Wednesday, August 3, 2016
By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribuneedia.net
CHINA represents a new “source market” for tourism-dependent economies like the Bahamas, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) suggesting that many changes and investments would have to be made to capture more of this market.
An IDB paper by Mark D Wenner and Dillon Clarke released last month on the “Chinese Rise in the Caribbean; What Does It Mean for Caribbean Stakeholders?” noted that there is a clear opportunity for tourism-dependent economies such as the Bahamas to capitalise on the Chinese tourist market. It is estimated that in 2014, 117 million outbound Chinese tourists spent nearly $500 billion, with leading destinations being Hong Kong, Macau, the United States and France. The number of Chinese tourists is expected to double by 2020.
The main constraints on Chinese tourism outside Asia are said to be the cost of long-haul travel and the limited amount of vacation time the typical Chinese worker is entitled to in the year.
“To date, the typical Chinese tourist has tended to economise on food and accommodation and splurge on the purchase of luxury goods. However, shifts in tastes and expenditure patterns are emerging,” the report noted. Higher income Chinese households earning 350,000 Rmb per year,
(US$56,402), are said to be spending more on entertainment and experiences.
“An opportunity clearly exists for Caribbean tourism-dependent economies to target this higher income bracket, those who may be seeking different experiences and opportunities to explore far-flung and exotic cultures,” the report stated.
It was noted that: “For the Caribbean to capture more of the Chinese market, many changes and investments would have to be made - streamlined or visa exemptions for Chinese nationals, more five-star hotel properties, better personal and property security, more offering of Chinese cuisine, hiring of Mandarin and Cantonese speakers as staff and tour operators, sensitising staff and tour operators to Chinese cultural proclivities and differences, developing marketing materials and signage in Mandarin language, offering more price-competitive shopping experiences and establishing more airlift connections.”
Comments
banker says...
As usual, the report is pie-in-the-sky. Just because 117 million outbound Chinese tourists spent nearly $500 billion in 2014, the faulty assumption is that the pie is big enough for us to get a piece of.
Here is some stuff from my Bloomberg terminal:
If you do any sort of in-depth analysis, most of the tourists go to ASEAN +6 Countries. Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam-- Hong Kong is part of China, but it is the 4th largest destination for outbound Chinese tourists ).
The top destination for Chinese tourism is South Korea. It is close (remember the Chinese do not get a lot of time off work), and it has access to the luxury goods that the Chinese tourists want. 64% were women. Fond of shopping, countries producing high-quality goods attracted them a lot. Outbound tourists aged between 25 and 34 became the largest outbound tour group, indicating a younger average age. We do not attract young tourists.
The Chinese are not attracted to the beach culture. It is a uniquely North American and English European thing.
There is a huge difference in the way Chinese travel between the richer Chinese and the poorer Chinese. Less affluent Chinese use travel agencies and buy package deals. Obviously these Chinese are not shopping for luxury goods. Here is where they go:
1. Thailand (15%)
2. Hong Kong (13%)
3. South Korea (12%)
4. Japan (11%)
5. Taiwan (8%)
6. Macau (7%)
7. Singapore (4%)
8. Vietnam (3%)
9. Malaysia (3%)
10. Indonesia (2%)
Meanwhile, more affluent Chinese with money have different travel patterns. Their destinations include some European countries:
Top 10 Outbound Destinations for Chinese Tourists not in packages:
1. South Korea
2. Taiwan
3. Japan
4. Hong Kong
5. Thailand
6. France
7. Italy
8. Switzerland
9. Macau
10. Germany
Notice France, Italy, Switzerland & Germany in the mix.
There is no way in hell, that Chinese tourists will be lured to Nassau when we have to compete with France, Italy, Switzerland & Germany. Notice there is not one sun, sand, sea destination.
These IDB authors who wrote this, obviously didn't do their research deeply enough into the motivations of the Chinese tourists, or indeed the motivation of China to come to the Caribbean. It is solely to counter the geo-political influence of America on Caribbean countries, and it worked. Crisco Butt and the PLP are now Chinese lackies, totally indebted to them and in their thrall and to boot, the Chinese are generally racist towards Blacks.
Bottom line, the only Chinese tourists here, are the ones working without work permits. And The Pointe is not going to open in 2017 as promised. Another late project from our wonderful Chinese friends.
Posted 3 August 2016, 7:48 p.m. Suggest removal
Socrates says...
banker is absolutely correct.. the chinese like Asia, USA and Europe... if we could get 200 a year we would be lucky.. hell we cant get english people and other Europeans here and they are only 8 hours away.. add in our xenophobia and who will you get to speak Mandarin and Cantonese.. those D- folks eont cut it... dream on...
Posted 10 August 2016, 11:23 a.m. Suggest removal
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