National tourism systems lack a “Welcome Chinese” mentality

by silvia.spessato

categories Inbound trends

Consolidated data from the China Tourism Academy (CTA) gives the final word on the main obstacle that Chinese tourists face in foreign countries: more the lack of written or spoken information in their mother tongue. It is the primary gripe among the conclusions contained in the “Chinese Outbound Tourist Satisfaction Survey in 2013,” where the excellence of Canada’s touristic system in welcoming Chinese visitors is also confirmed. Out of 22 countries, only nine reached the “satisfactory level” that CTA set at 80 out of 100 points, with an average score of 78.88. Opinions were gathered both through questionnaires and Internet interviews. In addition to Canada, who scored 82.27, the short list includes France, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia and Japan. Italy falls just below the line, at 79,96, while Brazil closes the chart. The survey took into consideration six elements: traditional tourist attractions, with a score of 82.2, followed in descending order by shopping, transportation, accommodation, entertainment and restaurant service, the latter with a score just below 80. In addition, the satisfaction index for service from travel agencies proved to be relatively low at 78.4. Regarding tourists’ willingness to revisit a certain country, the score is even lower at 73.5, although the possibility of reusing a travel agency scored 76.9. The probability of recommending it to relatives or friends is even higher, at 78.1. Among public services, airports and bank card accessibility are the top rated, slightly above 83. The most common complaints – as pointed out by all the previous surveys – concern insufficient and inadequate Mandarin public signs and the poor quality of foreign tourist guides. Chinese tourists’ expectations before leaving home score higher – above 80 – than their satisfaction after the actual travel experience.