Leading experts discussed the significance of Chinese tourism as the main focus of talks at the recently concluded fourth edition of the International Congress on Asian Tourism on Tuesday, Nov. 24, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to the report, the two-day event was held to help find ways on how to attract Asian tourists. The speakers also discussed how the tourist industry in Spain and Europe, in wider scope, should adapt to Chinese clients.
Xu Jing, regional director for Asia and the Pacific at the World Tourism Organization (WTO), explained that Chinese tourists have different habits and culture from those of other societies, which implied different needs within the tourist sector, such as having hot water, free WiFi, or following certain protocol.
Xu also urged tourism services to use Chinese social media in promotion instead of Western social media channels, an opinion shared by Antonio Li, director of the Center for Tourism Promotion in China of the Tourism Catalan Agency.
Xu added that the free messaging and calling app WeChat was used by 570 million users, a testament to its popularity in Asia.
According to Li, Chinese tourism is significant for having a large number of visitors and a high spending in destinations. "It is the second-largest economy and the most highly populated country in the world," Li stressed.
Kevin Latham, a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, said that Africa now deals with the fastest growth of the Chinese market and outbound tourism is expected to reach between 130 and 135 million people, where 4.7 million are expected to go to Europe, which is "becoming increasingly important."
Latham explained that the reason for the surge was increasing wealth of China's middle class, the easing up of visa regulations, more direct flights, and the rise in the number of Chinese students studying abroad.
According to Latham, location is very important for Chinese visitors, who expect to visit more than one country when they travel to Europe. Familiarity and reputation are also factors that influence Chinese tourists when they make their travel choices.
In 2014, 289,000 Chinese visitors visited Spain, and according to Latham, this number is increasing as the European country expects 300,000 Chinese visitors this year. In Barcelona, the number of Chinese visitors in 2014 increased by 29 percent, higher compared with the previous year.