U.K.'s Savile Row is now known to Chinese visitors as the “Tall, Rich, Handsome Street.” (Photo : www.gq-magazine.co.uk)
The United Kingdom has finally revealed on Monday the Mandarin names for their tourist attractions in a bid to attract more visitors from China.
According to the Financial Times, Chinese translations of some of the western country's tourist attractions indicated in the 101 British tourist attractions is a major tourism campaign that aims to elevate tourist visits from China.
Among these translations include Gaofushuai Jie (literally meaning "Tall, Rich, Handsome Street"), which is assigned to London's Savile Row; Zhaixing Ta (which means "Star Plucking Tower") for the soaring Shard building; and Gaoyuan Yongshi Dahui (literally means the "Strongman Skirt Party") for the kilt-wearing Scotland's Highland Games.
"China is a different country with a different language and British names don't mean anything to Chinese necessarily. This (campaign) creates names that actually bring to life what the attractions are. We need to bring out the warmth and the welcome, which is so important to Chinese visitors," VisitBritain head of overseas operations Robin Johnson explained.
According to a report from China Daily, this initiative from VisitBritain, the country's tourism agency, to create these "Chinese-friendly" translations is made to attract "more high-spending Chinese visitors."
Chinese tourists who visit the Great Britain spend an average of 2,508 pounds ($3,870) per visit as compared to the 640-pound average for all other tourists.
Through this campaign, VisitBritain aims to improve revenue from Chinese tourists from the 492 million pounds in 2013 up to 1 billion pounds every year by 2020.
VisitBritain was able to gather 13,000 suggestions from Chinese people who showed their creativity by voting their chosen translations over the tourism agency's website for the past 10 weeks.
