China’s influence on global tourism continues to grow
October 30, 2018 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
Chinese travelers are not only fueling the country’s domestic tourism market, but also having a growing influence on regional and global economies, according to a study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which also shows Hong Kong and Macao are now considered among the industry’s elite destinations. City Travel & Tourism Impact 2018 assessed the economic contribution of the tourism industry in 72 cities worldwide. Its key findings were presented at the WTTC’s Asian Leaders Forum 2018 in Macao. “China is the one to watch on a number of levels. Chinese cities are really growing because of the increase in wealth and the number of people who are able to travel,” Olivia Ruggles-Brise, the WTTC’s Policy and Communications Director said. “Destinations close to mainland China, like Hong Kong, Macao, Bangkok and Jakarta, are also being driven by its outbound traffic.”
According to Cozystay, an online vacation rental platform targeting Chinese travelers, 145 million individual overseas trips were made by Chinese tourists in 2017, up from 10.5 million in 2000. The new total is roughly equal to the entire population of Russia. As only 7% of Chinese currently own a passport, it predicted the number of trips could mushroom to over 400 million by 2030. The WTTC study shows four of the five fastest-growing global cities in terms of direct travel and tourism-related GDP, in the decade to 2017, were Chinese – Chongqing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou – and predicts that trend is likely to continue. Domestic spending remains the largest source of growth. In 2017, 95% of Chongqing’s tourism and travel related GDP was generated by Chinese travelers, while in Guangzhou they accounted for 90%, Shanghai 88%, Beijing 87% and Chengdu 83%.
The latest WTTC figures now show Hong Kong was the global city leader, with international spending there of USD39.2 billion, while Macao took second place at USD35.6 billion. Macao’s 14.2% growth in directly related travel and tourism GDP in 2017 was the second fastest in the world after Cairo, and its rapid ascent in the rankings was fueled largely by mainland visitors, who were treated as international in the report. “The degree to which the Chinese traveler is becoming increasingly sophisticated is changing. Once upon a time Chinese travelers really just wanted to buy things, now they are moving more towards experiences. Outbound Chinese tourism is massive and it is going to keep being massive,” James Riley, CEO of the Mandarin Oriental hotel group, told South China Morning Post. The WTTC’s biggest fear, however, is that a deterioration in political relations could impact the country’s abilities to lure overseas visitors.
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