Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Chinese tourists passed Russians as the highest-spending non European tourists to visit France

When may of the folks I know visit the US they want to go to Niagara Falls, Disneyworld and New York. As the economy changes travel patterns will change and more Asian countries will encourage their citizens to visit other countries.



This Economist article talks about the places that Chinese are flocking to see in Europe and not necessarily the ones that the locals think are popular. Mount Titlis in Lucerne Switzerland, Kings College Cambridge.



Strangely UK does not get many of these tourists since UK is not part of the border-free Schengen zone and it's a nightmare for Chinese tourists to get visas to any European country.



Enjoy reading the Economist article.

Amplify’d from www.economist.com

China’s tourists are carving out a new European itinerary, with some unexpected stops

When the bamboo curtain lifted a generation ago, the first contact many Chinese had with the outside world was in the form of imported goods, whose foreign fame was viewed as intrinsic proof of quality. Even today, seen from a Chinese tour bus, the continent of Europe resembles not so much an ancient collection of cities and nations as a glittering emporium stocked with brands. Those brands are not always commercial products: the grand tour takes in the birthplaces of world-famous people, the seats of globally renowned institutions and—as in Cambridge—sites linked to well-known literary works.

A stop in Metzingen involves a tribute to another German, the suitmaker Hugo Boss. A short drive from Frankfurt, Metzingen is home to several factory outlets, where Chinese shoppers vie with Russians and Indians as the biggest spenders. It is a standing joke among Chinese travellers that many products snapped up abroad bear “Made in China” labels. But there is some sense to this seeming madness. Thanks to hefty taxes and customs duties, European brands are routinely 40% more expensive back home. In China they are also quite likely to be fakes.

Read more at www.economist.com
 

No comments: