UK and Europe urged to gear up for high-spending Asian tourists

Europe’s infrastructure is falling short of meeting the demands of burgeoning numbers of Asian travellers.

With Asian visitors to the UK and Europe reaching 14 million last year, the World Travel Market Global Trends Report 2006 warns that the UK and the rest of Europe are unprepared to meet their specific demands.

The report, produced for WTM by Euromonitor International, suggests that many European countries need to address gaps in their infrastructure and service provision, if they are to safeguard future tourism revenue from high-spending Chinese and Indian visitors.

Many European national tourist boards are only just starting to cater to the Chinese market, despite the fact that by 2010 it is predicted that number of Chinese outbound tourists will have grown by 190% to 110 million and will generate $94 billion worldwide.

Outlining the differing needs of Chinese versus Indian tourists, which European countries need to address, the report criticises countries such as the UK for a shortage of low-to-mid priced accommodation.

Typically, Chinese tourists undertake a ten-day tour of Europe, involving multiple destinations, and prefer to curb spending on accommodation to focus on shopping, as they enjoy buying international brands, according to the report.

The report also highlights that language is a key component which continues to undermine Europe’s tourism product offer.

For example, VisitBritain’s website is only half-translated for Chinese users and, therefore, falls short of complete functionality, while, in spite of the fact that 2006 is the “Year of China” in London, there has been an evident shortfall of Mandarin speaking guides, as well as translations, at tourist attractions, the report says.

France was the most popular European country for Chinese tourists last year, with 472,000 Chinese visitors, while Germany came in second place, followed by Austria and Switzerland. France has been very proactive in attracting Chinese visitors, organising a ‘Year of France in China’, which entailed running more than a hundred events across China to promote France from October 2004 to July 2005. According to Maison de la France, Chinese tourists spend on average $3,800 while in France.

Euromonitor International’s global travel and tourism research manager Caroline Bremner said: “Europe has so far only taken small steps to make sure it can fully cater to the needs of Asian tourists, however, there is a long way to go.

“There is a particular service gap for Asians looking for more customised or self-determined travel, as by and large the main travel product currently available to Asian tourists in Europe is mass-catered in style”.

Mass-tourism includes such products as multi-country organised coach trips. But Euromonitor International believes Europe’s infrastructure is falling short.

Bremner said: “The issue for organised coach tours is that many European cities have insufficient parking for coaches and limited access to city centres. 

“There is also often a lack of credit card facilities and cash machines outside cities and main tourist areas, which is a particularly important issue for European countries to overcome, as Chinese tourists are restricted in how much cash they can carry abroad and typically, preload payment cards before travelling and rely on these cards while on holiday”.

Bremner added: “How well Europe will fair in harnessing the boom in Asian tourism depends on how effectively and how quickly European countries meet the specific needs of Asian tourists.  It is critical that national tourist offices and governments review their current product offer, filling in the current gaps in terms of specific transportation, accommodation and payment needs.

“European countries also need to assess their service provision, with the aim of offering all tourism services in a range of Asian languages, from tourist guides to menus, as standard.

“However, if Europe’s service offer remains stagnant and untargeted, the region runs the risk of some Asian tourists voting with their feet and taking their high-spending to destinations which make a more concerted and apparent effort to accommodate their needs.”

Report by Phil Davies