These are excerpts from the China Outbound Travel Handbook, newly updated for 2006 and available to purchase from ChinaContact.

Providing hospitality to Chinese visitors

Among the 1.3 billion people in China, clearly not everybody can afford a trip overseas. Disparity in income and living standards is very high. Research shows that at least 150 million people have an income level of middle class and above, privileged enough to afford travel abroad. Given the continuous growth of the economy, this middle class is increasing rapidly even as the income gap is increasing. Among this group, we can distinguish three types of travellers.

Official Travel, Business Travel and Private travel.

Official travel is conducted by people employed in government or public service. They often travel abroad upon the invitation of a related organisation in the destination country. Such travel requires approval from the Chinese authorities in advance, as it is at the government’s expense. These officials carry official passports, which are different than private passports.

Business travel includes incentives, visiting exhibitions, and inspections or technical visits. The purpose of travel is to establish business relations and get a better understanding of the foreign business climate and commercial partners. The actual purpose of travelling is still leisure. Business groups vary in size and nature and can come from anywhere in China.

Private travel, unlike official and business travel, is a new phenomenon in China. This type of travelling has leisure as its sole (and authorised) purpose. Due to this being a new opportunity for Chinese, their priorities are to see as many countries as possible and get a better understanding of foreign cultures.

Cultural Differences

Traveling in Europe can be a culture shock for Chinese. It can also be so for the hosts. Managing expectations is equally important for the hotels and service suppliers that engage Chinese tourists.

The concepts of privacy and space are quite different for Chinese and Westerners. Being loud and nosy is an expression of enjoying oneself and caring for one another, but Westerners might consider this rude. With such a dense population, Chinese are accustomed to very little personal space and are not used to being on their own.

Smoking is entrenched in Chinese society as the domain of men. They will find it difficult to accept smoking bans in public spaces. At the same time, they will be puzzled over the prevalence of public smoking amongst women in Europe.

As China’s history dates back thousands of years, Chinese are not impressed by cultural sites that are “only” a few hundred years old. This is a distinct advantage of Europe over the “new world” destinations of Australia and North America. The cultural and historical links between China and Europe should be highlighted as much as possible.

When travelling abroad, Chinese have the rare opportunity to experience certain activities that are forbidden in China. Casinos and cabaret shows cause a lot of excitement among visiting Chinese for this reason.

In China, travel is a service, and travel agents are expected to bend over backward to satisfy their paying customers. In turn, those agents expect their partners in the destination to go along with the client’s demands, under any circumstance. The agents find it difficult to accept Western attitudes that might be considered less accommodating [such as refusing to show flexibility or sticking to rigid regulations]. What we consider a fair service for a fair price, they would consider inflexibility or lack of caring.

Because visa approval is still sometimes unpredictable, air tickets and hotels are often confirmed at the last minute. Business people, used to flexible domestic travel, expect to be able to change their plans frequently and therefore do not plan carefully enough to avoid late changes.

Compared to other nationalities, Chinese groups are never booked months in advance. There is tremendous pressure on travel agents, visa consulates, local suppliers, hotels, guides, etc., to provide instant quotations and high-quality tours on extremely short notice. Inevitably this often leads to problems on the road and subsequent complaints from the clients. As ADS procedures become the norm and visa application procedures become standardised, we expect to see this problem ease.

The demographics of private travellers vary: Pensioners are travelling during the off-season, mostly sponsored by their sons or daughters; parents take their children for travel during school holiday; and the three golden holiday weeks are crowded with office workers and their families.

For now, group travel to Europe consists of more than five countries in the same itinerary for the first-time visitors. Success in arranging single-country European tours will depend on how well the destination is promoted.

Traditionally the domain of middle-aged males, travel is now accessible to all. Tourism promotion boards, suppliers, and guides should be prepared to adjust the product to suit the demands of new types of customers.

China has many ethnic minorities with different cultural and religious backgrounds. Hui, Manchu, Korean, Uighur, Kazakhs, Tibetan, and Miao are just some of them. They are all potential consumers, with their own defining characteristics and demands.
 

Shopping

A trip to Europe equals roughly the average yearly disposable income of people living in the cities (1,500 euros). As the cities in China have a population of millions, it goes without saying that quite a few people enjoy an income significantly higher than the average. Economic disparity is extremely high and cause for concern for the Chinese government. Estimates are that about one-third of the urban population can afford to travel. Their average daily spending on travelling in Europe is around 300 euros.

Shopping is one of the highlights of travelling abroad for several reasons. Firstly, Chinese consumers are generally price conscious, and consumers of luxury goods typically seek the lowest price if it is easily identifiable. Prices of luxury commodities can be at least 20 to 30 percent higher in the mainland, compared to Hong Kong or Europe, as a result of the high import tariffs and consumption taxes.

Secondly, gift giving is an important aspect of Chinese culture. When travelling, the Chinese tend to bring back gifts representative of the countries they have visited, often branded products otherwise unavailable in China. In addition, in the business world, buying expensive gifts is a common and accepted practice and is seen as a way to show respect.

Last, but certainly not least, despite the recent expansion of most luxury brands, the variety of luxury products available in the Chinese mainland is still limited when compared with Europe. And some brands do not offer their full range of products on the Chinese mainland. This is an additional incentive for the Chinese tourists to buy when travelling overseas.

Accommodation

Chinese consumers are not familiar with the range of hotels or the standards in Europe. They form their expectations based on hotels in China and assume that the standards are the same across Europe. Managing their expectations and providing more information in advance is very important.

Chinese travellers often judge the hotel by the size of the lobby. They prefer large hotels with a modern look and state-of-the art equipment. A double room in China means two separate single beds, the equivalent of a twin room in Europe. This is also referred to as a “standard” room and is preferred by Chinese guests. Hotels that feature Chinese restaurants, or have Chinese restaurants in the vicinity, are always preferred.

Shopping areas within walking distance have preference. It is helpful to provide information in Chinese about where the nightlife takes place or where there are casinos. Chinese people are not used to drinking tap water. They expect hot water flasks or water kettles in the room.

We recommend stocking the minibar in the room with green tea leaves and instant noodles. It is important to clearly show which items are for sale. Chinese people travel lightly, so a basic selection of accessories in the room (such as toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, comb, etc.) will be appreciated.

Chinese electric plugs are three-pronged and different from any European country. They use the same wattage, but adapters are needed to suit the local sockets.

Chinese international satellite programs are available globally. CCTV 9 is an English-language channel, while other CCTV channels are all in Mandarin. Many satellite channels available in Europe are in Cantonese, so this is a point to notice. Providing channels such as PhoenixCNE TV is a very good selling point.

Expectations

Historically, travelling abroad was often based on “friendly relations” with other countries. Until the late eighties, the world was divided into two camps engaged in cold war. During this period, China made a clear distinction between friendly nations and adversaries. Officials were allowed to travel abroad only upon official invitation to enhance friendly relations. Travel was therefore very much limited to officials and seen as a great privilege. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the consequent change in world order, and economic reforms in China, outbound travel moved from being the privilege of officials to a business necessity. As disposable income and leisure time increases, it is now becoming a part of ordinary people’s lives for pleasure and education. However, visiting other countries is still regarded as an exchange of friendship and goodwill.

This cultural background can influence the expectations of Chinese travellers. One often still feels honoured or privileged to travel abroad and expects a corresponding hospitality from the hosts. With the changing times, privileged Chinese visitors are not necessarily received ceremoniously; rather, they are often treated as a cash cow. Frequently, Chinese visitors are disappointed in the level of service and hospitality they find in Europe. To experience Western society firsthand is very much a culture shock. Europe is not the hypermodern society they have expected compared to China, which has always depicted itself as backward and poor.

The first groups of travellers to Europe received a great deal of publicity and have set the tone for Europe’s image in Chinese eyes. They view with respect Europeans’ regard for cultural heritage, the environment, and personal freedoms. The positive experience often comes from such things as access to casinos and luxury goods and visits to famous traditional landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Dutch windmills.