California dreaming for Chinese with longer visas
Updated: 2014-11-21 15:23
By Li Yang in Shanghai(China Daily USA)
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The extension of tourist visas from one to 10 years between China and the United States is a welcome development for the travel industry.
More than 80 US travel agencies attended the annual China International Tourism Trade Fair in Shanghai last weekend. The United States was the guest of honor for the three-day fair, which attracted 2,427 travel agencies; 936 of those came from 105 foreign countries and regions, an annual increase of 124 percent.
The US and China announced the new visa policy on Nov 10 during the APEC meeting in Beijing.
Jia Haihong, public relations director with the US Travel and Tourism Promotion Advisory Bureau's Shanghai office, said: "The number of Chinese tourists going to the US have been increasing in recent years. The new visa policy will bring more Chinese travelers to the States."
A longer visa period will give Chinese tourists more options. They can spend half of their time in the US traveling with a tour group, and the rest of the time touring by themselves. They also can book hotels and plane tickets at tour-group rates though travel agencies, which cuts their costs. Such tour packages also are popular in Europe. The US has been one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists. Last year, about 1.8 million Chinese tourists visited the US, contributing $21.1 billion to the US economy, according to the Beijing-based China Tourism Academy's annual report on China's outbound tourism.
Ctrip.com, a popular online travel-service provider, said more than 30,000 Chinese tourists visited the US through its service, up 60 percent year over year.
Driving will be a popular mode of travel for Chinese tourists in the US.
Zhao Dexiang, vice-general manager of the China International Travel Service's Shanghai branch, said: "Only the customers fluent in English are interested in traveling themselves in the US. Most of our customers are apt to travel in groups. Cooperating with travel agencies in the US can help us make a more rational itinerary route according to our clients' demands."
A representative of Charlie's Travel Inc, a US travel agency that was present at the trade fair, said: "TheCalifornia Highway1 is an ideal self-driving route for Chinese travelers, with a number of tourist attractions along the road."
Highway 1 is a popular scenic drive along the Pacific Ocean coastline. The travel agency will arrange a flight to the San Francisco airport, and book hotels and rental cars. The customers will fly out of Los Angeles, slightly under 400 miles to the south. The 10-day self-driving tour is priced at about 8,500 yuan ($1,420) per person.
Last year, 98 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad (up18 percent), spending about $120 billion abroad (up 20 percent). China's deficit in tourism hit $68 billion. The overall number of Chinese travelers visiting foreign countries may reach 110 million this year. Analysts say traveling to the US may become as easy for the Chinese to visit as South Korea is.(China Daily USA 11/21/2014 page6)
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