V ITOR R ODRIGUES AND Z ÉLIA B REDA
7.5. Conclusion
Despite its late start, Chinese outbound tourism has experienced dramatic growth since 2012, and has become the major tourist source market. This rapid increase was triggered by the liberalizing policies introduced by the government, the improvement of commercial relations with foreign countries, and the “massive” FDI, which has resulted in better economic and financial conditions for Chinese citizens; this, in turn, has stimulated domestic consumption.
This study has highlighted that the Chinese citizens who compose the outbound market are mostly middle-aged, highly-educated and, in general, hold high profile professional positions. Predominantly, Chinese tourists are from the most developed regions, are middle class, and have a great propensity to spend money on specific areas when travelling, such as shopping, accommodation, and food and beverage. The travel flows remain heavily concentrated on Asian countries and regions (representing almost 70% of the total), such as China’s Special Administrative Regions, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, although more experienced travellers are seeking new destinations, specifically European countries.
However, since only a small percentage of Chinese citizens have ever
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travelled, the near future will bring only minor changes, and the outbound market will continue to be dominated by ‘package tour participants’.
Despite these broad characteristics and future trends projections, destination management organisations should be aware of the new emergent niches, such as ‘backpackers’ and the senior segment, which represent new challenges.
The huge potential of this market has been sparking the interest of many destination countries, for instance in Europe. The size and constant transformation of the Chinese outbound market seems unlimited, and this extends the range of potentialities and dreams about the new advantages of
‘opening the door’ to Chinese tourists. This justifies the increase in Sino- European relationships, in which the tourism industry is a key factor. The continuous approach between the two “economic blocs” might produce positive effects, counteracting the effects of the global crisis.
Chinese companies are looking forward to new international investment opportunities, which could turn into big advantages for the chosen countries. Mentioning Portugal as an example, besides the ‘golden visa’ policy, the Portuguese authorities (as well as private companies) regard China as a major partner, and Chinese entrepreneurs see this as having great potential in terms of expanding and internationalising their businesses. The Chinese presence in Portugal extends through several economic sectors, such as energy, banking, and health and insurance, reflecting the intensification of the economic ties between the two countries (Leite, 2014). As recognised by Rodrigues (2013), business tourism has a significant role to play in business relations (and vice versa), both in acting as a stimulus but also in promoting the destination country’s image on the international scene. The potential advantages can be mutual if the players perform their respective duties effectively.
In order to tackle the enormous potential of this market, tourism stakeholders should take its specificities into consideration, so as to achieve satisfactory service results. Understanding the Chinese cultural background and its socio-demographic and travel profiles is halfway to success. Similar studies could contribute to this goal by providing knowledge and deep interpretation of a complex and in some ways underexplored topic.
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Notes
1 Arlt (2006, p.2) underlines that the tourism activity was considered a “wasteful, bourgeois practice”, before the ‘opening’ policies implemented in 1978.
2 ADS is a Chinese official system granted to countries which intend to host Chinese citizens. Basically, it is a bilateral agreement that designates a country as an official Chinese travel destination, allowing Chinese citizens to take there pleasure trips on group package tours.
3 Originally the ‘golden weeks’ encompassed three holiday weeks – May 1st (International Workers’ Day); October 1st (China National Day); January or February (Spring Festival – Chinese New Year) –, but reforms conducted in 2008 abolished the May 1st as a ‘golden week’, adding three traditional one-day holidays (Qingming Festival, Duanwu Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival).
4 It is important to highlight that the COT data refers to the number of border crossings and not the number of travellers. Therefore, it is imperative to understand, for example, that the 97 million border crossings in 2013 were not done, effectively, by 97 million different Chinese citizens.
5 In 2011, the US registered almost 1.1 million Chinese visitors, while 2014 predictions estimates that nearly 2.5 million Chinese travellers will visit the country (Attract China, 2014).
6 The independent travellers segment, besides being a more sophisticated one, preferring the convenience and enjoyment of direct flights, have a higher spending ability (Attract China, 2014).
7 Since 1960 till 2012, this economic indicator rose at an average rate of more than 80% per decade (Rodrigues, 2013).
8 They are often called ‘money-rich, time-poor’.
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9 Hong Mei, the first Chinese female to backpack across India, states that Chinese backpackers “seek a more experiential form of travel and cultural immersion”
(Cottrell, 2014).
10 The increase in travel experiences enhanced the interest of Chinese travellers in tasting local cuisine. But it is still important for destinations to have in consideration their need for Chinese food, in order to satisfy their requirements and provide a unique travel experience.
11 Visiting places with a great reputation and the ability to prove the experience (by taking photos or buying souvenirs, for example) is considered the “icing on the cake”. As more evidences they have, in order to impress family or colleagues, the better.