AUG 24 CHINESE TOURISTS NOW OUTNUMBER AMERICAN TOURISTS

AUG 24  CHINESE TOURISTS NOW OUTNUMBER AMERICAN TOURISTS

The World Bank just released some new statistics about global tourism. For the first time ever, the People's Republic of China has nabbed the top spot with 156,120,000 international travelers in a calendar year. The US...the leader in this statistic for the last century...has slipped into second place. If you've visited any major attraction lately, you likely already know about this. From the Space Needle in Seattle to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, you'll see that information boards now include Chinese along with English, French and Spanish.

Why the sudden surge? Let's call it a pendulum swing. Back in the days of Mao, Chinese citizens were forbidden from leaving the mainland for any reason. These sanctions weren't officially lifted until the 1990's, but access to travel was still hindered. Today, it's much easier for Chinese nationals to get a passport and take a vacation overseas. Not surprisingly, people are lining up to get theirs. Let's face it: If you deny humans something, they'll salivate at the opportunity to taste it once it becomes available.

Let's check out the statistics. In the year 2000, only 10 million Chinese nationals traveled overseas. Yet by last year, this number has risen 156 million. That's a 1,380% increase! Yet even more important than this number is another figure: The amount of money spent by a nation's travelers. In this category, the PRC wallops the USA. In 2017, the Chinese shelled out a cumulative $2.6 billion in international purchases. That's twice the amount second-place Americans spend.

This statistic gives us an idea of what the Chinese do when they travel: They like to shop. Again, the pendulum is swinging. For centuries, China has shunned imports in favor of boring domestically produced products. This means no French designer jeans at a shopping mall in Qingdao. It follows that when Chinese tourists arrive in Milan, they head straight to the Versace and Prada boutiques in the Galleria.

So what does all this mean for the future of international travel? First of all, it means China is creating a lot of jobs in tourism sectors worldwide. It's a great time to be a Cantonese-speaking tourist guide! Yet it also means busier airports and longer lines at the Tower of London. This has many locals in impacted cities like Venice and Barcelona concerned. Don't tell them: It's only going to get worse. See, only 7% of Chinese nationals owns a passport. (Compared to 40% in the US and 76% in the UK). But 7% of the PRC's population is 100,000,000 people! Just imagine what happens when the remaining 93% starts traveling..