Report: China May Surpass Japan To Become #2 Tourism Market Within Two Years

Report By Boston Consulting Group Projects Spending By Chinese Tourists To Be Triple That Of Japanese By 2020 Image: Boston Consulting Group Outbound Chinese tourists are already making their presence felt throughout East and Southeast Asia and increasingly in Europe and North America, but if a new report by the Boston Consulting Group is correct, their influence will become far greater over the next several years. As Jing Daily has previously pointed out, the number of outbound mainland Chinese departures has ballooned in recent years, the result of rising incomes, loosening visa restrictions, and a proclivity to seek lower prices for high-end goods overseas. Rising from 4.5 million outbound departures in 1995 to over 57 million in 2010, it's not surprising that countries like the UK, US and South Korea are more actively courting Chinese tourists, with Britain in particular seeing a boost to its tourism industry from the so-called "Peking Pound." While international destinations (and retailers) expect more Chinese tourists in their near future, China too is seeing increased domestic tourism, particularly among those of more modest means, particularly at popular spots like the Xixi wetlands and Sichuan's Jiuzhaigou. According to the Boston Consulting Group's latest report, the spending power of these tens of millions of mainland Chinese tourists should see them become the world's second-largest tourist contingent, surpassing the Japanese, as soon as 2013. As the report finds, by 2020, Chinese tourists will comprise a quarter of all international travelers arriving in Japan and South Korea, while Chinese arrivals in Europe are due to quadruple. The report forecasts 25 million first-time domestic and outbound Chinese travelers every year (70,000 per day) for the next ten years. However, the report adds that these increasingly coveted Chinese travelers are seriously underserved both domestically and internationally. As BCG partner Vincent Lui notes in the report, Chinese tourists tend to be younger than their counterparts in the West, less experienced, and more likely to take longer trips with large groups of friends. As such, they require extra help and attention from shops, hotels and tour guides. This is particularly true for domestic tourism, where most respondents found basic accommodations lacking, and multinational premium hotels scoring lowest. Abroad, many wealthier travelers told BCG that few hotels offered them special services, and that high-priced travel packages were lacking in personalization and interest. Aside from the takeaway that Chinese tourists are a rapidly growing, high-spending contingent, what can we learn from this report? For one, Chinese tourists are becoming more particular -- both domestically and internationally. Wealthier individuals demand better service and put more focus on accommodations than in previous years, and expect more for their money. For another thing, multinational hotels can't simply expect to dump a new location anywhere in China and think it'll build the brand there. Bad service in China -- which, according to this report, is endemic -- will make Chinese tourists reluctant to stay at a given hotel when traveling overseas as well. Finally, dissatisfaction among Chinese tourists should be viewed as an opportunity for anyone in the tourism industry to re-evaluate how they plan to accommodate more Chinese tourists, particularly as they outnumber the formerly dominant Japanese. Hotels printed Japanese-language menus and stores posted Japanese-language signage in the 1980s to make these valued tourists feel more at home. Why shouldn't the same be extended to Chinese tourists? The BCG report sees "big opportunities for early movers" who rush to cater more to the small changes that mean so much to Chinese tourists. Maybe it's time more department stores, tourist hotspots and hotels get on board.

Report: China May Surpass Japan To Become #2 Tourism Market Within Two Years

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Published March 30, 2011

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Report: China May Surpass Japan To Become #2 Tourism Market Within Two Years