Chinese tourists go abroad not just for shopping, but also for better experiences

As the Japanese word “Bakugai” (explosively shopping) was chosen as the buzzword of 2015 recently, the shopping frenzy of Chinese tourists has become a global phenomenon. Tourists from China are pouring into various destinations around the world and spending their money on luxury products which cost less in foreign countries than in China. Therefore, it seems reasonable to deduce that Chinese tourists simply go abroad for shopping and pay little attention to the travelling experience. However, that is not really the case.

According to the Chinese news website CNR, Chinese tourists do not merely put their focus on shopping while travelling abroad. They also value the better experience they acquire in the foreign countries. China is actually a country with abundant travel resources, due to its long history and picturesque landscape. However, its poor administration and maintenance of the travel destinations are steadily destroying the confidence of its domestic visitors. Many travel destinations in China and the personals working in the tourism field are trying to make as much money as possible from their customers while not providing better services for them. In order to make more money out of tourists, many are applying measures that swindle money from their customers and thereby totally ruin their travel experiences. Recently, a conflict between a customer and the restaurant in the coastal city Qingdao aroused deep discussions throughout the country. A tourist visited a seafood restaurant in Qingdao and ordered a dish of fresh prawns. On the menu the dish costed CNY 38. However, he was told when he received the bill that the dish of prawns actually costed more than CNY 1,500, as the price of CNY 38 was only the price of one single prawn. The customer called the police, which failed to help. Eventually, the customer was forced to pay the bill. This event led to widespread criticism of the tourism environment in China and pushed more potential tourists to travel abroad.

On the contrary, travelling abroad proves to be much safer. For Chinese tourists, they spend the same sum of money abroad while receiving better services and travel experiences. Thus, although the travelling abroad is not as convenient as travelling in China, many tourists still choose to leave the country for their vacation, because they can gain more pleasure by spending money in foreign countries. This trend reflects the fact that Chinese tourists do not just value their shopping experience, but also whether they receive satisfying services. For now, the swindling travel atmosphere in China is still driving their customers outside and measures against this trend are yet to be taken, which creates opportunities for foreign travel markets. If these markets succeed in providing better and safer travel experience for their Chinese consumers, they may be able to attract more Chinese tourists in the future.

Source: CNR

Photo: flickr