Due to rapid economics growth in China, the average standard living has been improved dramatically. Traveling has become the new popular ways of leisure, which people previously couldn’t afford. It is critical to look at Chinese’ travel pattern and capture this market in time.
A study said that “China is poised to become the world’s second-largest tourism market in the next two years. Chinese consumers, thanks to rising incomes and a bustling economy, are powering a travel boom that’s set to catapult China’s tourism market past Japan’s by 2020, the study says. According to BCG’s projections, China’s combined domestic and international tourism revenues are expected to increase 14% annually for the next 9 years — creating a 5.5 trillion-yuan, or roughly $838 billion, tourism market, up from 1.5 trillion yuan last year – with revenues from outbound Chinese tourism alone expected to grow a whopping 381% over that span.”
However, there is a big problem: few companies in or outside the country have equipped themselves to cater to the huge crowds of Chinese travellers. For example, many hotels and restaurants fail to use Chinese characters on signs and menus which are simple gestures that would help them attract China’s international travelers and keep them coming back.
I come from China and I know that Chinese travellers have many differences with other countries’. Chinese rely heavily on travel agents and tour packages and they tend to stick to hotel names they know and restaurants they’ve heard of. If the hotels and restaurants companies can do more advertising in China, they will attract more Chinese travellers. And unlike Western travelers, who think of staying in a hotel as an experience unto itself, Chinese typically see hotels as a place to sleep for the night. So the convenience to other resorts is a very important consideration.
If the hotels or restaurants hire Chinese-speaking staff to help them cater to Chinese travellers, they will be bring the Chinese tourists some homely feeling and of course will attract more Chinese to come in. http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/03/31/study-prepare-for-the-arrival-of-chinese-tourists/?KEYWORDS=hotels
It is interesting to consider the fact that tourism is only becoming significantly relevant to the country now. While I know that there are different languages in China, it is hard for me to grasp the idea that people in the same country may have difficulty communicating with one another. Of course, a lot of the tourism that China will receive will be from other countries like the United States. It believe that it will be more important for the Chinese restaurants and hotels to adapt to suit and attract people from other countries. Previously, hotel and restaurant use was generally domestic, but within the next 10 years or so, it seems as though we will notice a dramatic shift in the tourism industry in China, which includes Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure.
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