Chinese feel free to ask direct personal questions out of simple curiosity (personal income, blood type, date of birth and family relations for example). This is an expression of concern and friendship and not meant to be rude or intrusive. The differences between Chinese people from various regions can be just as pronounced as between different countries in Europe. Before receiving a group it is useful to know which area they are from in order to adjust your service and planning accordingly.

Credit cards are becoming more popular but international cards are difficult to obtain and normally require a large deposit in China. Therefore for travel, cash is still king. Unfortunately the large amounts of cash they take for shopping make Chinese tourists a target for robbery, so safety is one of their greatest concerns and should be addressed head-on.

Name cards are always exchanged at business and social meetings and should be handed out and received with both hands holding the card. If receiving Chinese guests, or visiting China, it is a good idea to prepare Chinese versions of your name card. They will show your guests/partners how to pronounce your name and what is your position. The Chinese surname always comes before the given name, usually consisting of one syllable, although there are exceptions. Names of ethnic groups in China are different. It is acceptable to shake the hands of people of the same gender while with younger people social handshaking is much the same as in the west. Social kissing, which is normal in Europe, is not the norm in China.

As Chinese avoid head on confrontation at any cost, you may be excused for thinking after a visit that everything went smoothly and to their satisfaction. In fact, the reason they do not complain is because they fear it will lead to an embarrassing confrontation. The concept of ‘face’ is extremely important. MianZi in Chinese, can be lost (shi mianzi) or given (gei mianzi). Losing face happens when someone is put in an embarrassing situation. Making a Chinese person nervous in an already uncomfortable and alien environment will definitely lead to a loss of face. Even when in the wrong, avoid a direct confrontation. If there is a tour leader, it is best to discuss problems with him or her first and ask him/her to facilitate the resolution. Finding a compromise is always seen as the best way.

It is usually likely that the guests will return to China and either complain to their travel agent or just to their friends and family. In any case, a responsible host will try to find out their real thoughts of the experience before they depart. Some tips on how to accomplish that:

• Ask the agent – Follow up visits by checking with the tour operator or travel agent if they had received any complains or comments on the services.
• Formulate questions differently – rather than asking “is everything ok?”, rather “how can we make your experience better?” or “what suggestions can you make to improve our service?”, so that the reply will be perceived as friendly and positive.
• Never assume you have received an honest reply. The cliché about yes meaning maybe and maybe meaning no is very much a fact in China.

Chinese cuisine is world famous. Chinese travellers do not easily accept other cuisines. Whenever Chinese cuisine is not available, Chinese travellers will have a hard time adjusting. At least one Chinese meal a day should be arranged. Chinese meals are shared together which often results in less expensive dining compared to Western restaurants. Chinese food abroad was adjusted to the taste buds of Westerners and is often not up to Chinese standards.

Depending on which province they come from, Chinese have very different tastes when it comes to food. People from Guangdong like fresh food with little spice, people from Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei enjoy very spicy food; people from Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang prefer sweet and people from the North of China eat more salty and oily cuisine.

Chinese often bring their own dried instant noodles, which they can eat at any meal, should the food they find on their trip not be suitable or not fill them up. Instant noodles are prepared by pouring hot water on them. Though it is difficult to satisfy a Chinese traveller when it comes to food, paying attention to the choices of cuisine will certainly be highly appreciated. A host that takes the care to find out what kind of Chinese food the clients like, or a hotel that goes the extra mile to add Chinese elements to the breakfast buffet, will win the respect and appreciation of their Chinese guests.

When it comes to drink, Chinese tea is ubiquitous. Unlike the black tea prevalent in Europe (‘red’ tea in Chinese), Chinese drink green tea leaves, which are less processed and therefore lighter in flavour compared to black tea. Nowadays, sweetened iced red tea is becoming popular amongst the young. Chinese visitors often bring their own tea leaves, since they do not expect to find it in Europe and prefer leaves to tea bags. Hotels and restaurants would do well to provide hot boiled water to brew tea or instant noodles even if they do not stock these items. In China each hotel and restaurant provide unlimited hot water or green tea free of charge, so this is expected in Europe as well. It is worthwhile stocking disposable chopsticks even if serving western food.

Beer is popular during a mealtimes and hard liquor for the men. Women are less inclined to drink alcohol and normally stick to tea or soft drinks. People from northern China are more likely to drink more potent stuff, such as rice wine (mijiu) or sorghum wine (gaoliang).

• Meals times tend to be early – 7 AM for breakfast, 11:30-12:00 for lunch and around 6 PM for dinner.
• All dishes are to be served at once or in the order they are prepared and rice can be served in one large bowl to be shared by the guests.
• In northern China people eat soup at the end of the meal, while in southern China people soup is a starter.
• Chinese usually don’t like sweet desserts such as cakes and are used to eat fruit at the end of the meal.
• In contrast to European cuisine, Chinese welcome a variety of meats and vegetables in one meal. Fish, poultry, beef etc can be served together, with rice and soup as a staple.
• People from Northern China love dumplings (similar to ravioli with meat, seafood or vegetable filling) as any meal of the day.
• Muslims make up a large minority in China who do not eat pork.
• There are very few vegetarians in China so no special arrangements need to be made, unless it is a Buddhist group.

Accommodation

Accommodation is normally arranged by the European tour operator. Hotel chains traditionally do not have direct contact with Chinese travel agencies although this will change. Chinese consumers are not familiar with the range of hotels in Europe or the standards. They form their expectations based on hotels in China and assume that the standards are the same across Europe. Managing their expectations and providing more information in advance in very important.

Chinese travellers often judge the hotel by the size of the lobby. They prefer large hotels with a modern look and state-of-the art equipment. A double room in China means 2 separate single beds, the equivalent of twin room in Europe. This is also referred to as ‘standard’ room and is preferred by Chinese guests.

• Hotels that feature Chinese restaurants or with a Chinese restaurant in the vicinity are always preferred.
• Shopping areas within walking distance have preference.
• It is helpful to provide information in Chinese where the nightlife takes place or where there are casinos.
• Chinese people are not used to drink tap water. They expect hot water flasks or water kettles in the room.
• We recommend stocking the mini bar in the room with green tea leaves and instant noodles. It is important to clearly show which items are for sale.
• Chinese electric plugs are 3 pronged and different to any European country. They use the same wattage, but adaptors are needed to suit the local sockets.
• Chinese people travel light so a basic selection of accessories such as toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, comb etc. in the room will be appreciated.
• Chinese international satellite programs are available all globally. CCTV 9 is an English language channel while other CCTV channels are all in Mandarin. Many satellite channels available in Europe are in Cantonese, so this is a point to notice. Providing such channels is a very good selling point.

Transportation

Coach: Comfortable, fast, safe and economical arrangements are expected. Chinese groups mainly travel by coach through Europe. The Chinese travel agencies are not familiar with the rules and regulations covering coach drivers in Europe and try to extend the driving hours to fit more in to each day. Local tour operators should clarify this area and provide (where possible) a seamless service throughout Europe.

Rail: Travelling by train through Europe is gaining in popularity, particularly for FIT. There is a room for much more promotion as Chinese are very used to this mode of transport, but have no awareness of how advanced and comfortable the rail system in Europe is compared to their own.

Air: The main requirement is direct air connections. There is a bottle neck on air routes from China to Europe and many choose connections via Asia or the Middle East. Air routes to Europe from Chinese cities other than Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are preferred as currently almost all travel to Europe must transfer via these cities or Hong Kong. Some agencies even arrange charter flights during the peak periods to resolve this.

• Chinese-speaking cabin staff are vital, as there may be many tourists who are flying for the very first time.
• As a courtesy, any local maps translated to Chinese will help the tourists gain courage to venture on their own.

Sightseeing

Many Chinese travellers to long haul destinations are leaving their country for the first time. They prefer to visit at least three countries during their trip. Mono-destination itineraries are still rare but gathering interest. Attractions and itineraries are often decided by the European tour operator and are pretty standard. To promote new attractions or itineraries, the European providers will need to build long-term relationships with the Chinese travel agencies to gain their trust and support. As travel bookings are often last minute, less attention is paid to the details of the itinerary. With the limited knowledge of the agent this cannot be checked. Of course, it is does not help customer satisfaction at all, but will improve only with more experience, longer planning time, better visa procedures and consumer sophistication.

The Chinese-speaking tour escort or guide is of great importance to the Chinese tourist. Whenever the tour guide is not up to scratch, complaints will ensue. Checking in advance the source region of the group can help to match them with a suitable escort/guide. The tour leader coming with the groups is supposed to speak English, but don’t be surprised if communication proves difficult. Recent experience of ADS groups shows that agents try to save money by not paying their tour leader or hiring young, inexperienced ones. The tour leader then attempts to make up their revenue from shopping commissions.

Shopping

Shopping opportunities must be included in coordination with the travel agent and tour leader. The Chinese travellers love to purchase souvenirs during their trip, as it is their habit to offer presents to all their friends, relatives and colleagues back home. A large proportion of their trip budget is spent on gifts both in proportion to their income and in real terms. Chinese people are very socially aware and care what people think of them. They may all purchase the same goods once one member made a buy. Brand is very important to them. They will purchase items so as not to be outdone or not to embarrass the tour leader. However pressure selling is having a negative effect on the reputation of many destinations and travel agents. Though shopping is integral to the experience, discretion should be used. In China, shopping malls have long opening hours so it is important to inform the clients what the opening hours are in your region, to avoid disappointment.

• Favourite gifts: clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, watches, regional delicacies and souvenirs.
• Some groups already travel solely for the purpose of shopping. This started in HKG and Singapore and now also happens in France and Italy.

• The concepts of privacy and space are quite different for Chinese and Westerners. Being loud and nosy is an expression of enjoying oneself and caring for each other, but this might be experienced as rude by Westerners. With such a dense population, Chinese are accustomed to very little personal space and are not used to being on their own.
• Smoking is entrenched in Chinese society as the domain of men. They will find it difficult to accept smoking bans in public spaces. At the same time, they will be puzzled over the prevalence of public smoking amongst women in Europe.
• As China’s history dates back thousands of years, Chinese are not impressed by cultural sites that are ‘only’ a few hundred years old. This is a distinct advantage of Europe over the new world destinations of Australia and North America. The cultural and historical links between China and Europe should be highlighted as much as possible.
• When travelling abroad it is a rare opportunity to experience certain activities that are forbidden in China. Casinos and cabaret shows cause a lot of excitement among visiting Chinese for this reason.
• In China, travel is a service and travel agents are expected to bend over backwards to satisfy their paying customers. In turn, those agents expect their partners in the destination to go along with the client’s demands under any circumstance. The find it difficult to accept the western attitude. What we consider a fair service for a fair price, they would consider inflexibility or lack of caring.
• Because visa approval is still sometimes unpredictable, air tickets and hotels are often confirmed at the last minute. Business people, used to flexible domestic travel, expect to be able to change their plans frequently and therefore do not plan carefully enough to avoid late changes.
• Compared to other nationalities, Chinese groups are never booked months in advance. There is tremendous pressure on travel agents, visa consulates, local suppliers, hotels, guides etc. to provide instant quotations and high quality tours on extremely short notice. Inevitably this often leads to problems on the road and subsequent complaints from the clients. As ADS procedures become the norm and visa application standardised, we expect to see this problem ease.

The historic background of travelling abroad was often based on “friendly relations” with other countries. Until the late eighties the world was divided in two camps engaged in cold war. During this period China made a clear distinction between friendly nations and adversaries. Officials were allowed to travel abroad only upon official invitation to enhance friendly relations. It was therefore very much limited to officials and seen as a great privilege. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the consequent change in world order and economic reforms in China, outbound travel had moved from being the privilege of officials to a business necessity. As disposable income and leisure time increases, it is now becoming a part of ordinary people’s lives for pleasure and education. However, visiting other countries is still regarded as an exchange of friendship and goodwill.

This cultural background can influence the expectations of Chinese travellers. One often still feels honoured or privileged to travel abroad and expects a corresponding hospitality from the hosts. With the changing times, privileged Chinese visitors are not necessarily received ceremoniously; rather they are often treated as a cash cow. Frequently, the Chinese visitor is disappointed in the level of service and hospitality he/she finds in Europe. To experience Western society first hand is very much a culture shock. Europe is not the hyper-modern society they have expected compared to China which has always depicted itself as backward and poor.

The first groups of travellers to Europe received a great deal of publicity and have set the tone for Europe’s image in Chinese eyes. They view with respect Europeans’ regard for cultural heritage, the environment and personal freedoms. The positive experience often comes from such things as access to casino’s, to luxury goods and visits to famous traditional landmarks like the Eiffel tower and Dutch windmills.

As national tourism boards and tour operators are finally allowed to promote and advertise their tourism products and services, the Chinese consumers will now have unprecedented access to information. This offers a choice on what type of travel they would like and leads to a quick diversification of the market. Although shopping is high on the list, the negative experience of many on high pressure ‘shopping tours’ to Southeast Asia and Australia is slowly changing the priorities. Interest in attractions, museums and nature, variety of accommodation and means of transport will all be expressed by this market in the next few years.

Based on a research by the China Economic Prosperity Inspection Centre in 2002 among 700 Chinese citizens from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, it was surmised that over 60% intend to travel abroad within one year.

Excerpts of the survey:

Do you intend to travel abroad within one year?

Do you intend to travel abroad within three years?

When planning a trip abroad, what do you consider the most important issue?

When planning a trip abroad, what is your main concern?

Source: Huanya Economic Research Institute

Shopping is one of the highlights of travelling abroad for several reasons. Firstly, Chinese consumers are generally price conscious and consumers of luxury goods typically seek the lowest price if this is easily identifiable. Prices of luxury commodities can be at least 20 to 30 per cent higher in the mainland compared to Hong Kong or Europe as a result of the high import tariffs and consumption taxes.

Secondly, gift giving is an important aspect of Chinese culture. When travelling, they tend to bring back gifts representative of the countries they have visited, often branded products otherwise inaccessible in China. In addition, in the business world buying expensive gifts is a common and accepted practice and is seen as a way to show respect.

Last but certainly not least, despite the recent expansion of most luxury brands, the variety of luxury products available in the Chinese mainland is still limited when compared with Europe. And some brands do not offer their full range of products on the Chinese mainland. This is an additional incentive for the Chinese tourists to buy when travelling overseas.

• Average spending per trip to Australia is almost 3,000 USD per Chinese visitor, compared to 3,600 USD per Japanese visitor and 3,870 USD per American visitor.
• Shopping of luxury goods focuses on jewellery, leather goods, watches, accessories and ready-to-wear.
• Chinese travellers still tend to carry cash, although domestic credit cards are getting popular. most of the foreign destinations now can accept Chinese credit cards.
• Singapore has introduced a visa policy connected to Visa platinum and gold cardholders, they can apply for tourist visa with multiple entries based on their credit card credibility.

·      Paid holidays

Paid holidays are not common, which is why people tend to travel only during the public holidays for private travel. A public discussion to introduce more paid holidays in order to spread the tourism flow throughout the year resulted in a change to the holiday leave system in China from 2008. Employees won the right for 5 to 15 days of paid leave in addition to (shorter) public holidays.

Employees of International companies or foreign-invested companies enjoy better holiday conditions, with a sliding scale of paid holiday each year additional to the national public holidays, based on years in service. These white-collar workers are also higher paid and form an attractive potential market sector for outbound travel.

·      Public holidays and school vacations

The public holidays were extended from 3 to 7 days in 1999, creating the opportunity for people to travel at their own expense (private travel). Private travel is now mainly concentrated during the public holidays. The school vacations take place around Chinese New Year (4 weeks) and in summer (July and August). Travelling with the family is a new phenomenon as these extended holidays have only recently been introduced.

China has implemented a strict one-child policy during the last twenty-five years. Families in the cities have one child only. Families from the countryside are allowed to have two children. Travelling is also often considered an educational experience for the only child. When a family goes travelling it might also include the grandparents, making it three generations and a terrific challenge for the travel planner.

The spring festival is a time for families to meet and spend time together. The preferred destinations for this holiday are warm places closer to home. Domestic destinations and South East Asia are the popular choice. During October and May, more holidays were taken to long haul destinations. Many people took up to two weeks holiday during these periods. However from May 2008, the May week-long holidays was shortened to 3 days only and new public holidays were introduced.

As the concept of paid holidays is relatively new in China, people often travel with the excuse of business or official travel.

Some themes for European destinations in 2006
•    London: 2008 the Year of China
•    Germany: 2006 FIFA World Cup
•    Austria: 250 Anniversary of Mozart
•    Direct flights are a major selling point in destination marketing. Choice of tour operator in Europe and number of nights in each destination are decided by the first port of arrival.
•    “Visa shopping” in the past meant agents would bargain with different consulates to find the cheapest and simplest visa application and with it the choice of first destination. With the implementation of the overall ADS procedure this should be not be the case anymore, as all the embassies and consulates are supposed to apply the same rules.
•    Nevertheless, visa shopping still exists as some embassies and consulates process visas faster (e.g. larger staff capacity at their visa departments), have better facilities (such as special opening hours for ADS visa couriers), communicate in a more transparent way, are more service-oriented or are less fussy with visa processing (lower rejection rates). All contribute to the image of a certain destination and have an impact on sales.