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What Chinese Tourists Look For
Sep 29/05 The U.S. Foriegn Commercial Service and the U.S. Department of State looked at Chinese tourism to the U.S., and found the following results.
* Before embarking on their trip, most Chinese tourists consult friends who have visited the U.S. They carefully plan their itinerary to ensure that they pack in as many sites as possible.
* Chinese tourists seldom travel to one U.S. location for a long period of time unless they are visiting family.
* After the first trip to the U.S., Chinese tourists often look at visiting more non-traditional destinations and second-tier sites within striking distance from more commonly travelled cities.
* Chinese tourists beleive that U.S. prices for quality name brand products are the lowest in the world. Most visitors come to the U.S. with a long shopping list with the average Chinese traveller spending $5,700 U.S. per visit.
* Chinese visitors tend to stay in mid-range hotels, and are willing to stay in suburbs to secure a more reasonable room rate.
* Chinese visitors like to dine almost exclusively at “authentic” Chinese eating establishments, and will go to some length in order to do so.
With Canada in negotiations with the Chinese government for Approved Destination Status, everyone is predicting the potential impact of Chinese tourists on the Canadian tourism industry. Although the potential is enormous, the industry needs to be pragmatic in its expectations.
The U.S. study re-enforces the significance of word-of-mouth promotion in the Chinese market. This means that successful development of the Chinese travel market will depend on the views and perceptions of the initial wave of Chinese visitors. The satisfaction level of these initial tourists could dictate the views that Chinese tourists will have about Canada for years to come.
Chinese tourists like Chinese food! This appears to be a reasonable and common sense observation, but it could be more difficult than it appears. If you’re a remote lodge, and hope to entice Chinese travellers to stay for more than a day, that could be problematic. Does your restaurant, or one in the area serve “authentic” Chinese cuisine? Remember that Chinese food for them probably isn’t the same as the Chinese food coming from the Western Canadian Chinese diner down the street.
The first wave of Chinese tourists will likely only be visiting the large urban centers and major attractions. This will likely be Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Calgary and the Canadian Rockies. If you’re from a smaller centre, and hope to attract Chinese tourists, realize that this is probably more a long-term strategy.
The Chinese travel market will have a considerable influence on the travel industry. The industry needs to focus on developing a long term strategy for satisfying this market. If you are successful, the potential payback could be well worth the wait.
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