After two decades of vacationing around the world, avid traveler Meng Hairong has become well-versed in the art of body language.
Fluent in only her native Mandarin, the 56-year-old retiree has often faced problems communicating with locals in overseas destinations.
"It's comparatively easier for foreign people to travel abroad since there are introductions at scenic spots in most tourism cities in English, French and Spanish," she said. "It hardly works out for Chinese, though."
To avoid the hassle, Meng, who lives in Tianjin, travels with Chinese tourist agencies. Yet even that is not easy.
"You hop off a tour bus to take pictures or use the washroom and then hop back on for the next destination, over and over again. That is not my idea of traveling," she said.
Despite enjoying the fascinating scenery, many Chinese tourists like Meng find themselves lost while traveling abroad due to the lack of service designated for Chinese tourists. However, that may not be the case much longer.
Lu Yong, leader of the preparatory team of the World Tourism Cities Federation, said services designated for Chinese travelers may be provided, and improved, in major world tourism cities.
Such services could include food and accommodation, road signs and emergency treatment, Lu said at the launch of the federation by Beijing and like-minded cities.
According to Li Xinjian, a tourism professor at Beijing International Studies University, since outbound tourism has just developed in recent decades in China, not many tourist destinations are well-equipped with services for Chinese.
However, with the number of Chinese outbound tourists skyrocketing, many countries have started eyeing the huge potential market.
According to the preparatory team of the federation, many tourism cities worldwide might be equipped with signs and introductions in Chinese in the near future.
"As the purchasing power of Chinese tourists continues growing, no one wants to ignore such a big piece of the pie," said Lu.
The Chinese have become a major buying power in foreign markets in recent years, according to Li.
"Foreigners traveling to China spent 4.7 billion yuan ($743 million) more than Chinese outbound tourists in 2008. However, we spent 4 billion yuan more than them one year later," he said.
That difference exceeded 24.1 billion yuan in 2011, he added. Li said the growing purchasing power of Chinese tourists is very likely to lead to other conveniences as well, including easier visa applications, more frequent flights and the establishment of more direct routes between Chinese and foreign cities.
Previously, due to concerns about illegal immigration, many countries carried out strict and complicated verification for Chinese tourists.
However, Li said that since hardly any cases of illegal immigration are related to outbound tourism, many countries are creating more incentives to attract Chinese tourists.
During the recent economic recession, for example, the US government relaxed its limits for visas for Chinese tourists.
The Japanese government has also been communicating with some western cities in China, while offering more convenience in travel, to attract more Chinese tourists and help its economy recover after the earthquake.
Helmuts Kols, a representative of Riga, the capital of Latvia, was looking forward to seeing more tourists from China, which might encourage the scheduling of direct flights between Beijing and Riga.
张传东:四级冲刺复习方法
英语学习方法总论
英语四级经验谈
学习英语为你支招
网友推荐:四级备考技巧
阅读使我收益匪浅
学英语七步曲---赖世雄
我的背单词法
学习没有捷径
英语学习三点法
学外语的五大忌讳
十天过英语四级,考试 “牛人”的四级考法
成功学英语:英语学习的环境和时间
学习方法分享:英语四级听力高分技巧
老师:考英语四级就像“追女生”
网友经验分享:无须复习,只要十天英语四级就能过!
英语学习六步法(LQD3R)
四级应试策略谈
推荐挺好的英语学习方法
一个社会考生的过四级经历及过四级方法
英语学习少走弯路的方法
帮你树立信心——考四级必看
英语学习三步曲
四级考试做题也需“循规蹈矩”
短期迅速突破12月英语四级考前战略调整
英语学习没有捷径
四级英语考试备考三大原则
四级考试经验:写给屡战屡败的四级考生
四级考前需熟读的10大答题原则
英语学习方法介绍
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |