Saturday, February 03, 2007 RP tourism to get boost from Chinese tourists
THE Philippines needs to capitalize on high-spending Chinese tourists to see further growth in the country’s tourism sector, an economist said.
“(China is) the new source of tourists mainly because they (Chinese) are big spenders. It will be the key factor in the growth of tourism in the Philippines,” said Nicholas Kwan, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd. regional head of research in Asia.
Kwan describes the market of Chinese tourists as “investing consumers” as the purchasing power of a single Chinese buyer will equal that of four to five tourists combined.
“The Chinese don’t just buy for themselves. When they buy a camera for example, they buy in fours of fives,” he told a press conference during the 2007 global and Philippine economic and investment perspective forum of Standard Chartered Bank held last Thursday at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu
“They spend 10 times more than the Americans and Japanese,” Kwan said.
Apart from being “big” spenders, he said the Chinese are also known worldwide as “big” investors who venture into factories, electronics and jewelry.
According to a report by Hsu Kao-ching, secretary general of the Tourism Business Association in Taiwan, a huge number of “cash-rich” Chinese from mainland China are already booking vacations in Asia and Europe, in preparation for the Lunar New Year Holiday next month.
“With their wealth, the Chinese have an influence in the global travel market,” Hsu said.
The Lunar New Year is the biggest festival of the year for ethnic Chinese communities around the world and it is also a traditional time for family reunions.
Hsu said a large number of Chinese is expected in popular tourist destinations, such as Phuket in Thailand, and Bali, Indonesia.
Kwan said in Hong Kong, for instance, the Chinese account for 30 to 60 percent of the total number of tourists.
He said the Philippines will also be expecting an influx of Chinese tourists starting this year.
“The Philippines has traditionally been strong in the tourism sector,” he said.
Citing official Chinese figures, Kwan said of the 1.3 billion Chinese population about 50 to 100 million Chinese travel abroad each year; most of them go to Hong Kong.
Close to one billion Chinese travel within China, however.
Meanwhile, Kwan also said apart from a potential increase in the number of Chinese visiting the Philippines, there will also be a “re-emergence” of Japanese tourists in the country.
“There has been a stagnation in the number of Japanese tourists but it is expected to once again increase in the next two to three years,” he said. (MMM)
