American tour operators pose for photos with Chinese performers dressed in ancient national costumes at the Twelve Hours of Chang’an theme park, a vivid recreation of city life during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) this month. Yang Feiyue/China Daily
Officials and industry players are hoping for in-depth discussions and exchanges to boost the industry’s recovery, Yang Feiyue reported in Xi’an.
At a recent forum focused on current and future bilateral tourism development between China and the United States, Fred Dixon, president and CEO of the New York City Tourism and Convention Bureau, highlighted a major change over the past year. Dixon noted a growing trend among Chinese travelers to visit fewer destinations and stay longer, seeking more immersive experiences.
Dixon said he has also noticed that Chinese travelers are more experienced, “younger” and “better educated”.
“We see nothing but great opportunities and look forward to China returning to pre-pandemic status,” Dixon said.
He said U.S. travel operators have realized the power of China’s Golden Week and holiday periods and are working to shift some of that demand to New York’s off-season by launching programs such as Broadway Week.
A total of 386,000 Chinese tourists visited New York City last year, about 35% of the 1.1 million Chinese tourists the city welcomed in 2019, before the pandemic, Dixon said.
He expects more than 800,000 Chinese tourists to visit New York this year.
“I’m excited to work more closely with my colleagues here in China,” Dixon said.
The 14th China-US Tourism Leadership Summit, held recently in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, brought together tourism industry players and stakeholders to discuss the potential of tourism in both China and the US.
Nearly 400 industry representatives participated in the event to promote bilateral tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the world’s two largest economies.
They agreed that the global pandemic has had a major impact on tourism over the past few years, but over the past year, thanks to the joint efforts of government agencies and businesses around the world, the global tourism industry has recovered and developed rapidly.
“Our latest projections show that Chinese visitors to the United States are expected to grow 150 percent between 2023 and 2025, which is 4.7 times faster than the overall growth rate of international visitors to the United States over that period,” Grant Harris, assistant secretary for industry and analysis at the U.S. Department of Commerce, said at a summit co-hosted by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Shaanxi provincial government, the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. destination marketing organization Brand USA on May 22.
U.S. tourism industry officials said they expect Chinese tourists to return to the U.S. in full.
Elliot Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, Washington DC’s official tourism marketing organization, said he and his colleagues in many cities across the U.S. have noticed that among the countries from which inbound tourists come, travelers from China spend the most and stay the longest.
“We’re always interested and keen to have more interactions and opportunities with Chinese tourists,” he said.
For its part, Washington DC has developed a program to work with the city’s hotels, restaurants and all service providers to understand the cultural differences and expectations of Chinese travelers.
“Even small and simple things like having slippers in the bedroom and tea in the room can make a big difference and make someone feel at home,” Ferguson says.
