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If you have any plans to travel to China, you should get a move on, because it’s getting more expensive every day to be a tourist in the Middle Kingdom. Chinese media last week reported that some of the country’s most famous tourist sites are prepping major ticket-price hikes as part of a three-year government-led price review. Tickets for Taierzhuang, the site of a 1938 military victory over Japan, are set to jump by 60% to $25. As recently as 2008, admission to the battle site was completely free. The changes have rankled Chinese tourists, who are becoming increasingly vocal about what they call a rip-off culture in the industry.

Domestic tourism has taken off in China in recent years, as disposable income levels have risen dramatically. According to the China Tourism Academy, Chinese tourists took a collective 2.6 billion trips in 2011. Along the way, most domestic travelers have grown accustomed to some level of price gouging. Being dragged for hours through the gift shop at the local jade factory, or being forced to admire endless strings of pearls, is wearingly common for tour groups. But many now worry that the gouging is getting worse — and they are taking to the Internet to fight back.

One disgruntled traveler, Luo Di, created a media storm earlier this year when he posted a story on his Sina Weibo microblog about a friend’s holiday experience on the island of Hainan. At an ordinary seaside restaurant, the friend had enjoyed a simple three-course seafood meal. The bill came to more than $600 — a small fortune in this relatively poor region of the country. Luo’s tale quickly went viral as many other Weibo users chimed in with their own experience of being fleeced while on holiday in China. One Weibo user, using the name Heirenguanghui, posted a receipt showing a seven-course seafood meal that cost $1,500.

According to domestic tour agents, the cost of domestic travel is indeed rising rapidly. “This Chinese New Year, tour-package prices went up by 15% to 20%,” said Xu Xin, manager of the domestic-tourism department at the Beijing headquarters of China Travel Service, one of China’s leading tourist agencies. “This is very unusual for this time of year — normally prices stay stable from year to year, but this year we’ve seen the cost of transportation, hotels and tickets for places of interest rising significantly across the country.”

More than 14 million tourists each year flock to the frigid northern city of Harbin for the annual Ice Festival, one of China’s most popular winter tourist attractions. Visitors endure Siberian weather conditions to see its renowned ice-and-snow sculptures, contributing an estimated $1.4 billion to the local economy, according to provincial authorities. But a trip to the festival does not come cheap. Tickets for Ice World, a 60-hectare (150 acre) ice-sculpture park and the festival’s most famous destination, cost almost $50 each — nearly twice as much as the entrance fee to Rome’s Colosseum and almost two-thirds of an entrance ticket to Disney World in Florida. On a recent family visit to Harbin, this reporter spent close to $200 per person on local transport and tickets to the Ice Festival’s top three spots. Add in accommodation and food, and the total outlay for the three-person trip came to almost $800. By comparison, the average monthly income in Harbin is less than $300, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

While many of China’s emerging tourist class are relatively new to the game, experienced travelers who have spent some time overseas are often disappointed by the travel options at home. “The domestic tourist market is just too unstandardized, especially when you compare it to the international market,” says Fan Di, a well-traveled young Beijing woman who spends one or two months every year on the road. “You can’t trust anybody but yourself when you travel here, you can only depend on yourself and your own judgment or else you get ripped off.” Fan spends most of her holiday time outside China, having recently returned from a trip to Burma. “I just don’t go to the famous attractions in China; it’s never worth it,” she says.

Despite tourist grumbles growing louder, change may be slow in coming. When Luo’s story first emerged, Hainan officials at first bristled at the accusation. An official with the local government quoted by local media strenuously denied that any tourists had ever been ripped off on the island and promised to take legal action against any “malicious attackers” who made claims to the contrary. Within 24 hours, however, local authorities were forced into an embarrassing reversal. Deluged with complaints of overcharging from thousands of disgruntled tourists who reported similar experiences to that of Luo’s friend, the authorities issued a fine of nearly $80,000 to the restaurant involved and announced a “zero-tolerance policy” toward local businesses that ripped off tourists. Said Lu Zhiyuan, director of the Hainan Tourism Development Committee: “We will not let one rotten apple ruin the whole barrel.”

May 11, 2012

Chinese mainland travel agencies have stopped sending tour groups to the Philippines due to concerns for tourists’ safety.

Some Web users called on tourists to boycott the island country, which has famous island destinations such as Boracay and Cebu.

China CYTS Tours Holding Co, a major travel service provider on the mainland, said that chartered direct flights between Beijing and Boracay Island every five days will be suspended starting on Sunday.

On Thursday, a Philippine Airlines flight scheduled to leave Beijing at 1:50 am for Manila was canceled, according to a notice on the Beijing Capital International Airport’s website, which did not give a reason.

Two other flights to the Philippines on Thursday departed as planned. In various statements, CYTS and other major travel agencies – in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou – said they have stopped sending tour groups to the Philippines.

Those who have already paid for the Philippines-bound tours will get a full refund including the visa fee, they said.

Lin Wenzhen, manager of outbound travel in the Asia-Pacific region at the Fujian branch of China Travel Service, said travel agencies had taken spontaneous action out to consideration for tourists’ safety.

“Although the national tourism authority has not yet banned Philippine-bound tourism, we have adopted this proactive approach to prevent high risks to travel safety in the country,” she said.

The Chinese embassy in the Philippines issued a safety alert on Wednesday, saying “massive anti-China demonstrations” are about to be held within days, and Chinese nationals are advised to be alert and avoid going out.

Dao Shuming, head of the Shanghai tourism bureau, said on Thursday that travel agencies on the Philippines told mainland counterparts that Chinese tourists should avoid going there for now because it could be unsafe for them in the Philippines.

Travel agencies will incur some losses because of the suspended business, industry insiders said.

Ge Lei, marketing manager with CYTS, said that the company will take some losses from refunds on visa fees to more than 100 tourists who booked tours to Boracay.

But industry insiders said the Philippines will lose an important source of tourists. China surpassed Japan in January to become the third-largest tourist source for the Philippines.

Travel agencies now recommend tourists go to substitute destinations in Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, which are considered much safer, Lin, of China Travel Service, said.

Lin said recent incidents will further dampen the Philippines’ popularity with Chinese tourists, which was already declining since the bloody hostage-taking incident on a hijacked bus in Manila in 2010 in which six tourists from Hong Kong were killed.

On Thursday, many netizens voiced support for proposals that called on tourists to not visit the Philippines.

“Though I recommended Boracay before, I have to say now, please, give up the idea of going there,” said a netizen called “Xingzou40guo”, who claims to be a traveler and writer with more than 240,000 followers at Sina Weibo, China’s most popular micro blog service.

“It is not just about safety. More important, we must show our attitude! If you really like beaches, go to friendly places such as Fiji Islands, Vanuatu, and Maldives,” he said.

How many Chinese tourists are now in the Philippines is not known. Ge with CYTS said the company keeps contact with 16 Chinese tourists in Boracay, and so far their itineraries have not been interrupted by the Huangyan Island tensions.

Shanghai tourism bureau chief Dao Shuming said there are 497 Shanghai tourists in the Philippines now.

“I hope they will come back as soon as possible,” he said. Tan Zongyang in Xiamen, Fujian province, and Shi Yingying in Shanghai contributed to this story.

Understanding the potential of China’s outbound tourism is now made easy by authoritative new publication which is also available as a free e-book download

BEIJING,  May 8, 2012 – A new travel industry book will make it easier for businesses to understand China’s consumers, particularly their travel preferences and the latest social, economic and digital trends in a highly complex, fast-moving market.

The “Essential China Travel Trends Guide – 2012 Year of the Dragon Edition,” includes articles on Outbound Tourism, Luxury Travel, Tour Operation, Chinese Consumers, Customer Satisfaction, Internet and Social Media, Mobile Marketing, Hotel Regulation, Hotel Profitability, MICE, Green Tourism, Aviation, Human Resources, and Emerging Cities.

The publication was published by ChinaTravelTrends.com, and produced by Dragon Trail Interactive (www.dragontrail.com) in collaboration with COTRI (www.china-outbound.com) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (www.pata.org). Its authors include experts from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), the China Tourism Academy, Dragon Trail, the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, PATA China, Horwath HTL, Jones Lang LaSalle, UBM Aviation, GreenEarth.travel, Vari Arts Travel Group, TUI China, World Travel Monitor, Hurun Report, and Portfolio.

“The guide is designed to de-mystify some of the trends and issues international travel companies face when entering the Chinese market and looking to attract Chinese consumers,”, said Jens Thraenhart, publisher of China Travel Trends, co-founder of Dragon Trail, and Chair of PATA China and the PATA Technology Innovation Council.

The 2012 Dragon Edition follows on from the acclaimed first edition of the “Essential China Travel Trends Guide – 2010 Year of the Tiger Edition”. The 2012 edition is endorsed by leading travel authorities such as CNTA, UNWTO, WTTC, PATA, IATA, IH-RA, DMAI, HSMAI, ATME, HFTP, IFITT, ETC, AH&LA, MTCO, ATTA, and ICTP.

Michael Gehrisch, CEO of the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) writes in the book: “This guide gives an in depth look at the shift of China travel trends, and how DMOs and travel companies can use these trends while developing and executing strategies for the various segments and different demographics.”

In his preface of the booklet, Mr Zhu Shanzhong, Vice Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), writes: “Tourism is playing a major role in driving the national economy while enhancing friendship between China and the world. The booklet helps to promote an in-depth understanding of China’s latest tourism trends.”

According to Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), “China is expected to become the leading international tourism destination and the fourth largest outbound market in the next decade. China has become a leading example for many countries around the world in upgrading its tourism.”

Tony Tyler, CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) points out that by 2015, one out of every seven journeys by air will be related to China.

The “Essential China Travel Trends – Dragon Edition” e-book is available for exclusive download at www.ChinaTravelTrendsBook.com, and the print book will be available for sale via the PATA e-Store from June 1 at a price of €25, as well as at tourism events worldwide. Part of the profit supports the “Save the Panda” initiative. Readers are encouraged to donate via the book website.

The new book was formally launched at the 24th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Asia Pacific in Chiang Mai, Thailand on May 4, which was attended by senior tourism officials and ministers from 19 Asian countries, who received a print pre-view copy.

Martin Craigs, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said: “China is fast moving, ever changing, and very complex. Its online digital landscape is dominated by domestic social media brands that attract over 500 million Internet users. The new publication offers invaluable insights. It will help build companies’ businesses that wish to benefit from high-spending Chinese tourists.”

For more information about the “Essential China Travel Trends Guide – 2012 Dragon Edition”, and for free e-book download, please visit www.ChinaTravelTrendsBook.com.

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Media queries:
Email: book@chinatraveltrends.com
Website: www.ChinaTravelTrends.com

About CHINA TRAVEL TRENDS

ChinaTravelTrends.com is an English language, one-stop resource website and community focused on Outbound Tourism, Social Media and Digital Marketing in China. Chinatraveltrends.com aims at giving international travel and tourism organizations insights about the complexity of the China travel market and its online landscape. China Travel Trends has an online community of nearly 1,000 tourism industry professionals interested in the Chinese travel market, organizes educational seminars in partnership with events, travel companies, and tourist boards, and publishes the “Essential Guide to China Travel Trends”.

China Travel Trends is published in partnership with Dragon Trail and COTRI. For more information, please visit www.ChinaTravelTrends.com. Follow China Travel Trends on Twitter at @cnTravelTrends, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ChinaTravelTrends, and LinkedIn

DUBAI – Dubai registered in 2012 a 27- percent increase in the number of hotel guests from China, the sheikhdom’s promotional arm Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealed Sunday.

Speaking at a media briefing on the occasion of the largest Middle Eastern tourism fair Arabian Travel Market (ATM), Saleh Al Geziry, director of DTCM’s overseas promotion and inward missions, told Xinhua that “Dubai hotels registered in 2012 a total of 193, 000 stays of Chinese nationals, representing a 27-percent increase compared to the previous year.”

The number of Chinese people staying in Dubai was higher in reality as 200,000 citizens from China stay at the homes of their family members or friends in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Mark Walsh, group exhibition director of the five-day travel fair ATM, which will kick off Monday, said that the number of Chinese travel agents visiting the congress rises every year. ” This year we have a total of 2,400 exhibitors, a 7-percent increase to 2011, and 83 new companies,” Walsh said, a total of 9. 3 million tourists visited Dubai last year.

Al Geziry said, “What we witness here is a tourism spring after sluggish years in the wake of the global crisis.”

“The Chinese market is important to Dubai. Since both sides, the UAE and China, liberated their bilateral visa policy in September 2009, the DTCM has regularly presented Dubai as a holiday destination in major Chinese cities, and the immense response speaks for itself,” said Al Geziry.

Most popular hotel destinations among Chinese travellers are the seven-star hotel Burj Al Arab, the 1537-room luxury resort Atlantis The Palm and the Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel, which is operated by the Swiss hospitality group M venpick.

“Chinese guests are meanwhile the third largest group in our hotels,” said Yasmine Hidalgo, public relations manager at the Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel, “They like the proximity to the Ibn Battuta shopping mall and of course our Chinese restaurant Shangai Chic. Our visitors from China like the sun, beach and lifestyle of Dubai, but at the same time they also like to feel at home.”

SOURCE: China Daily

China’s high-end travel market might enter an industrialized and standardized era after two influential companies in the fields established a partnership on Saturday.

Ctrip.com, China’s largest online travel service provider which has 41.6 percent of market share in terms of sales revenue in 2011, is stretching its arms to high-end travel market by cooperating with Life TM Group, one of China’s top luxury service providers.

As part of the deal, Ctrip will invest into the travel sector of TM Group to form a new company, hhtravel.com, with a focus on high-end travel package.

“The high-end travel market is undoubtedly a gold mine in China with the enlarging group of rich people,” said Fan Min, CEO of Ctrip.

In March, Ctrip launched its around-the-world-in-80-days travel package which cost 1.01 million yuan. Fifteen vacancies were filled up within 17 seconds after the launch on the web.

In addition to the new firm, Ctrip announced a new world travel package of 50 days, which will set off on Jan 23, 2013.

Fan said TM Group’s broad client sources, combined with Ctrip’s experience in travel market, can generate the most competitive players in China’s high-end travel market.

Guo Ming, CEO of the Trip TM, said that the cooperation is aimed at establish an industrialized and standardized market for high-end travel.

“It will focus on providing a travel platform for people who have a high income and a willingness to experience more elite services during their travel,” he said.

According to reports, China has over 2.7 million people with personal assets of more than six million yuan. Sixty percent of them are willing to choose luxury travel.

Source:

China Daily (April 29, 2012)