US’s lead in tourism shifting to China
The US’s position as the world’s most popular travel destination in the future will be eclipsed by China and some hotel chains such as Wyndham Worldwide are already taking advantage.
Since opening its first hotel in Beijing in 2004, the chain — which includes Howard Johnson and Days Inn — has grown to 67 properties in cities across the mainland. By yearend, Super 8 plans to double its locations in China.
“When economies experience this kind of growth, one of the first things that happens is people want to travel,” Mitchell Presnick, Super 8 China’s chief executive, told BusinessWeek.
Attracted in part by the Great Wall and the Terra-Cotta Soldiers in Xian, overseas tourists are flooding into the country. Despite the current unrest in Tibet, the draw of the mainland is unlikely to weaken any time soon, said the magazine.
Last year’s 132 million visitors spent $42 billion, making China the fourth most popular destination country, behind France, Spain, and the US. By 2015, the World Tourism Organization estimates, it will be No. 1.
The tourism business in China is also being spurred by that country’s hosting the Olympics in August. This year, China expects to welcome 150 million foreign tourists, up by 14% over 2007.
As the Chinese increase their travel domestically, tourism revenues are projected to grow by some 18%, to reach $183 billion. Just for the period of the Olympics in August, 820,000 people are expected to visit from overseas—that compares to just over 400,000 visitors to Australia during their Olympics in September, 2000.
By :David Wilkening
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