Golden Week "financiers" were dispatched one after another. Countries are making "full preparations" to welcome China's National Day

Golden Week "financiers" are on the move. Countries are making "full preparations" to welcome China's National Day. The Chinese people are busy celebrating the golden holiday, and all countries in the world are not allowed to rest. In order to attract…

Asian neighbors seize National Day business opportunities

> Yonhap News Agency reported on September 30 that according to South Korean predictions, 150,000 Chinese tourists are expected to travel to South Korea during China’s National Day holiday. If Chinese tourists really reach this number, it will surge by more than 60,000 compared to the same period last year, setting a record high.

South Korea's SBS TV station reported that Chinese tourists are known for their generosity. The average shopping expenditure per person during their stay in South Korea was 700,000 won (approximately RMB 3,990), which is 2 to 3 times that of other foreign tourists.

In order to attract large-spending Chinese tourists, the competition among major department stores and duty-free shops in South Korea has entered a fierce stage. South Korea's Hyundai Department Store stated that from September 29 to October 6 last year, the purchase amount of Chinese tourists increased sharply by 220% compared with the previous year. This year, there will be more and more young Chinese tourists, so it is increasing its promotional efforts for Chinese tourists.

> The Busan government will focus on inspections of cruise terminals, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions before October 7 for signage, menus, tourist facilities, waiter service attitude, sanitation, accommodation facility tariffs and illegal taxi charges, in order to leave a good impression on Chinese tourists.

In Japan, since the cooling of Sino-Japanese relations in 2012, both individual travel and group travel seem to be showing signs of recovery recently.

As a symbol of Sino-Japanese friendship, Yokohama Chinatown has resumed its National Day parade that was interrupted last year. "Tokyo Metro" will also start distributing Chinese leaflets on China's National Day. Odakyu Electric Railway, a private railway company in Tokyo, will also conduct promotional activities for foreign tourists at Tokyo Shinjuku Station from September 28 to October 4, and plans to sell Hello Kitty and other products. The products all have shopping guide advertisements in Chinese, and Chinese tourist maps are also distributed.

A survey by the Japan National Tourism Administration shows that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan in August was more than 160,000. Although it decreased by 15% year-on-year, it is gradually approaching the peak level of more than 200,000 people in 2012 before the cooling of Sino-Japanese relations. This has also given Japan a lot of expectations for China’s Golden Week tourism market.

For Thailand, National Day is the peak period for the arrival of Chinese tourists after the Spring Festival. The number of hotel reservations in popular areas such as Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Samui has increased to varying degrees, and major shopping malls in Bangkok are also launching corresponding discounts.

In addition to Thailand, Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Laos have gradually become new choices for Chinese tourists in recent years. Since most of these countries implement visas on arrival, some tourists enter and visit Thailand, and then travel to Thailand's neighboring countries, which greatly boosts the tourism industry in these countries. Taking Cambodia as an example, in the first half of this year alone, the number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia increased by more than 50%. Cambodia also plans to add more direct flights to China to attract Chinese tourists to Cambodia.

The United Kingdom seeks to launch a common visa

As an established European country, the United Kingdom has also begun to take measures to attract Chinese tourists. According to the British "Daily Telegraph" report on September 28, Home Secretary Theresa May said that the Home Office is reviewing ways to simplify visa applications from China and may introduce a common visa application process that applies to both the UK and other European countries.

Prior to this, Theresa May had always opposed relaxing visa restrictions. The change in visa policy is especially welcomed by British retailers. In their view, Chinese tourists can easily go shopping in 26 Schengen treaty countries such as France with just one visa. However, the United Kingdom has not joined the Schengen Agreement, which prevents Chinese tourists from entering, thus affecting British income. British Business Secretary Cable said that the UK cannot let wealthy Chinese and tourists "give up coming to the UK" because of cumbersome visa requirements.

According to the Financial Times, Chinese tourists traveling to the UK usually spend up to £1,676 each time, which is almost three times the global average tourist spending.

Russia is also trying to attract more Chinese tourists during Golden Week. Russia News reported on September 28 that Radikov, director of the Russian Federal Tourism Administration, said on World Tourism Day on September 27 that China is a huge market, with 100 million people traveling abroad every year. And Russia has unique potential to attract Chinese tourists. He emphasized that last year, the number of Chinese tourists to Russia ranked second among foreign tourists, reaching 978,000.

In order to attract Chinese tourists to Russia during the National Day holiday, the Russian side believes that "red tourism" is the most attractive project to Chinese tourists. Silchenko, an official of the Russian Tourism Administration, said that there are currently more and more Chinese tourists interested in Soviet-era memorial sites. Therefore, such tourist routes should be opened across the country to attract more Chinese to travel to Russia.