Chemistry's Spotlight On…
November 2011 - Chinese Travel to Canada and BC
Spotlight on Chinese Travel to Canada and BC - BC Market Share Declining!
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (Tourism Highlights 2011), “the top ten ranking by international tourism spenders shows one remarkable change in 2010, with China (US$ 55 billion) moving up into third position, overtaking the United Kingdom. China has shown by far the fastest growth with regard to expenditure on international tourism in the last decade, multiplying expenditure four times since 2000”.
With a current population of over 1.3 billion (the largest country in the world by population), and a growing middle-class, China is positioned to change the profile of global tourism. For countries interesting in attracting Chinese tourists, the tourism revenue stakes are significant.
In order to be eligible to host Chinese tourists, countries must obtain Approved Destination Status (ADS) which is a bilateral tourism arrangement between the Chinese Government and a destination whereby Chinese tourists are permitted to undertake leisure travel in groups to that destination. Canada obtained ADS in June of 2010 and joins about 100 ADS countries. Within ADS countries, only accredited inbound tour operators (ITOs) can provide Chinese tourists with tour services and these operators must have safeguards in place to ensure that visa holders comply with their visa conditions and that the integrity of the ADS program is maintained. At the time of writing, Canada has 38 accredited ITOs including 18 in B.C.
So as to better understand how B.C. is positioned relative to attracting Chinese tourists, it’s useful to look at Chinese travel statistics in a broader context. To this end, the following information was considered:
- Total outbound travel from China 2005-2010
- Percent of total outbound Chinese tourists visiting Canada, B.C. and the U.S. 2005-2010
- Number of Chinese tourists visiting Canada, B.C. and the U.S. 2005-2010
- Annual percent growth in Chinese tourists visiting Canada, B.C. and the U.S. 2005-2010
- Percent of Chinese tourists visiting Canada who come to B.C. 2001-2011 YTD
The above figures (see details in graphs below) reflect some good news and some not-such-good news:
- Good news: Chinese tourism potential is huge. Between 2005 and 2010, the number of Chinese citizens who travelled overseas increased by 85% rising from 31.0 million to 57.4 million. The World Tourism Organization projects this number to increase to 66 million in 2011 (close to twice the population of Canada) and to 100 million by 2020.
- Good news: ADS makes a difference. The U.S. obtained ADS in June 2007 and has since drawn an increasing, albeit still relatively small, share of total Chinese visitors (i.e., in 2007 the U.S. attracted 0.97% of total Chinese outbound tourists and China was in 12th position on the U.S.’s top 20 source countries for tourists; in 2010, 1.4% of Chinese outbound tourists came to the U.S. and China had moved up to 10th position on the country’s top 20 list).
