World cashes in as more people travel overseas

In an upmarket Beijing cafe, Gong Jiayi sips her flat white coffee and enthusiastically runs through the highlights of her latest holiday to Japan.

It was her third trip to the country and she insists it will not be her last. But when talk turns to her travels through Europe, her ardor diminishes. "Europe is good, but its not that good," she says.

Gong is a 27-year-old, middle-class professional and one of an estimated 100 million Chinese tourists who have traveled abroad this year.

France, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Thailand, the United States and Australia are some of the places she has visited in the past 15 years.

Gong, a project manager who works for an environmental consultancy firm, represents the changing face of the Chinese outbound traveler, the bulk of whom (38 percent) are now aged between 25 and 34, according to this year's China International Monitor Survey.

Like 67 percent of her peers, she likes to make her own travel arrangements instead of going on a group tour, and like 53 percent of the new breed of globetrotters from the world's second-largest economy, she books her accommodation online or via mobile apps.

The Chinese outbound tourist is a demographic that in the past decade has gone from being negligible to the biggest and most lucrative force in the global tourism market, and given that only about 5 percent of China's population of 1.3 billion is currently estimated to hold a passport, it is only going to get bigger.

In the next five years, the China Tourism Academy predicts the nation's total number of outbound tourists will widen its lead as the No 1 global market (a position wrested from the US in 2012), rising to 150 million Chinese travelers going abroad annually.

With an average budget of $1,100 a day, excluding accommodation, Chinese tourists spend more than those from any other country when they go on holiday. Estimates suggest they will spend a total of $155 billion on overseas travels this year, 20.8 percent more than last year.

These are the kinds of mind-boggling figures that ought to have European tourism operators rolling out the welcome mat and rubbing their hands with glee. In reality though, Europe has been slow off the mark in targeting Chinese travelers.

The European Travel Commission estimates that this year 8 million Chinese tourists will visit Europe, a 50 percent increase since 2010.

But while the number of Chinese tourists holidaying in Europe has increased an average of 21 percent annually over the past five years, more than half of them have been first-time visitors, and repeat visitor numbers have yet to catch up even as the average number of outbound trips undertaken by China's burgeoning middle-class travelers has risen to 4.67 in the past five years.

Between 2015 and 2017, the commission estimates, the growth in Chinese visitor numbers to Europe will slow to about 7 percent a year, partly because of "persistent travel barriers" such as complicated visa application processes.

In short, Europe is in danger of settling for crumbs while other regions get fat on ever-larger pieces of the Chinese tourism pie.

"My friends and workmates, like me, think Asia is amazing for travel, because it's safe," Gong says. "Australia and the US are quite safe, and because many young Chinese now speak English, the language barrier is not that hard. But Europe isn't that safe. The language barrier is hard and the service is not that good."

While the Chinese outbound tourism market is growing, it is also maturing and becoming more discerning, and young Chinese travelers like Gong believe Europe is failing to adapt and keep pace to changing standards and expectations.

The numbers tell a similar story.

The China Tourism Academy says that, excluding Russia, not a single continental European country or EU member nation is now listed in the top 15 overseas destinations for Chinese tourists.

Outside Asia, which captures the biggest proportion of Chinese travelers, the US, Australia and Canada are the big winners.

With about 9 percent of Europe's annual GDP reliant on tourism, and inter-EU travel flagging from some of the countries struggling economically, the stakes are high. So what can Europe do to win a bigger share of the world's largest and most lucrative outbound tourist demographic?

Valeria Croce, research and development manager for the European Travel Commission, says much of Europe needs to change the way it does tourism if it wants to capture the Chinese dollar.

About 80 percent of Europe's tourism market is now geared to serve European travelers. Russian and US tourists occupy the next highest rungs on the ladder. China, which at the moment accounts for just 2 percent of the guest mix, is often an afterthought.

"The vast majority (of tourism operators) mainly serve Europe, and they are not prepared for the Chinese customer," Croce says. "We really need to educate them to deal with this diversity."

At a policy level, Croce says, complicated visa requirements are costing EU countries Chinese tourism dollars, and a recent decision by the US to introduce 10-year biometric visas means the disadvantage will be heightened.

While the commission is lobbying for visa reform, Croce says, in the meantime, luring Chinese travelers and attracting them back for multiple visits could be as simple as tourism operators understanding them better.

"The basics are the easiest things to fix," she says. "Having a boiler (kettle) in the room with some tea on offer is not mainstream in Europe. Having some staff who can speak even some basic Chinese helps."

According to the 2014 China International Monitor Survey, 85 percent of Chinese travelers rank language-related products and services, such as Mandarin-speaking staff and translator-guides, as the most important amenities they look for in a hotel.

Beyond the basics, Croce says, the commission's research has shown Europe needs to be more aware that what appeals to Western tourists may not resonate with Chinese.

"For them, visiting the Mercedes museum is the same as visiting the Louvre, maybe more so, because it's the brand that matters. Germany is very attractive, especially eastern Germany and the birthplace of Karl Marx. It is an absolute must for Chinese. There is this heritage or Communist past in some European countries that is very attractive to Chinese."

Gong says the ancient tie-in with Chinese culture is one of the reasons she loves visiting Japan. But while there are sites in Europe with historical and cultural significance that resonate with Chinese, she found them difficult to find and rarely advertised.

Zheng Rui has traveled extensively throughout Europe. The 31-year-old IT worker loves visiting, but says there are a few things that do make travel there difficult at times.

The big problem he frequently encounters is in making payment. Currently, China's only clearance center is UnionPay, the country's equivalent of Visa or MasterCard. Zheng and Gong both say coverage in Europe can still be patchy, particularly in restaurants and smaller stores.

"When I first started traveling 13 or 15 years ago I had to use cash, mostly," Zheng says. "Even now UnionPay is still not that convenient in Europe. Even in the most popular destinations there are still problems. I recently visited Budapest and almost all the restaurants had problems taking UnionPay. Even when they did accept it, sometimes when I showed the card to the waiter they said they wanted cash."

According to the China Tourism Academy, in 2013 shopping was the biggest area of expenditure for Chinese tourists abroad and accounted for more than 50 percent of the average travelers' total spend on holidays, up from about 33 percent in 2012.

James Wu, general manager of luxury travel agency UULUX, agrees shopping is a major focus for Chinese travelers.

"Chinese people usually spend one to two days shopping in both long (10-15 days) and short (3-5 days) trips. They always go on a shopping spree as long as they believe that the products are cheaper than in China."

Croce says Europe already attracts big money from the "highest segment" of China's outbound tourist market.

"The Chinese market is as diverse as any other market, but generalizing, I would say they want shopping, shopping and more shopping," she says. "The wealthy ones will undertake a trip to Europe just to shop for major brands. A Louis Vuitton bag is a souvenir."

Zheng says he and his wife always set aside dedicated shopping time in Europe.

"We always plan where to shop. We concentrate our shopping for one or two days to get everything we need. My wife wants clothes, shoes, and makeup and perfume－the luxury brands. For France or Italy I keep dedicated money aside for this, about 2,000 euros (per trip)."

In the UK last year, where 96 percent of Chinese tourists who applied for a visa received one in an average of seven days or less, 196,000 Chinese visitors spent a total of 491.7 million pounds ($772 million; 620 million euros) a 63.8 percent increase on 2012.

But Yang Jinsong, an analyst with the China Tourism Academy, says shopping alone is no longer enough.

"Luxury goods are much cheaper in Europe than in China, so most tourists do list shopping there as important," he says.

"Chinese tourists have become such a strong engine to the local economy that European countries should try harder to impress them.

"Chinese signs and guides are only the first step. Local people need to be more tolerant of Chinese tourists. For instance, talking loudly is not considered as impolite in China, so do not rush to judge them."

Croce says that while shopping can dominate the Chinese tourist's agenda, something more is needed. She says niche products like wellness spas, golf and health orientated pursuits are popular.