Going the Highway 1 route

Updated: 2015-10-02 10:43

(China Daily USA)

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Going the Highway 1 route

Chinese tourists shop at an outlet in west coast, US in December 2011. Provided to China Daily

Instead of going to the usual tourist sites when they come to the US, more and more Chinese are choosing trips to learn about American society and culture, Lia Zhu reports from San Francisco.

"The world is so big. I want to go see it," Yang Yang, a Chinese entrepreneur, cited that phrase that went viral in China to explain why he visited the United States.

That line almost immediately resonated with young Chinese after a female teacher's resignation letter, which included only that sentence, was posted online in April. Civil airlines even adopted it as a tagline to encourage people to take overseas trips.

"With its size and influence, the US is a must-see if you want to see the world," said Yang, who runs an Internet company in Shenzhen. It was the first time he had visited the US.

However, unlike most Chinese tourist groups arriving in San Francisco and who flock to Fishermen's Wharf or Lombard Street, Yang and his group visited Google's headquarters and Stanford University campus in the Bay Area, and then set out on a 12-day road trip. They drove rental cars along the scenic California Highway 1 and detoured to national parks, vineyards, quaint coastal cities and finally to their destination of Los Angeles.

"Seeing the world is much more than seeing the sights," he said. "What really matters to me is not what I saw, but what I want to see."

Yang is among the growing Chinese middle-class who tourism agencies say are not content with just traveling abroad, but care more about their experience and interaction with local people and culture.

"The economic growth, the increased incomes and the age of Internet - all these factors have helped change the Chinese people's mindset about tourism. More and more of them, especially the young people, have the desire to experience new ways of life and explore experiential tours off the beaten track," said Lin Jianxun, president of the Guangzhou-based tourism agency "Diadema", which organized Yang's group.

Lin had foreseen the market for customized tours as early as 2001, but "the Chinese had little knowledge of overseas tourism at that time and it was not as convenient to travel overseas as it is today," he said.

In recent years, his company has dealt with surging demand in customized tour options and the US has become a popular destination. In the US, they have organized various tours, lasting from a week to nearly two months, to cater to different interests, including visiting universities, summer camping or playing golf.

A road trip along California Highway 1 is gaining popularity not only because of the spectacular scenic views, but because it's a more direct way to learn about American society and culture, Lin said.

"It's impossible to experience the country's culture or enjoy the local way of life by sitting in a tourist bus without talking with the locals yourself," he explained.

Since Lin's company launched its first road-trip tour in the US in 2008, more than 400 people have participated. Last year, the agency sent around 100 people to travel along US highways and this year the figure is expected to be higher.

Lin attributed his customers' increasing interest in the US to the 10-year-valid visa. Prior to the relaxed visa policy, most Chinese tourists turned to travel agencies to apply for visas and they had to travel in a group.

"I know some customers who have visited the US twice or three times. They said they enjoyed the feeling of freedom that whenever they want to travel, they can," he said.

The move in November 2014 by the US to extend tourist visas for Chinese travelers from one to 10 years is likely to prompt a strong increase in the number of tourist arrivals, which have risen rapidly in recent years. In 2014, the US saw 2.19 million tourist arrivals from the Chinese mainland, up 21 percent year-on-year.

According to the US National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), the overall inbound passenger growth from China to the US was up 25.7 percent year-on-year in July. Demand for travel to key gateways like Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Chicago continues to grow, and Chinese carriers have answered the call, increasing overall capacity by 38 percent year-on-year. The NTTO estimated that total capacity on non-stop flights from China to the US in July was 379,600 seats, up 27.7 percent.

The convergence of public policies and the development of innovative Internet platforms and mobile apps result in the possibility of surging Chinese FIT in the US, said Charlie Gu, director of tourism with China Luxury Advisors, a Chinese consumer-strategy consultant.

"Visit California", the state's tourism board, also said that due to the 10-year-valid US visa and the rapidly developing sophistication of Chinese travelers, the shift away from package tours is accelerating as Chinese long-haul travelers embrace fly-and-drive FIT products, which have shown a remarkable year-on-year increase of 30 percent.

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