|
Chinese Travelers Impact on Bali Tourism
Bali by the Numbers: How Burgeoning Mainland Chinese Travel Market is Changing Bali and Other Destinations.
(6/14/2010)
A recent article in the Financial Times tracked how Chinese travelers were changing the face of travel as well as the face of tourism in Bali:
In Bali many handicraft sellers are now creating art work more in keeping with Chinese tastes, such a figurines bearing the likeness of the Guanyin - the Chinese Buddhist goddess of mercy.
In recent years there has been an explosion of Chinese restaurants in Bali catering to the growing number of Chinese travelers.
Bird's nest and shark fins are considered travel bargains to Chinese visitors in Bali with many shops now dealing exclusively in these items.
Worldwide there were 42.2 million mainland Chinese traveling in 2009 spending an estimated US$42 billion. This is nearly a six-fold increase from the less than 7 million mainland Chinese who traveled abroad in 2001.
Total mainland Chinese tourist visiting Bali in 2009 totaled 199,533, an increase of 54.43% from the 129,121 PRC citizens who came to the island in 2008.
The increasingly affluent Chinese travelers are proving to be significant shoppers with major retail outlets worldwide developing dedicated services for Chinese travelers.
Hotels are introducing Chinese culinary items to their menus and breakfast buffets.
In many Asian destinations, including Bali, Chinese tour groups are preyed upon by unscrupulous tour operators whose income is dependent on high commissions earned from restaurants and shopping venues.
© Bali
Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced
if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com.
All images and graphics are copyright protected.
|
