The third phase of China`s Outbound Tourism by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt

Already in its opening paragraph, the Analects, the most important collection of Confucius’ writings, contain the statement ‘Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?’ Also ‘Travelling for one thousand Li equals reading ten thousand volumes of books’ has been a commonly accepted truth for many centuries in China.

The opportunity to travel to foreign countries as a tourist has however become available for citizens of the People’s Republic of China only very recently. Not before the start of the new millennium reached the number of Chinese outbound travels more then 10 million and even in 2006 less then 3% of all Mainland Chinese will have crossed a border. The idea of international, especially intercontinental, travel as a way to enhance the personal status and as a way to broaden ones’ perspectives has however taken firm roots in the mind of the more affluent Chinese consumers.

China is already the largest domestic tourism market in the world by numbers of travellers, but more importantly also already the biggest touristical source market in Asia. Mainland Chinese tourists are the sixth biggest spenders in international tourism. If the ardent travellers from Hong Kong and Taiwan are added, Chinese tourists are even on the fourth position, beaten only by Germans, US-Americans and the British.

Tourism destinations around the world try to understand the development of the Chinese Outbound Tourism market, the motivations and behaviours of Chinese tourists and consequently to adopt their offers and marketing strategies to fit with this newly emerging market. This is especially true in Europe, where the first wave of enthusiasm and over-optimistic expectations at the beginning of the decade have given way to a more realistic view not only on the chances this source market offers but also on the tasks for the destination to be fulfilled to be able to let these chances become a sustainable reality.

The text will try to give some insights into the position of Chinese outbound tourism within the global tourism development and into the recent history of outbound mobility especially to Europe. Some remarks about the likely development in coming years will be added.

The text is based on the personal experiences of the author who ran an incoming agency for Chinese visitors to Europe in the 1990s and has as a consultant been helping destinations and companies in attracting Chinese tourists, as well as the scientific research of the author as professor for tourism economics at the University of Applied Sciences in Stralsund (Germany) and as director of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (Berlin). His english-language book ‘China’s Outbound Tourism’, published with Routledge (Oxford) in 2006, is seen by many as the seminal publication on this topic. He is the organizer of the annual Chinese Tourists Welcoming Award and of the conference program during the COTTM China Outbound Travel and Tourism Mart in Beijing in May 2007.

The Association of Venetian Hoteliers (Associazione Veneziana Albergatori) will also present Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt with the Alvise Maschietto price for the best tourism expert of the year on Dec. 1st in Venice during the conference China tourism: Myth and Reality.

You can contact Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt at:

wolfgang.arlt@fh-stralsund.de

www.china-outbound.com