Europe 'failing to cater for rise in tourists from Asia'
Several European countries have failed to prepare to meet the demands of millions of tourists from China, India and elsewhere in Asia who are expected to drive the future growth of the global travel industry, according to industry experts.
Organisers of World Travel Market, the annual global travel exhibition which begins today, say Europe runs the risk of allowing other regions such as the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to move ahead in exploiting the potential from the promised influx of new tourists.
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Chinese outbound trips to destinations outside south-east Asia are expected to reach nearly 16m next year, nearly double the figure for 2005, according to Euromonitor. By 2010, that figure is expected to rise to nearly 37m, a third of all Chinese outbound trips.
Chinese tourist expenditure is also set for a boost, growing from a global figure of $47.8bn this year to $94.3bn (�74.2m, ￡49.6m) in 2010.
WTM says in its annual Global Trends report that Europe has done little so far to cater for Asian inbound tourist needs. Many tourists in Hong Kong, South Korea and India, for example, favour customised travel rather than the mass-catered travel commonly offered to Asian tourists in Europe.
But even these mass tourism products lack the infrastructure in Europe to support them, the report says, falling down on parking for coaches, access to city centres, credit card facilities and ATMs outside main tourist areas. Chinese tourists are restricted in the amount of cash they can carry abroad and so pre-load payment cards before their holidays.
WTM describes Chinese tourists' European travel habits as "country-hop and stop", moving around multiple destinations on a 10-day tour and concentrating their spending on shopping for international brands rather than accommodation.
That proves a disadvantage to the UK, the report says, because of its shortage of mid-priced accommodation and its geographical position in Europe. Ironically, it was because of China's decision last year to grant the UK approved destination status that Chinese tourists can visit all 25 countries of the European Union.
France is the leading European destination for Chinese tourists, attracting 472,000 visitors last year, followed by Germany.
Clement Wong, Euromonitor's travel and tourism manager, said France was reaping the benefit of its "year of France in China" promotion in 2004. "Although it has been the year of China in the UK, there is a lag in Chinese-speaking tour guides," Mr Wong said. "There is room for the UK to improve."
欧洲“未能满足中国游客需求”
旅游业专家称，在满足亚洲游客需求方面，一些欧洲国家未能做好准备。数以百万计来自中国、印度和亚洲其它地区的游客，预计将推动未来全球旅游业的增长。
伦敦世界旅游交易会(WTM)的组织者表示，在开发利用未来新入境游客的潜力方面，欧洲可能会落在其它地区的后面，比如中东、非洲和拉美等。将于今天开幕的世界旅游交易会，是一年一度的全球旅游展览会。
来自欧睿信息咨询(Euromonitor)的数据显示，预计明年到东南亚以外地区旅游的中国人将接近1600万人，较2005年增加近一倍。到2010年，这一数字预计将增至3700万，占中国所有出境游人数的三分之一。
中国游客的支出也将大幅增长。预计到2010年，中国游客在全球的消费支出将从今年的478亿美元增至943亿美元。
世界旅游交易会在年度《全球趋势》(Global Trends)报告中称，在满足入境亚洲游客需求方面，欧洲国家迄今仍少有作为。比如，许多来自香港、韩国和印度的游客更喜欢为他们量身定制的旅游方案，而不是欧洲国家目前普遍为亚洲游客提供的大众旅游产品。
报告显示，即使是这些大众旅游产品在欧洲也缺少基础设施的支持，在主要旅游区以外，停车、访问市中心、信用卡设施和自动取款机服务方面存在缺陷。
世界旅游交易会认为，中国游客欧洲之旅的特点是“走马观花”――为期10天的行程，需要在多个目的地之间奔波，消费集中在购买国际名牌产品，而不是住宿。
报告认为，这一点对英国不利，因为英国缺乏中等价位的住宿场所，而且在欧洲的地理位置不佳。中国去年决定授予英国“旅游目的地国地位”后，中国游客能到欧盟所有25个国家旅游。
中国游客去得最多的欧洲国家是法国，去年共有47.2万人前往。德国位居其次。
