COTRI’s Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Arlt Discusses the Swelling Number of Chinese Tourists in Italy with China Daily

COTRI Director Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Arlt was interviewed in a recent China Daily article regarding the current status of Italy as a destination for Chinese outbound tourists. The English-language article, titled “Fashion and culture draw Chinese tourists to Italy”, discusses the attraction of Italy’s combination of history, culture, art, romance, fashion and luxury shopping for Chinese outbound tourists.

Benefitting greatly from the draw of the 2015 Milan World Expo, the Mediterranean country attracted 3.3 million arrivals from China, representing a 45 percent year-on-year increase compared with 2014’s figures. Accordingly, Chinese outbound tourists are now counted amongst the top 5 source markets for inbound tourists to Italy, coming after the likes of Germany, the United States and France.

Professor Arlt commented that the country strong growth trend looks set to continue in 2016, in light of reports from Chinese tour operators and Italian host companies that there has been a “sudden surge” in Chinese arrivals to Italy in recent months following high-profile terror attacks in France, Germany and Belgium.

Nevertheless, the COTRI Director suggested that a long-term shift may not necessary follow, emphasising that “memories are short” and furthering: “there have been terrorist attacks on trains and subway in Spain and London, nobody remembers anymore. I think travellers will come to the conclusion that some risk is everywhere, so it does not matter where they travel”.

The article “Fashion and culture draw Chinese tourists to Italy” can be found on the China Daily website at the following link.

COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute provides expert insights into the worldwide developments of China’s outbound tourism market. As Chinese outbound tourists are travelling to a large range of destinations, our publications cover a number of regions, providing detailed insights and analysing visitor behaviour.

With COTRI’s insights you can forge a successful business strategy built upon in-depth market expertise, comprehensive qualitative analysis and future projections. The Spring 2016 Edition of the COTRI Market report features in-depth exploration of the developing trends in the field, supported by a wealth of qualitative and quantitative statistical research.

Source: China Daily

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