China’s tourism development: Life begins at 40

“I still remember the first year we participated in this event. Most of the consumers and businesses who came to our booth would ask one question: Is this Czechoslovakia?” said Maria Chen, Marketing Manager of Czech Tourist Authority - CzechTourism, Shanghai Office. “Chinese market was not familiar with the Czech Republic as an independent state and thus a tourist destination at that time. But I have found this market becoming more and more mature within these last five years. Chinese customers do not usually ask these kinds of questions again. On the contrary they keep asking us about other famous cities and tourist destinations in the Czech Republic. They all know Prague, Český Krumlov and Karlovy Vary, but they want to explore more and get much deeper understanding of the country. Therefore I believe tourism in China has already become mature enough.”

2018 marks the 5th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. Turkey, a country at the end of the ancient Silk Road, is celebrating the China-Turkey Tourism Year. According to Ozgur Ayturk, Counselor of the Turkish Embassy Culture and Tourism Section, by the end of this year, aside from many dance and musical performances, a Turkey Festival will be held in Shanghai. Statistics show that in 2017, the number of Chinese tourists to Turkey reached 247,000, an increase of 47.57% over 2016. Thanks to the China-Turkey Tourism Year, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Turkey in 2018 is expected to reach a new high.

Technology has promoted the transformation of China’s tourism industry. First of all, the Internet has spawned new types of tourism. During the interview with eastday.com, the interviewees from different countries allmentioned OTAs (online travel agencies). Some of them even cooperate with OTA companies such as Ctrip and Tongcheng. Second, long-distance travel has gradually become the choice of more people. As Vladimir Kocerha, the Economic and Commercial Counselor of Peru in Shanghai, pointed out, “Because of the distance, sometimes people think: oh, Peru is too far, too long to get there, jet leg,... But no, the world is becoming smaller. Technology is allowing us to get there faster. And communications. People are now by word of mouth telling about the good things about the destination of Peru.” He added,“Engaging with Chinese travelers has become something that we had not expected before. We were not expecting this would grow so fast: year on year, the number of Chinese travelers has been growing by almost 40%. So we are expecting this to keep on growing at the same rate in the next years to come.”