UK set to benefit from influx of Chinese tourists

Added: (Tue Nov 18 2008)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Few people are unaware of the drastic changes China has experienced over the past two decades. China’s extraordinary growth, burgeoning middle class and influx of foreign investment have become the envy of developed countries around the world as their own economies begin to stagnate. But what impact does China’s growth have on British tourism and how can UK tourist destinations benefit as the sleeping giant begins to awaken?

China, the most populated country in the world, has long been a source of fascination for the west with its long and often turbulent history, and contrasting culture. In more recent years, however, Western Europe has become of particular interest in the Chinese.

In 2002, China had just 17 million outbound tourists. Last year, however, 40 million Chinese travelled abroad. The World Tourism Organisation predicts that by 2020 there will be approximately 100 million Chinese outbound trips per year. The UK, with its rich cultural heritage, stands to benefit from the rise of China. Visit London, for example, predicts inbound tourism from China will rise by approximately 425% by 2012. These predictions, coupled with the recent relaxing of visa rules and a strengthening Chinese yuan, puts the UK in a particularly strong position to benefit from China’s rising level of disposable income.

Yaxley Consulting, which assists UK tourist destinations and universities adapt for Chinese tourists claims the UK is still relatively ill prepared for the coming onset of Chinese visitors.

‘Few British tourist destinations are adequately prepared for the large number of Chinese tourists set to travel to the UK,’ says Jocelyn McConnachie, Managing Director at Yaxley Consulting.

‘Making small adjustments like providing short Chinese brochures, a few Chinese pages on the organisation’s website or a training seminar to staff ensure Chinese visitors travel home with an excellent impression of the UK,’ she says.

‘I went to the UK with my mother in 2006,’ says Susan Zhang from Beijing, ‘I thoroughly enjoyed my trip but I was surprised by the lack of information available at tourist destinations in Chinese. Many tourist destinations had Japanese information but did not have any brochures in Chinese. My mother found it particularly difficult as she does not speak English very well’.

The Chinese have a fascination with the UK’s long history and are particularly interested in European architecture. ‘Many Chinese tourists are amazed by country houses in England,’ says Dominic Richards, owner of wedding venue Yaxley Hall which recently held a Chinese wedding. ‘Coming from a population of 1.3 billion, the Chinese love the space, attention to detail and the long histories of Britain’s country houses’.

Visits to London by Chinese tourists were up 27% alone in 2007.