Chinese tourists flock to Thailand thanks to hit comedy film
After sending tourists flocking to Japan two years ago with a hit rom-com, Chinese film-makers now seem to have done a similar favour to Thailand.
The country has become the the top foreign destination for Chinese tourists during the current May Day holiday, thanks to Lost in Thailand, a low-budget road comedy turned box-office success. Continue reading »
Shanghai tourism: bird flu worries
The new strain of avian influenza, known as H7N9, which has killed 23 people in China, is also starting to take it’s toll on tourism in the Shanghai region.
There has been a noticeable decline in tourists since the outbreak of the bird flu in late March – at Shanghai Spring Tour, one of the city’s three largest travel agencies, the number of travellers to the city has slumped by around a third in late March and around a quarter in the first week of April. Continue reading »
Chinese travellers leave frugality at passport control
By James Kynge, principal of FT China Confidential
Frugality may be the new watchword of incoming President Xi Jinping, but while wealthy Chinese consumers may be cutting conspicuous consumption at home, they are spending ever-larger sums in ever-greater numbers abroad.
A recent survey by FT China Confidential shows the wealthiest 26 per cent of outbound tourists spent an average of Rmb32,628 ($5,241) on their most recent overseas trip, with shopping accounting for almost half the total spend (Rmb15,699).
Furthermore, this cohort of 21m travellers, which we expect to grow significantly in the coming years, plans to spend an average of Rmb43,770 ($7,032) on their next overseas trip this year, representing a 34 per cent increase on their most recent trip. Continue reading »
China: where shall we fly to next?
Given China’s increasing status as an economic power, it’s not surprising that more and more people are flying to the country. But it’s taken a while for new routes to open up, with much of the air traffic routed via the established centres of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. That seems to be changing.
British Airways announced on Wednesday that it will next year start flying from Heathrow to Chengdu – one of China’s growing inland centres, and Finnair announced on Thursday that it will be the first airline to connect Europe and Xi’an, another large interior city, flying three times per week from Helsinki. Continue reading »
China hotels: less is more?
With all the new purportedly top-quality hotels popping up in China, what’s the guarantee of service and taste? Very little, according to Clement Kwok, the chief executive of Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels, which is placing an emphasis on quality over quantity.
Kwok criticised the star-rating system, as well as the rapid hotel expansion in China and other emerging markets by competitors during a media lunch at the company’s flagship Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. Continue reading »
Zimbabwe tourism: putting Mugabe’s house on the map?
Victoria Falls
Having survived a decade of national economic meltdown, Zimbabwe’s tourism sector is working at getting back on the world map. On Thursday its premier travel and tourism event Sanganai/Hlanganani kicks off in Harare, with officials reporting an increase in the number of foreign exhibitors from 24 in 2011 to 85 this year.
The big boost is from Chinese exhibitors, reflecting the marketing push to attract vistors from Asia. But will adding Robert Mugabe’s old residence to the tourist trail help? Continue reading »
China: toll charge holiday brings monster traffic jams – and internet debate
The Chinese government’s decision to suspend toll charges during the current eight-day autumn holiday has generated huge traffic jams – and an internet debate about what to do about them.
In the free-market camp, are those who argue that far from scrapping tolls, the authorities should have raised them to produce manageable flows on some of the busiest days of the year.
Nonsense, reply the socialists, the government should have gone further and extended the toll-free travel from passengers to long-distance buses, to benefit poorer Chinese. Continue reading »
[video] Putting the cash into kung fu
Jamil Anderlini visits the Shaolin Temple in central Henan and meets the chief abbot, also known as the ‘CEO monk’. With over 2m visitors per year, the temple has become one of China’s strongest cultural brands.
China’s travellers keep on moving
China’s economic slowdown has yet to effect Chinese tourists: the rise in Chinese foreign travel shows no sign of slowing.
According to the official ministry statistics, 38.6m mainland Chinese citizens travelled abroad in the first half of 2012. That’s up just shy of 20 per cent from the corresponding period in 2011. Continue reading »
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