Approved europeans expect vwave of chinese tour groups
A wave of Chinese tourists is expected to hit European cities this week as Beijing lifts restrictions on group travel to nearly 30 countries.
China's designation of most of Europe as an “approved destination”, taking effect on Wednesday, is expected to trigger a flood of tour groups to the region. Until now, only business travellers and individuals who were able to obtain visas were able to travel there.
The number of Chinese travelling overseas is expected to swell in coming years as Beijing relaxes rules on foreign visits, creating a substantial new source of business for the world's hotel, airline and travel industries.
The World Tourism Organisation estimates that by 2020 the number of Chinese tourists will reach 100m. Last year, there were 20.2m.
“International travel is no longer something that's once in a lifetime,” says John Koldowski, managing director of the Pacific Asia Travel Association's strategic intelligence centre. “Travel is a part of [Chinese people's] lives.”
China and 27 European countries have agreed to set up a system for handling Chinese tourists, allowing the European countries “approved destination status”.
The countries include Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland.
The UK has negotiated but not signed an approved destination pact.
The first flight to Europe carrying Chinese tour groups will leave Beijing for Paris at noon on Wednesday. Travel agents expect the most popular destinations to be France, Italy and Switzerland.
Chinese tour groups are currently allowed to visit 26 countries, including much of south-east Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and Japan.
Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 but is still considered an overseas destination, the former Portugese colony of Macau and Thailand have historically attracted the largest number of Chinese tourists.
Travel agents believe that these areas will continue to be popular.
However, they say Europe's different culture will prove attractive to Chinese tourists.
Vivian Li, a bank treasurer from Shanghai who is planning a trip to France and Italy in September, said: “I have always wanted to realise my dream of relaxing in a sidewalk coffee shop on the Champs Elysées and watching the handsome men walk by.”
欧洲国家将迎来蜂拥中国客
随着中国政府解除对近30个国家组团游的限制，一波中国游客潮预计本周将到达欧洲各个城市。
中国将欧洲大部分地区指定为“获准旅游目的地”，并将于周三生效，预计这将引发旅游团蜂拥至这些地区。在此之前，只有商务旅客以及能获得签证的个人才可以到那些地方去旅游。
由于中国政府放松对境外游的限制，因此到海外旅游的中国游客人数将在未来几年迅速膨胀，为全球的酒店、航空和旅游业创造巨大的新业务来源。
世界旅游组织估计，到2020年，中国游客的人数将达到1亿人。去年为2020万。
“国际旅游已不再是一生一次的事情，”亚太旅游协会(Pacific Asia Travel Association)战略情报中心的董事总经理约翰?科尔多夫斯基(John Koldowski)表示，“旅游是（中国人）生活的一部分。”
中国和27个欧洲国家已达成协议，同意建立一个接待中国旅游者的机制，从而允许这些欧洲国家获得“双边旅游目的地国地位”。
这些国家包括比利时、丹麦、法国、希腊、意大利、荷兰、爱尔兰、西班牙和瑞士。
英国已参与谈判，但没有签署目的地国协议。
中国旅行团搭乘的第一个航班将于周三中午离开北京前往巴黎。旅行社预计，最受欢迎的目的地将是法国、意大利和瑞士。
目前中国旅行团可以前往26个国家旅游，包括东南亚的大多数地区、澳大利亚、新西兰、韩国和日本。
但他们表示，由于欧洲文化和中国非常不同，上述欧洲国家将对中国游客有吸引力。
维维安?李(Vivian Li)是上海一家银行的资金调拨，正在计划9月份前往法国和日本旅游。她说：“我一直想实现一个梦想，就是休闲地坐在香谢丽舍大街边的咖啡馆里，看看来往的帅小伙。”
