Visa rules still hamper Chinese tourists - Roy Graff

Roy Graff

Tourist offices worldwide compete to get more heavy-spending Chinese to their countries, but strict visa rules remain the no.1 barrier on the road for traveling Chinese, writes hospitality specialist Roy Graff in ChinaContact. But things are getting better.

Roy Graff:

As previous projections on the development of Chinese outbound tourism by UN-WTO, WTTC and others are rendered obsolete by even better than expected growth statistics, many destinations want to become the next ‘hot spot’ for Chinese to visit and spend their cash. 

Since other traditional markets for many destinations have slowed or gone into decline due to economic woes, the Chinese market is now seen as a potential bonanza for travel suppliers and retailers. But not all is as it seems and not each and every destination in the world would be able to benefit in the short term. Beyond objective challenges such as distance and cost of living are the political circumstances that affect both the ability of a destination to market itself in China and capability of Chinese to obtain visitor visas. 

We have noticed that in recent weeks several countries and regions are trying to address visa restrictions for Chinese and other BRIC markets in order to be more inviting.

More in ChinaContact, with news from Australia, Europe, New Zealand and the UK.

Roy Graff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.  

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