'2nd wave' of Chinese tourism attracts global attention

The world's biggest tourism trade fair opened to visitors last week with a workshop on Chinese outbound tourism in Berlin.

The discussion at the International Tourismus-Boerse focused on China's "second wave" of outbound tourists, and their new destinations and consumption patterns.

Panelists from Europe and Asia exchanged views on the question: "How can established destinations react, and what will the future of Chinese outbound tourism look like?"

In 2014, the number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad increased by 19.5 percent year-on-year to 109 million, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

"China is the world's largest outbound market since 2012," says the Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organization.

During the recent Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, 5.18 million Chinese－10 percent more than during the previous year's festival－took trips to Thailand, Japan, the United States and Europe, where they were not surprised to see Mandarin-speaking staff in shopping malls and Chinese TV programs in hotels.

"Now the whole European industry is paying greater attention to Chinese tourists' shopping habits and consumption," says Yu Jin, chief operations officer of Caissa Touristic (Group) AG in Hamburg.

At 12 of its retail outlets across Europe, London-based McArthurGlen Group launched a series of promotions during the Spring Festival holiday, advertising on Chinese social media and providing discounts in its stores.

In New York, the high-end department store Bloomingdale's put up decorations featuring a giant Chinese coin towering above a blanket of red flowers.

It was not always like this. Shi Xiang, director of the CNTA in Frankfurt, recalls that Western countries lacked interest in Chinese tourism promotion in the early 1980s, when China's opening-up began.

In 2013, Chinese tourists spent $129 billion abroad－more than any other source market in the world, according to the UNWTO.

In the first quarter of 2014, the average expenditure of Chinese tourists in Germany was 575 euros ($642) per person, the highest among all the countries.

Analysts believe the upward trend of Chinese outbound tourism will continue in 2015, thanks to a favorable visa environment and more supportive policies. They say information technology will also boost the growth of overseas travel.

"The prospect of China's outbound tourism is bright," Shi says.

This will benefit not only economies in destination countries, but also mutual understanding and cultural exchanges.