China must upgrade tourism infrastructure to stop fall in foreign tourists
China has seen the number of foreign tourists decline for a third successive year; 25.9 million visitors arrived last year, down 1.4% on the previous year. A lack of tourism infrastructure could be a possible explanation for this trend. Visitors to the US and Europe are able to use credit cards and ATMs at tourist sites, whereas in China, there are very few places that accept foreign credit cards. China's hospitality industry also lags behind that of other nations. America leads the world in terms of tourist revenue, because tourists there know they can expect first-class service in restaurants and hotels. In order to compete, China needs to improve its infrastructure and hospitality services, and focus on providing more personalised products and services.

Illustration: Lu ting/GT





New statistics released by China National Tourism Administration revealed the country's third successive year of declining numbers of inbound foreign tourists. According to the authority, China saw only 25.98 million foreigners arrive for tourism last year, 1.4 percent less than the previous year.

After doing some additional research, I found that inbound tourism numbers had in fact stagnated between 2011 and 2013 followed by a steady decline from 2013 to the present. Compared to the ever-increasing outflow of Chinese tourists going abroad, it seems highly inconsistent that less foreigners are coming to China.

However, this doesn't mean that China is no longer attractive to foreigners. According to a 2015 Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum, China ranked fourth in terms of its abundance of cultural and natural resources, which customarily are a huge draw for international tourists.

However, the same report also pointed out that China still has a long way to go in terms of tourism infrastructure (112th), international "openness" (96th) and environmental sustainability (137th). Many agree that air pollution and food contamination would certainly cause some foreigners to reconsider a trip to China. After all, who wants to spend their annual leave inhaling smog and getting diarrhea?

But there may also be less-scandalous prohibitive factors at play. In April, I revisited the Great Wall in Beijing with my wife. After 20 years, I was proud to see that the wall was markedly cleaner and much more well-maintained. However, having lived in Europe for the past several years, I had become accustomed to using a credit card or having ATMs at tourist sites. At the wall, though,there's only ATM, outside, and I hadn't brought enough cash. A foreign tourist standing behind me in line actually had to lend me, a Chinese national, money. What an embarrassing twist!

While I was living in Europe, I saw many ATMs and point-of-sale machines that accept China's Union Pay cards, which most Chinese tourists use when abroad. Comparatively, there are few venues in China who accept foreign credit cards, and Chinese banks make it difficult to exchange currency. These headaches give foreign tourists good reason to be wary of spending here.

Part of the appeal of traveling across the world for a week's holiday is not just sightseeing but also being treated to friendly, hospitable services. Everyone likes to be doted on and catered to, especially after working your butt off all year. And yet, here in China, home to a huge number of the world's wonders, our tourism and hospitality services are reportedly less than satisfying for foreigners. Instead of paying attention to the needs of their foreign customers, Chinese hotels and tourist sites value domestic tourists much higher.

This mentality is very short-sighted and damaging to our country's tourism industry. With so much history and culture and a diverse terrain ranging from beaches to mountains to jungles to deserts, China has vast potential. We could ostensibly rival first-class destinations like Italy or France or Hawaii or Spain or Egypt.

The US, with only 240 years of history, is somehow the world's number one country in terms of tourist revenue. Why? Because of its derivative tourism and hospitality services. People from all over the world, foremost big-spending middle-class Chinese, want to go to America because they are absolutely confident they will receive world-class treatment from American waiters and concierges and travel agencies. You will never, ever, see an American tour guide drag his group into a souvenir shop and force them to spend - a common complaint here in China.

To achieve five-star status similar to the US, China MUST upgrade its tourism infrastructure and hospitality services. In lieu of any cost advantages that once drew foreigners to China, more personalized services and products need to be offered. As most of our tourism industry is State-owned, a lack of innovation is also keeping China down.

To win over the hearts of foreigners, China has a long way to go; 5,000 years worth of relics, cultural sites and natural wonders are no longer enough to attract tourists here.





The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Global Times.



