Opinion | Can China improve its image to foreign travellers who are put off by internet, visa and payment issues?
- James Liang, the chairman of Chinese travel services provider Ctrip, says China needs to narrow its US$200 billion deficit in tourism
- As many as 140 million Chinese citizens travel abroad every year spending US$250 billion but China is lagging behind in attracting overseas tourists
The recent frenzied discussions about China’s engagement with the world tend to focus on trade tariffs and technology transfers, but one area where China consistently underperforms compared to other nations continues to be overlooked – attracting overseas tourists.
The dramatic growth in Chinese citizens travelling overseas is a well-known phenomenon across the globe. As many as 140 million tourists from China choose to holiday and contribute to the economies in foreign countries every year, and this number is growing fast.
But despite China’s status as a country with immense potential for tourism, boasting a plethora of natural wonders and steeped in millennia of cultural heritage, this trend does not hold true for foreigners visiting China.
When we exclude tourists from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan from China’s 139 million inbound tourists in 2018, China only receives around 30 million foreign visitors per year, and this growth is not showing any signs of accelerating.
Consequently, China’s annual inbound tourism revenue only amounts to US$50 billion, compared to the whopping US$250 billion spent by Chinese tourists travelling abroad, generating a “tourism trade deficit” of US$200 billion.
