takeitwithyou
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The United States is taking in way more tourists from China than it’s sending. Pollution, bureaucracy, and bang for buck are the major factors.
— Steven Schwankert
The number of inbound tourists grew at an average annual rate of just 1 per cent between 2005 and 2015 – and eight out of 10 of those were from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, according to a report by a Beijing think tank.
The rate trails that of both developed countries and other emerging economies, the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG) report said. It’s also far behind the average for the Asia-Pacific region, which saw inbound tourist traffic grow by more than 80 per cent in that period.
The National Tourism Administration has blamed the global financial crisis for visitors staying away in the past decade, but last week said the market had entered a new era of steady growth.
-------------------
Despite featuring a number of bucket list sites like the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, visitors from outside of Asia aren’t finding China to be their cup of tea.
Nine years ago, a visit to China was on just about every travel list, spearheaded by Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 summer Olympics. But instead of being a transformative, coming-out party for the Chinese capital the way the Games had been for Barcelona and Sydney, almost from the moment the torch went out, the city and the country’s non-Asian tourism fortunes began to decline.
According to the China National Tourism Administration, from January to September 2015, 3.57 million Europeans and 2.3 million North Americans visited China, out of just less than 19 million foreign arrivals. That number is part of a measly one percent growth rate that China tourism has managed over the past decade, at least for the years where clear statistics are available, 2005-2015, Beijing-based Center for China & Globalization wrote in a recent report [http://en.ccg.org.cn/china-ought-to...as-it-sees-a-booming-outbound-tourist-wave-2/].
A LACK OF APPEAL
Like every other aspect of China’s relationship with the rest of the world, the reasons for the country’s lack of appeal to many foreign tourists are complex.
“So much of the tourism infrastructure in someplace like Beijing (and, increasingly, around the world, although that’s another story…) is geared toward the domestic Chinese tourist,” said Jeremiah Jenne, founder and proprietor of Beijing by Foot, an educational walks company.
“This is a big difference from other Asian cities like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, where ‘tourist’ still often means from North America, Europe, or Australia, and so the marketing, the infrastructure, the whole vibe is geared toward that particular culture of travel and expectations. But it’s more than just English-language menus and service without a scowl, it also comes down to how the city is being developed.”
Part of the problem is what’s on offer. China is a hardcore cultural trek with a significant language barrier. Whether as part of a group, for the business traveler, or the independent visitor, China is a tough destination from the moment of arrival. Taxi drivers don’t speak English, and rip-offs are routine. That’s the case even though hotel infrastructure at almost every level is now international standard,
Then there’s the pollution. While China is home to a few of the world’s most polluted cities according to the World Health Organization, Beijing and Shanghai aren’t among them. Thanks to copious news coverage of every “airpocalypse” that descends upon Beijing especially that city has become as synonymous with choking pollution much as Dickensian London was associated with juvenile crime and cruelty. Not a big boost for tourism when the city is referred to as “the big smoke.”
More than 60 per cent of foreign tourists visiting mainland China are from Asia – mainly from South Korea and Japan, the report said.
Beijing-based tourism researcher Liu Simin said the appreciation of the yuan before 2016 had affected the market, but it was also struggling to compete with well-established holiday spots in Asia.
“Popular tourist destinations in Asia such as Thailand provide better service and are often better advertised,” he said.
VISA PROGRAM HAS FALLEN SHORT
Measures designed to make travel to parts of China beyond Beijing or Shanghai have been largely unsuccessful. Since 2013, Beijing has offered visa-free, 72-hour stays to passport holders from about 50 nations. However, despite having a target of 20,000 travelers per year, the program has fallen short, attracting only 14,000 its first year.
Considering that Beijing is a jumping-off point for growing destinations like Mongolia and parts of Central Asia, that scheme’s failure seems to indicate that travelers are not just going elsewhere, but actively avoiding China, or at least Beijing. Earlier this year, the program expanded to 144 hours (six days), and allows travelers to venture outside of Beijing to neighboring Tianjin and the surrounding province of Hebei. Similar programs exist for Shanghai as an entry point with travel to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and for southern China’s Guangdong province.
Nor have other tourism initiatives, including Times Square advertising featuring China’s two international icons – former NBA star Yao Ming and pandas – or buying a half-hour of programming on New York’s ABC affiliate in 2015.
.https://skift.com/2017/09/04/tourism-imbalance-is-vexing-problem-in-u-s-china-travel/
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/soci...-everywhere-why-are-foreign-visitors-shunning
— Steven Schwankert
The number of inbound tourists grew at an average annual rate of just 1 per cent between 2005 and 2015 – and eight out of 10 of those were from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, according to a report by a Beijing think tank.
The rate trails that of both developed countries and other emerging economies, the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG) report said. It’s also far behind the average for the Asia-Pacific region, which saw inbound tourist traffic grow by more than 80 per cent in that period.
The National Tourism Administration has blamed the global financial crisis for visitors staying away in the past decade, but last week said the market had entered a new era of steady growth.
-------------------
Despite featuring a number of bucket list sites like the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, visitors from outside of Asia aren’t finding China to be their cup of tea.
Nine years ago, a visit to China was on just about every travel list, spearheaded by Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 summer Olympics. But instead of being a transformative, coming-out party for the Chinese capital the way the Games had been for Barcelona and Sydney, almost from the moment the torch went out, the city and the country’s non-Asian tourism fortunes began to decline.
According to the China National Tourism Administration, from January to September 2015, 3.57 million Europeans and 2.3 million North Americans visited China, out of just less than 19 million foreign arrivals. That number is part of a measly one percent growth rate that China tourism has managed over the past decade, at least for the years where clear statistics are available, 2005-2015, Beijing-based Center for China & Globalization wrote in a recent report [http://en.ccg.org.cn/china-ought-to...as-it-sees-a-booming-outbound-tourist-wave-2/].
A LACK OF APPEAL
Like every other aspect of China’s relationship with the rest of the world, the reasons for the country’s lack of appeal to many foreign tourists are complex.
“So much of the tourism infrastructure in someplace like Beijing (and, increasingly, around the world, although that’s another story…) is geared toward the domestic Chinese tourist,” said Jeremiah Jenne, founder and proprietor of Beijing by Foot, an educational walks company.
“This is a big difference from other Asian cities like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, where ‘tourist’ still often means from North America, Europe, or Australia, and so the marketing, the infrastructure, the whole vibe is geared toward that particular culture of travel and expectations. But it’s more than just English-language menus and service without a scowl, it also comes down to how the city is being developed.”
Part of the problem is what’s on offer. China is a hardcore cultural trek with a significant language barrier. Whether as part of a group, for the business traveler, or the independent visitor, China is a tough destination from the moment of arrival. Taxi drivers don’t speak English, and rip-offs are routine. That’s the case even though hotel infrastructure at almost every level is now international standard,
Then there’s the pollution. While China is home to a few of the world’s most polluted cities according to the World Health Organization, Beijing and Shanghai aren’t among them. Thanks to copious news coverage of every “airpocalypse” that descends upon Beijing especially that city has become as synonymous with choking pollution much as Dickensian London was associated with juvenile crime and cruelty. Not a big boost for tourism when the city is referred to as “the big smoke.”
More than 60 per cent of foreign tourists visiting mainland China are from Asia – mainly from South Korea and Japan, the report said.
Beijing-based tourism researcher Liu Simin said the appreciation of the yuan before 2016 had affected the market, but it was also struggling to compete with well-established holiday spots in Asia.
“Popular tourist destinations in Asia such as Thailand provide better service and are often better advertised,” he said.
VISA PROGRAM HAS FALLEN SHORT
Measures designed to make travel to parts of China beyond Beijing or Shanghai have been largely unsuccessful. Since 2013, Beijing has offered visa-free, 72-hour stays to passport holders from about 50 nations. However, despite having a target of 20,000 travelers per year, the program has fallen short, attracting only 14,000 its first year.
Considering that Beijing is a jumping-off point for growing destinations like Mongolia and parts of Central Asia, that scheme’s failure seems to indicate that travelers are not just going elsewhere, but actively avoiding China, or at least Beijing. Earlier this year, the program expanded to 144 hours (six days), and allows travelers to venture outside of Beijing to neighboring Tianjin and the surrounding province of Hebei. Similar programs exist for Shanghai as an entry point with travel to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and for southern China’s Guangdong province.
Nor have other tourism initiatives, including Times Square advertising featuring China’s two international icons – former NBA star Yao Ming and pandas – or buying a half-hour of programming on New York’s ABC affiliate in 2015.
.https://skift.com/2017/09/04/tourism-imbalance-is-vexing-problem-in-u-s-china-travel/
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/soci...-everywhere-why-are-foreign-visitors-shunning
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