Foreign countries attract Chinese tourists
International tourism ventures are all poised to take advantage of the swell of Chinese tourists who take overseas trips, as the growing crowds from China have become an important source of income.
Currently, not only traditional favorite destinations such as Southeast Asia, the U.S., Europe and Australia, but also places such as New Zealand, India and even Africa are very popular choices for Chinese tourists.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development of New Zealand, in the next five years the number of tourists visiting New Zealand from China is expected to double to around 287,100 – a group that will spend an estimated $847 million there.
Countries such as Japan, Malaysia and Argentina are all introducing new policies to appeal to Chinese tourists. Japan has relaxed its multi-entry visa requirement for Chinese citizens since September 1. Furthermore, retired individuals and self-employed workers can also apply for a travel visa to Japan with validity extended from the previous 15 days to 30 days.
Malaysia has launched a package tour of luxury shopping specially designed for Chinese tourists. According to Huang Yanyan, minister of the Malaysia Tourism Bureau, the tour aims to attract Chinese tourists with high buying power.
In Argentina, the Sheraton Hotel in the capital city of Buenos Aires began providing Chinese-language service and dim sum for Chinese tourists this month.
Government to prevent outflow of wealth
In 2010, Chinese tourists spent a total of �650 million ($932.8 million) in tax free shopping in Paris. Last August, they spent 29.9 billion yen ($367.8 million) in Japan.
According to the Chinese Luxury Traveler White Paper by the Hurun Research Institute and the International Luxury Travel Market, travel accounted for the largest proportion of spending by China's 960,000 millionaires, while the travel spending of Chinese tourists increased by 91 percent in the past year.
This has raised concerns for the Chinese government, as it signals that a major outflow of wealth consumption is taking place.
According to Yao Jian, former spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, the outflow of consumptive power not only causes a loss of customs duty but also affects the balance of trade.
Chao Gangling, professor at the International Business and Management Institute of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said that the government must apply a combination of measures to prevent a more serious outflow of consumption.
According to Chao, this requires shifting the Chinese consumer preference from foreign brands to domestic brands, which has a long way to go. Governments should consider increasing investment in industries that have advantages or potential, and try to establish a group of competitive domestic brands in the future, added Chao.
