Nearly ten thousands Beijing tourists headed to Europe during the so called “Golden Week” of the National Day Holidays…
Nearly ten thousands Beijing tourists headed to Europe during the so called “Golden Week” of the National Day Holidays this year (1-5 October), proving once again that Beijing became the centre of Chinese outbound travel.
Germany, France, Northern European Countries and Portugal came at the top of the Beijingers’ preference list, but package tours, which allow visiting 15 countries in 10 days, are also very popular. But it’s quality – not quantity that matters most. Beijingers are becoming more and more demanding. They are not satisfied with the tours that score points on the number of countries visited rather than on the quality of services. They are happy to pay over $2,000 each for good food, relaxed schedule and luxury accommodation.
Yang Li, a white-collar of a state-owned foreign trade company in Beijing have travelled to Europe with her 12-year-old daughter this autumn: “ I liked the tranquil environments of the small Swiss towns, but our schedule in Italy and France was a bit too tight. Next time I will make sure I have more time to visit local museums, cathedrals and other sites.”
19% of Chinese chose to travel during the National Day Holidays and most of them were Beijingers.
Keith Beecham, VisitBritain’s regional manager for Asia names China as one of the key markets with good potential for growth: “Currently there is a lot of excitement about the new tourism markets that are emerging and developing in Asia. China is developing very good growth for us.”
Switzerland, that has recently gained Approved Destination Status from the Chinese authorities, is looking into the future with optimism too. Switzerland Tourism is predicting that the number of nights Chinese spend in Swiss hotels will treble by 2007, putting them second only to the Japanese travellers.
So, it’s all good news for the European countries. Chinese travellers are prepared to spend more money and the number of Chinese visiting Europe is growing dramatically. It’s a good investment into the future too, as many Chinese come to Europe in attempt to learn more about places where their children may get a higher education. So the next generation of Chinese could easily become true Europhiles.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
