Behavior of Chinese Tourists
Over the past decade China has been, and still is, by far the fastest-growing tourism source market in the world and the Chinese market is one of the tourism sector’s major growth opportunities. An essential first step to ensure destinations and companies develop and distribute products that fully meet the Chinese market is to comprehend the behaviour and mind-set of Chinese outbound travellers.
Due to rapid development, rising disposable incomes and relaxation of restrictions on foreign travel, the volume of international trips by Chinese travellers has grown from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012 (Cripps, 2013). Expenditure by Chinese tourists abroad has also increased almost eightfold since 2000. Boosted by an appreciating Chinese currency, Chinese travellers spent a record US$ 102 billion in international tourism in 2012, a 40% jump from 2011 when it amounted to US$ 73 billion (UNWTO, 2013).
With sustained growth, China has become the largest spender in international tourism globally in 2012. In 2005 China ranked seventh in international tourism expenditure, and has since successively overtaken Italy, Japan, France and the United Kingdom. With the 2012 surge, China leaped to first place, surpassing both top spender Germany and second largest spender United States).
According to UNTWO by 2015, over 100 million Chinese will travel aboard, a bench that was originally forecasted for 2020. Businesses and tourism destination have to not only accommodate for the ever growing number of Chinese tourist, but accommodate them in a way that makes the Chinese guests feel welcome and comfortable. Chinese tourists perceive that westerners see them as class people, even when they spend a lot of money.
Business and destination now more than ever before need to accommodate Chinese tourists. Making improvements in areas like service and better understanding Chinese expectations will help us accelerate this growth.
This remarkable growth, largely due to the rise of a
Due to rapid development, rising disposable incomes and relaxation of restrictions on foreign travel, the volume of international trips by Chinese travellers has grown from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012 (Cripps, 2013). Expenditure by Chinese tourists abroad has also increased almost eightfold since 2000. Boosted by an appreciating Chinese currency, Chinese travellers spent a record US$ 102 billion in international tourism in 2012, a 40% jump from 2011 when it amounted to US$ 73 billion (UNWTO, 2013).
With sustained growth, China has become the largest spender in international tourism globally in 2012. In 2005 China ranked seventh in international tourism expenditure, and has since successively overtaken Italy, Japan, France and the United Kingdom. With the 2012 surge, China leaped to first place, surpassing both top spender Germany and second largest spender United States).
According to UNTWO by 2015, over 100 million Chinese will travel aboard, a bench that was originally forecasted for 2020. Businesses and tourism destination have to not only accommodate for the ever growing number of Chinese tourist, but accommodate them in a way that makes the Chinese guests feel welcome and comfortable. Chinese tourists perceive that westerners see them as class people, even when they spend a lot of money.
Business and destination now more than ever before need to accommodate Chinese tourists. Making improvements in areas like service and better understanding Chinese expectations will help us accelerate this growth.
This remarkable growth, largely due to the rise of a
References: OF CHINESE. Annals of Tourism Research, 989-1011. Cripps, K. (2013, April 12). chinese travelers the world 's biggest spenders. Retrieved May 5, 2013, from CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/05/travel/china-tourists-spend/index.html Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. (2012, December 12). Why is the China market so important for NZ? Retrieved May 8, 2013, from Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment: http://www.med.govt.nz/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-research-data/regional-tourism-indicators/rti-country-analysis/why-is-the-china-market-so-important-for-nz Sanburn, J. (2013, April 9). How the U.S. Travel Industry Is Adapting to a Growing Wave of Chinese Tourists. Retrieved May 6, 2013, from Time: http://business.time.com/2013/04/09/how-the-u-s-travel-industry-is-adapting-to-a-growing-wave-of-chinese-tourists/ UNWTO. (2013, April 04). China- the new number one tourism soucre market in the world. Retrieved May 7, 2013, from World Tourism Organization: http://media.unwto.org/en/press-release/2013-04-04/china-new-number-one-tourism-source-market-world Xiang, L., Chengting, L., Rich, H., Sheryl, K., & Liangyan, W. (2011). When east meets west: An exploratory study on Chinese outbound tourists’. Tourism Management, 741-749. Xu, Y., & McGehee, N. (2011). Shopping behavior of Chinese tourists visiting the United States:. Tourism Management, 427-430.