China is running the world’s largest tourism deficit. How can it plug the gap?
- Chinese tourist traffic to the world is growing but not the other way round. To decrease its deficit in trade in services and improve the world’s understanding of the nation, China must develop new ways to enhance visitors’ experiences
The yawning gap between China’s outbound and inbound tourism has left the country with a tourism deficit of 52.5 million trips in 2018, up by more than 20 per cent year on year. China is running the largest tourism deficit in the world, which accounts for a major chunk of the country’s US$258 billion deficit in trade in services in 2018.
On the one hand, this growing gap is cause for celebration. It reflects the growing number of Chinese who have the means to travel abroad. However, it also raises the question: why is it that China, for all its abundance of natural and cultural wonders, continues to punch below its weight when it comes to attracting foreign tourists?
A recent study by the Centre for China and Globalisation and Trip.com sheds light on some of the constraints on inbound tourism growth, as well as steps to overcome them. These include new ways to promote China as an attractive tourist destination, improve entry procedures, and to enhance visitors’ experience once they arrive.
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There are also opportunities to align China with the growing demand for “experience tourism”, such as offering tailored products that allow visitors to connect with local people through art, cooking and other pursuits.
Once a potential visitor chooses to come to China, their next step is to secure an entry permit. The survey found that this was the No 1 source of problems, with 57 per cent of respondents reporting visa issues. Common complaints were that visa processes were lengthy, costly or complex.
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This would not only enhance visitors’ experience, but also amplify the effect of positive communication on inbound tourism, by allowing tourists to instantly show a different side of China to friends and family back home.
The study also underscores that, ultimately, tourism is a service industry, and improving the quality of services offered is at the heart of improving visitor experience. To this end, China should invest in the training of industry practitioners and explore ways to cultivate professionalism and internationalisation in the industry.
Along with continued investment in the relevant infrastructure, the above-mentioned measures could go a long way towards unlocking China’s potential and closing its tourism deficit. And there are good reasons to do so.
Not only would this boost local economies, including in some of the least developed parts of China, it would also help more people around the world connect with China and understand the country better: in the survey, a whopping 82 per cent of visitors said their trip had completely changed their impression of China.
In an age when misperceptions of the Middle Kingdom abound, there is every reason to attract more visitors to China and show more people around the world what this storied land has to offer.
Wang Huiyao is the founder of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based non-governmental think tank