared," Roll added.

The United States is another important destination for Chinese tourists. The country saw the biggest increase of visitors from China in 2010 with 810,738 travelers, up 53 percent from the previous year, according to U.S. customs authorities.

Kathryn Burnside, director of communications at California Travel and Tourism Commission, told Xinhua that of all the visitors from China, about 60 percent came to California. She admitted that the big inflow of Chinese tourists has helped contribute to the economy in the state.

INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR LUXURIES

Also according to the CTA report, Chinese are not only making more overseas trips, but are also spending a lot more in foreign countries than they did in the early days when China adopted its opening-up policy in 1979.

More than a quarter of Chinese outbound tourists (26.85 percent) say shopping takes up the largest share of their expenditure, the CTA said.In 2011, Chinese travelers are expected to spend a record high of 55 billion U.S. dollars on their overseas trips, boosted partly by an appreciating Chinese currency, the CTA said.

Chinese tourists buy almost everything, from Rolex watches to formula milk powder. Paris and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are among the top shopping destinations for Chinese tourists.The Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris' high street, is a shopping paradise for independent Chinese tourists, while Galeries Lafayette and Printemps department stores are also quite popular among them.

Luxury stores on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees have followed the example of Galeries Lafayette by employing Mandarin speakers. Even the wool product brand Eric Bompard, which is little known in China, has a Chinese-speaking sales assistant in its shop close to the Avenue des Champs-Elysees.

According to a recent report published by Global Blue Group, a Switzerland-based tax-refund and shopping service provider that was formerly known as Global Refund Group, Chinese have been the biggest overseas shoppers in France for years.

Chinese travelers spent 650 million euros (937.8 million U.S. dollars) on duty-free shopping in France in 2010, accounting for 22 percent of the total of such spending by foreigners in France, it said.The average per capita spending of Chinese tourists in France was 1,300 euros (1875.6 U.S. dollars) in 2010, much higher than that of Americans (880 euros or 1269.7 dollars) or Japanese (850 euros or 1226.4 dollars).

It is generally believed that Chinese tourists are lured by comparatively low prices of brand-name products in Western countries, guaranteed quality and better services.In the Louis Vuitton (LV) store at Hollywood's Kodak Theater, a Chinese tourist from Shanghai was selecting her favorites.

"There is an LV store in Shanghai, but there are more varieties here," she told a Xinhua reporter, but declined to tell her name."I will buy several LV bags before I head back to China. People in China like this brand, and it is much cheaper here," she said.

Golden Yuan, founder and president of the Perfect Trans andamp; Travel Service in Los Angeles, told Xinhua that brand-name products like LV and Coach are on the "must buy" list for many tourists from China."Those who have the money to tour the U.S. want brand-name products such as LV and Coach; at least they will go to Macy's or JCPenny to look for high quality products," Yuan said.

However, shopping for brand-name products in their places of origin is not something unique to Chinese tourists, Roll of the Paris Office du Tourisme et des Congres said."When the French went to the United States 25 years ago, they bought jeans, because they thought they were genuine even though in France they were of the same material. It's human nature," Roll said.

CHINESE TOURISTS UNDERGO CHANGE

Yuan, who has been in the business since 1990, witnessed the great changes in Chinese tourists over the past 20 years.He said that 10 years ago, most of the travelers from China were government officials or people from state-owned companies, but now most of the visitors are in the private sector.

As more individual citizens are traveling abroad, the tourism model is also changing.Wang Jia and her fiance have recently enjoyed a two-week "romance tour" in Europe. They, together with more than 30 other Chinese couples, were married at a grand Western-style wedding ceremony in the Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany.

Zhou Jianfang, who began to receive Chinese tourists in France since 1997, has noted that Chinese travelers have begun to slow down in their tours."In the past, Chinese tourists were running like in a military training. They wanted to see more places in a limited period of time. Now, they have begun to slow down and stay longer in one place," Zhou said.

Roll had similar experiences. "I don't think travelers have changed that much, but we have a new type of travelers ... we just have essentially a new group of travelers who are more mature," he told Xinhua.People in the travel service industry also believe that Chinese tourists have started to change some of their notorious habits.

"In the past, they would shout to each other across the street, but today they are more polite, talk quieter, and know how to carry themselves in public," said Narin Ruengwongsa of the Professional Guide Association of Thailand.

Zhou still remembered his horrible experiences with a group of Chinese tourists in a German hotel several years ago. Members of the group jostled for buttons in a hotel lift, resulting in skin contact with a guest from another country. The Chinese were accused of harassment.Another tourist of that same group was demanded to compensate the hotel for spilling too much water on the bathroom floor and damaging the room downstairs.

Zhou noted the situation is getting much better as Chinese tourists have become familiar with the culture and customs of destination countries.Roll believed that Chinese tourists will learn. "You must not forget, when French travelers went for the first time overseas in the 1950s, they behaved just like the first-time travelers of China," he said.

"I refuse to say Chinese travelers are different from other travelers. For everyone that leaves their country for the first time, anything is a surprise," he said.Thanks to Chinese travelers, many places which are seldom visited have now attracted large groups of Chinese tourists. It is especially true of the sites which are related to Chinese history.

For example, Karl Marx's former residence in Trier, Germany, is one of the spots where Chinese travelers must go when visiting Luxembourg and neighboring regions. Chinese tourists pour into the tiny town all year round.

At the Grand Place in downtown Brussels, Belgium, dozens of Chinese tourists were busy taking pictures in front of the cafe-restaurant where Karl Marx, together with Friedrich Engels, wrote the Communist Manifesto, a landmark document for the world's Communist movement.

New workers of the restaurant are puzzled why the Chinese visitors are so eager to visit the old and homely restaurant, but manager Antonio Lopez knew the reason and was proud of it."I know we are very famous in China, and each year numerous Chinese tourists visit the restaurant," Lopez said.

To cater to the Chinese tourists, Montargis, a small town some 100 km to the south of Paris, designed a special tour route. It brings Chinese travelers to places where Chinese leaders like Deng Xiaoping and Cai Hesen used to work and live in the early 1920s.

As more and more Chinese tourists travel abroad, they will one day be like many of their foreign peersandnbsp; traveling around the world with a stuffed backpack, and armed with numerous guides, not only for sightseeing, but also for local culture and customs.

Source = xinhuanet