By Dr. Nalin Abeysekera
Sri Lanka has a population of almost 21 million.It is estimated that more than 100 million Chinese will travel abroad in 2014.
According to Song Rui, Director of the Tourist Research Centre of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Chinese travellers spent US$102 billion overseas in 2013, making them the world’s biggest spenders ahead of German and US tourists. Chinese travellers are almost certain to have surpassed that record in 2013. Song, a researcher, was quoted as saying, “Chinese tourists spend so much abroad that some foreigners are calling us ‘walking wallets’,”
Countries all over the world compete to attract more tourists, especially from China, instead from the US or the UK. Even the US and UK are competing to attract Chinese tourists to their countries. This trend can be observed by the current effort being expended by the UK stores to target high-spending Chinese tourists.
A promotional tour of Beijing and Shanghai led by the ‘Visit Britain Tourism’ organization included representatives from London’s Westfield shopping centre, the luxury goods emporium at Bicester in Oxfordshire and even Gretna Green which now has its own similar retail park as well as Harrods and Selfridges.
China accounted for almost 110,000 visits to the UK in 2010, a 23 per cent annual increase. More importantly, the overall spending by Chinese nationals rose even faster by 57 per cent.
This increasing trend is apparent in the USA as well.(See the following graph). It indicates the sharp growth of Chinese tourists to the US by comparing figures of 2007 to 2012.
Figure one-Chinese visitors to America by month
Source- http://www.attractchina.com/blog/chinese-tourists-travel-america/
At present, the US hotels have diverse and effective strategies to attract more Chinese tourists. Hotels that hope to attract and retain Chinese customers (travellers) teach their front desk staff and reservations agents, basic cultural information about the Chinese. There are many examples of cultural sensitivity; guests from China are not given rooms that include the number four, which is considered unlucky because it sounds like the word for death. According to USA Today, Marriott has stationed 20 sales representatives in China and teaches employees in the U.S. to speak basic Mandarin phrases like ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’. The Marriott Marquis in New York City has even replaced room numbers on the 44th floor with names because the number four is considered “bad luck” in many Asian cultures.
Meanwhile, the number eight is considered lucky in Chinese culture, so, standing out to a Chinese guest "can be as simple as what the Chicago Marriott Oak Brook did, which was to put eight chocolate coins and candy in a small mesh bag with a welcome note," said Seema Jain, Director of Multicultural Markets and Alliances for Marriott International. On an internal website for its associates, Marriott International provides tips and guidelines for properties to use "customized, personalized care and cater to the Chinese traveler."
The suggestions are separated into categories that include pre-arrival, food and beverage, guest amenities, concierge, things to avoid such as writing a guest's name in red ink - which signifies death according to Chinese culture.
Australia
What about Australia? China is Australia’s fastest growing inbound tourism market, currently ranked fourth behind New Zealand, Britain and the US. Despite ranking fourth, the TRA (Tourism Research Australia) report highlighted that Chinese tourists outspent the other four in 2010 to the tune of $ 3.3 billion. This indicates ample evidence that Chinese tourists are wealthier than travelers from other countries.
Numbers will not tell you the story
By looking at the statistics, I wondered whether we (Sri Lankans) should calculate the spending by different nations to map out the spending patterns of tourists. Further, it can be questionable whether we are talking more on numbers, but not on value.
Figures released by Sri Lanka’s Tourism Authority confirmed that South Asian visitors were up by 13.3 percent to 30,950 with arrivals from India, Sri Lanka’s top market, increased from 30.2 percent to 19,911 in June 2014 from a year, earlier. Even though the numbers are increasing, there should be a system to increase spending in Sri Lanka and also to increase the staying time in the country. Numbers will not tell you the story. For example, Indians are mostly coming to Sri Lanka in the mind set of “Saving Money”, but the tourists coming from Russia will spend millions to enjoy their holiday (different objectives). Sri Lanka can also target different segments like international business conferences etc.
These are the assignments that should be given to universities in Sri Lanka (especially those conducting programs on tourism) to students to test their knowledge in order to add value to the sector. This is a major reason for the inability of the state higher education sector to meet the expectations of the private sector.
Examples from Australia
Even countries like Australia are conducting special programs to attract tourists from China. “Tourism Australia” unveiled its China 2020 Strategic Plan in June 2011, aimed at nearly doubling the number of Chinese visitors to 860,000 over the next eight years.
Some hotel chains, for instance, have even rearranged the furniture in their rooms across the country according to the principles of ‘feng shui’ (pronounced fung shway), an intuitive art. Designers and decorators claim that they can “feel” positive energy – called ch’i), assuring guests will have a harmonious stay.
Following are some factors which can be conserved as important “factors Chinese tourists expect in hotel accommodation”
What Chinese look for in hotel accommodation:
- Free wifi
- China Union Pay
- Slippers
- Tea kettle
- Translated materials
- Chinese TV channels
- Chinese breakfast
- Mandarin-speaking staff
- Smoking room
- Mini bar cup noodles
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
Overall top 10 needs for the Chinese traveler:
- What destinations accept Union Pay?
- Where can I get a great Chinese massage?
- How far is China Town?
- Where can I find Chinese music or literature?
- What universities or colleges can I visit?
- Where can I exchange money?
- How far are the nearest shopping outlets?
- What networks work with my Chinese mobile?
- Where can I find delicious Chinese noodles?
- Do you know a babysitter that speaks Chinese?
When it comes to choosing hotels following are the factors which Chinese look at:
Top factors when choosing a hotel:
- Brand reputation 59%
- Location 56%
- Transportation 48%
- Service 41%
- Star rating system 32%
- View 25%
- Room size 23%
- Facility 20%
- Catering 20%
- Price 20%
Even professors in Australia are conducting research to understand the buying behaviour of Chinese tourists. According to Sam Huang, a lecturer at the University of South Australia, “Chinese tourists want to return home from overseas trips with luxury goods as a symbol of their wealth.”
This is a classic example of having better partnerships with industry and universities. The professors are closely networked and work with the industry and both parties are benefited on the one hand while uplifting the economy of the country on the other hand.
Maldives
It is really important to observe our neighboring countries such as Maldives and their strategies to attract Chinese tourists. According to “Maldives Monetary Authority's monthly economic review”, Maldives witnessed a six percent growth in tourist arrivals in March, helped by the continuous increase in Chinese arrivals. According to the Tourism Ministry, the Chinese market expanded by 24 percent with an additional 16,960 tourists, compared with the same period of 2013. Ministry statistics show that 331,719 Chinese tourists visited Maldives last year, which was a 44.5 percent increase from the previous year. Chinese tourists accounted for 29.5 percent of all tourist arrivals to the Maldives in 2013. The Maldivian economy is largely dependent on tourism. It accounted for 28 percent of the country's GDP on average in the past five years and generated 38 percent of the government revenue in 2012. With this data, it is clear that Maldives prioritizes the importance of Chinese tourists, for the growth of tourism.
Sri Lanka
What about Sri Lanka? According to records, tourist arrivals from China to Sri Lanka are also increasing. In July 2014, Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka have grown by 172.2 percent to 15,178 tourists. Meanwhile, within the first four months of this year, the number of Chinese tourists had increased to 67,408 which is a 144.2 percent increase.
More importantly, China remains the fastest growing market for the South East Asian island outstripping Indonesia at 76.9 percent and Russia, which grew at 74.8 percent when compared with the arrival numbers for the first six months of 2013.
Only 27,627 Chinese tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in 2012, but the numbers nearly doubled to 54,288 last year. We can see that the number will further increase this year as well. At present, Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities are organizing events to attract more tourists from China. If we compare Sri Lanka with Maldives, still we can see the difference with strategies. But the potential for attracting tourists from China is significant and it is imperative for Sri Lanka to analyze more on strategies of different countries.
Now we have the most important ‘peace dividend’ in Sri Lanka (renowned in ancient times as the ‘Pearl of the Indian ocean) equipped with more places to be seen, from mountains to beaches to cultural sites such as Anuradhapura, wild life parks to sports and entertainment as well. There is a need for better understanding of the country, its potentials, diverse expectation of tourists and world trends (through research etc.) For that, there should be a need for networking and tie-ups with global players to cope up with the expectations and to exploit the market. Then one might ask a question “Why we emphasize more on Chinese tourists?” The answer is simple. Because Chinese tourists spend more money and they are the future of world tourism.
