With China emerging as one of the world’s largest outbound travel markets, hotels in Dubai are increasingly focusing their efforts on attracting tourists from this rapidly growing economy.
An increasing number of Chinese have been travelling overseas in recent years as the nation’s economy gains strength and its government relaxes rules on travel abroad. Figures from the China Tourism Authority show that total Chinese outbound departures are expected to reach 65 million in 2011, up 13% year-on-year.
Overall, China’s share of the global tourism market is expected to reach 8% by 2013, …

BEIJING – It used to be the Russians who splurged on tax-free shopping for authentic and luxury brands while traveling to European countries.
Since last summer, not only have Chinese tourists emerged as the top tax-free shoppers in Europe, their average spending for each transaction doubled that of the Russians.
“On average, Chinese tourists spent 107 percent more year-on-year on tax-refunded shopping abroad in 2010, reaching a 130 percent spike in September compared with the same month in 2009,” said Manelik Sfez, vice-president of global marketing at Switzerland-based Global Blue, a tax-refund …

Helicopter companies ride on country’s growing interest in luxury aviation
A Wenzhou-based auto parts manufacturer has obtained approval from European regulators to jointly manufacture with Eurocopter the first luxury commercial helicopter in China next year, amid growing interest in aviation in the country.
With technical support from Eurocopter, which is considered the world’s largest helicopter manufacturer in terms of revenue, Zhong-Ou Group plans to complete the first prototype by the end of this year before large-scale manufacturing begins.
Eurocopter, based in Marignane, France, is a subsidiary of the Leiden-based European Aeronautic Defense and …

BEIJING – A record 56 million mainland tourists traveled overseas last year, Shao Qiwei, head of the China National Tourism Administration, said on Wednesday.
That number is 2 million more than an earlier estimate of 54 million, and is also an increase of 8.3 million over 2009.
In contrast, 55.7 million overseas tourists visited China and stayed for at least one night last year, up 9.5 percent year-on-year. In total, 134 million overseas visitors came to China, up 6 percent year-on-year, spending $45 billion in the country.
Meanwhile domestic tourists made 2.1 billion …

Passengers from China are welcomed by the commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency and Hello Kitty at Narita airport. Soon, it will be easier than ever for Chinese travelers to say, ‘Hello Kitty!’

Chinese tourists who travel often to Japan will find the hassles of transit less stressful with the launch of a program to enable multiple-entry visas for individuals later this year.
The Japanese government plans to initiate the new system in summer. The offices of foreign minister Seiji Maehara and Japan Tourism Agency chief Hiroshi Mizohata are currently hammering …

The World Travel and Tourism Council says China’s tourism industry is to expand by 9 percent annually in the next ten years. That’d be the fastest growth rate in the world. With favorable policies, easier and easier visa application, appreciation of the national currency yuan, the world expects to see a huge growth of Chinese tourists.

Guests:
George Cao,
-Co-founder and CEO of Dragon Trail.
David Tang,
-Assistant President of Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting Co. Ltd.
Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt,
-Director of China Outbound Tourism Research Institute.
China Outbound Tourism Trends 2010/2011- 01.mp3
China Outbound Tourism Trends 2010/2011- …

Another sign of how dependent the world is on China is that nearly one third of luxury shoppers in London are Chinese tourists.
Chinese tourists account for 30 percent of the luxury goods market in England, CBRE tells the Daily Mail. They are followed by Russians, Arabs and Japanese, with British making up only 15 percent of the market.
You may noticed the same trend if you go shopping in New York.
While austerity-stricken Brits can’t afford Gucci and Burberry, Chinese has been flooded with money. Shopping abroad Chinese can avoid the high …

As the economic boom brings increasing wealth to Chinese people, foreign media have paid attention to international shopping sprees by Chinese tourists. In the US, for example, around a million Chinese tourists went shopping this year, spending over $7 billion on luxury cosmetics, handbags or electronics.
According to a report by China National Radio on Tuesday, Commerce Minister Chen Deming has recently pointed out that the government must deal urgently with the obstacles hindering the import of certain overseas products and thus bring this huge purchasing power back to China. He …

A record number of visitors from China helped boost the number of tourists to New Zealand by 3 per cent in November.
Last month 226,500 visitors came to New Zealand for a short period, Statistics New Zealand said yesterday. The numbers were up 6600 on the same month a year ago, but 3400 below the record for November in 2006.
A fall in the number of visitors from Britain and continental Europe was offset by more tourists from China (up 34.5 per cent to 14,875).
The Chinese market, boosted by growing trade with …

A patron wearing a Mickey Mouse hat walks in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Walt Disney Co’s Disneyland amusement park in Anaheim, California. The number of Chinese tourists to the US is set to pass the 1 million mark by the end of this year. (Photo: China Daily)
Thousands of Chinese tourists will spend the Christmas holiday period in the United States this year.
New York City, California, and Hawaii are among the more popular destinations as organizations such as United Airlines, Disneyland Park in California, the California Travel and Tourism …

The number of Chinese visitors travelling to Ho Chi Minh City by air has increase dramatically in the first eleven months of this year. The city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said there has been an increase of 189%, as compared to last year.
The department said that China has become one of the top lists of foreign arrivals in the city for the very first time. Vietnam welcomes from between 70,000- 90,000 Chinese visitors each month.

Chinese tourits go on a sightseeing tour of Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo:Tuoi Tre)
After the …

China is seen as a golden market for the meeting and convention industry.
There are an estimated 7 million private firms in the nation.
Many host their conferences and incentive tours overseas due to the slow development of their domestic conference business.
Delegations from Jeju Island recently visited China to grab their attention.
More than 10 teams from the Jeju Tourism Organization, the Jeju Tourism Association, and some Jeju-based travel agencies held business sessions in the cities of Beijing, Dalian, and Shenyang.
[Interview : Moon Kyung-ho Jeju Tourism Organization ] “We used to host …

Travel company manager Diao Shuang can barely speak a word of English.
Like most of China’s 1.3 billion residents, he knows little about faraway Canadian destinations.
But the affable young professional knows enough to recognize lucrative travel opportunities for people in China.
The majestic Rocky Mountains and Niagara Falls are potential gold mines for his CYTS travel agency.
Suddenly, millions of people in China’s growing middle class — with more financial clout than ever before — are coming to this country, now that Canada has been deemed an approved travel …

Taiwan’s tourism business is posed to gain over US$40 million in revenue next year as mainland Chinese tourists will be allowed to Taiwan for individual visits starting Jan. 1, a local realty agency forecast.
Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau will launch its individual visit scheme for business tourists from Beijing and Shanghai at the start of next year, allowing a maximum of 500 individual tourists to enter Taiwan daily on top of the current quota for visitors in tour groups. The annual increase of mainland tourists can be over 180,000.
Taking into consideration an …

Chinese holidaymakers are rescuing NSW from its tourism slump as the state attracts visitors previously held back by recession.
Tourism Research Australia (TRA) says Chinese tourists were the most common visitors to NSW, amounting to 15.4 per cent of total travellers, followed by people from the United Kingdom at 10.9 per cent.
The managing director of the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), Matthew Hingerty, says the figures show the need to capitalise on the Chinese market.
‘Not only do the Chinese want our coal and iron but our sun, our smiles, our sights, …

LONDON—Luxury goods have enjoyed a heady recovery in Europe from the dark days of 2009, and the good news looks set to continue into Christmas, with sales boosted by spending from Chinese tourists.
But retailers caution that if the euro climbs sharply, some of that retail strength could diminish.
Global sales in the luxury market—which includes such high-end goods as apparel, handbags, watches and cosmetics—declined 8% last year, according to consulting firm Bain & Co. Sales and earnings have surged since then, as have stock prices. The Dow Jones Luxury Index, which …

Tourists enter the Louvre museum in Paris.With a rising middle class and stronger currency exchange,Chinese tourists have been flocking to Europe in increasing numbers,providing a boost to the continent’s tourism industry. [Bloomberg]

Internet-savvy youth provide growing market for online tour companies

BEIJING – To catch a glimpse of the mystical northern lights, ride scooters across snowy forests, or catch a 15-kg king crab from the cold sea, is a privilege that is being enjoyed by more and more wealthy Chinese.
The “Chasing Northern Lights” voyage …

THE Bahamas must move quickly to take advantage of its designation as an “Approved Travel Destination” by the government of the People’s Republic of China in order to take full advantage of the large Chinese tourist market, Health Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said.
Dr Minnis said more than 65 million Chinese citizens visited countries with Approved Destination status over the course of the last year.
The minister said research shows that tourist volumes to destinations with Approved Destination Status from the government of the People’s Republic of China, increased by about 40 …

In the last few years high-end retailers around the world have learned that Chinese are ready to shop. Due to new duties levied by the Chinese state, the shopping spree may be coming to an end.
Chinese tourists have been eager to shop for luxury goods in Western cities because of price. The prices for luxury merchandise on Fifth Avenue in New York City are only about 1/4 to 1/3 of those in Shanghai and Beijing.
In August, Chinese Customs announced steep, new duties on any merchandise brought back into the country …

Chinese are the biggest-spending foreign tourists in Korea, according to a survey released on Monday.
In the survey of 296 domestic travel agencies by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 59.7 percent said Chinese tourists spend more than their Japanese and Western counterparts.
Chinese shoppers preferred cosmetics and imported luxury goods. The favorite items among younger tourists were fashion accessories and clothes (16.3 percent) and electronics (10.5 percent), while older visitors mainly bought food and alcohol (18.9 percent).
The most satisfying aspects of visiting here were shopping for Korean goods (28.3 percent), …