Report Commissioned By Marriott Hotels & Resorts Shows China Outpaces Europe & U.S. On Economic Optimism#
Outbound Chinese travelers -- covered extensively by Jing Daily -- are undeniably important to the global tourism industry, with numbers swelling from less than 10 million in 2000 to a projected 50 million in 2010. As more people in the U.S. and Europe think twice about splashing out on international tourism and opt for a "staycation," for many tour operators, hoteliers and retailers around the world the Chinese can't come quickly enough. Considering some of the stories we've seen in the past year about Chinese tourists' spending habits abroad, that's no surprise. But as Jing Daily has written before, there are reasons for this lavish spending that go beyond simply "loving to shop."
So what about business travel? Since implementing the "Go Out Policy" (走出去, or "Go Global" policy) in 1999, the Chinese government has aggressively promoted outward investment, particularly in the Middle East, Africa and South America. While opinions on China's role in these regions is a matter of great controversy in the political realm, in terms of business travel it's seen the number of Chinese business travelers skyrocket in the last 10 years. According to a new poll commissioned by Marriott Hotels & Resorts, not only are these Chinese business travelers overwhelmingly (75%) planning to continue to travel even more in 2010, they're far more economically optimistic than their counterparts in the U.S., U.K., and Germany.
The poll, “Global Business Trends in the Third Millennium,” compiled by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, examined economic, business travel, career and personal goals, as well as the generational and cultural differences of 1,207 business travelers in the U.S., China, Germany and the U.K. Findings indicated:
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81% of Chinese respondents said they think their economy will improve in 2010#
, compared with 35% from the U.S., 33% from the UK, and 33% from Germany.
- Only 13% of Chinese respondents fear job loss in the coming year, compared with 39% in the U.K., 34% in Germany, and 29% in the U.S.
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96% of Chinese respondents believe business travel is important to achieve business goals#
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- Business travelers predicting more travel next year: China (63%), U.S. (22%), U.K. (20%), Germany (20%).
- Chinese business travelers are more than twice as optimistic (81%) about their national economy as their counterparts in the U.S. (35%), Germany (33%), and the U.K. (33%).
- 70% of Chinese respondents are satisfied with their life overall and 61% with their career path.
The full report and findings are available for download here (PDF file), and the fact sheet can be viewed here.