Warc, 24 September 2014
BEIJING: The rapid growth in the number of Chinese tourists
travelling overseas is leading to a widening gap in the country's net tourism
spend, with the nation's inbound tourism rates remaining sluggish.
"A tourism deficit greater than $100bn is a sure thing
this year," according to Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy.
A new report from his organisation predicts that a total of 116m Chinese will
travel overseas during 2014 and will spend $155bn, a 20% increase on the
previous year.
The figures are being driven by the country's richer middle
class who are seeking more exotic experiences and buying luxury goods in
foreign cities. On some estimates there will be 500m trips by Chinese tourists
in 2020, changing the pattern of the global travel and tourism industry
Chinese tourists can now travel to 151 countries, many of
which will be keen to welcome high-spending visitors. On his recent trip to
India, President Xi Jingping signed agreements covering a wide range of areas
including tourism, and India is now preparing to launch a tourism promotion
campaign in Chinese media.
There is currently little traffic between the two countries.
In 2012, around 600,000 Indians visited China for business, tourism and study,
while only 140,000 Chinese went in the opposite direction.
The chances of boosting those numbers may, however, be
helped by the unlikely source of French criminals. Paris is a magnet for
Chinese tourists, attracting almost 1m last year, but, the New York Times
reported, there is growing sense of disillusionment as they are being targeted
by thieves and muggers. The situation has become so bad that at one point the
Chinese government considered sending police officers to Paris to help protect
them.
During 2014, the number of Chinese tour groups coming to the
city has fallen 20% compared to 2013, the report added.
Data sourced from China Daily, Huffington Post, FirstBiz,
New York Times; additional content by Warc staff
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