Looking to cash in on the growing number of overseas Chinese tourists - and their growing spending power - tourist destinations have been going all out to attract visitors from the Middle Kingdom. These countries have implemented favorable visa and tax policies to bring in Chinese tourists. One standout has been Japan, which saw a spike in Chinese tourists after it relaxed visa restrictions in January. The country stands in contrast to Hong Kong, where the number of tourists from the Chinese mainland has plunged due to its deteriorating shopping environments and the hostile attitude of local residents. Meanwhile, Russia has emerged as an up-and-comer in the growing competition for Chinese tourists.
Wang Haiyang used to be a fanatic about spending leisurely weekends sipping coffee in the elegant atmosphere of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor.
But lately, the 29-year-old Shenzhen resident would rather just stay away from the city. "The kindness, warmth, convenience, order and civilized behavior in the city that I was once so familiar with seems to have faded," she told the Global Times Friday.
Wang, who goes to Hong Kong primarily to buy baby formula for her 17-month-old son, has cut back her trips to the city to once every month or two.
"Many friends and colleagues now prefer to buy goods from overseas purchasing agents rather than from Hong Kong," she said.
Japan has now replaced Hong Kong as her favorite traveling destination.
The country became Chinese tourists' favorite outbound short-term tourist destination in the first half of 2015, Tuniu Corp, a Beijing-based online travel agency, said in a report on July 27.
The change shows how countries have been competing to lure more Chinese tourists to their shores, said Sun Lijian, director of the Financial Research Center at Fudan University.
"The competition for Chinese tourists has grown fierce between destination countries in recent years due to the strong spending power that large numbers of Chinese tourists bring," Sun told the Global Times Friday.
The number of outbound tourists in China reached 107 million in 2014, increased 796.1 percent compared to 2001, Xinhua News Agency reported in July.
Coming down from the peak
The number of tourists from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong has plunged recently.
Tourists from Chinese mainland to Hong Kong has decreased by 50 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, the Hong Kong Commercial Daily reported on July 26.
For the entire month of July, the total number of visitors to Hong Kong fell 2.9 percent from the pervious year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board reported Friday. Visitors from the Chinese mainland - Hong Kong top source of tourists - fell by 1.8 percent year-on-year.
Major airlines have taken notice. "The number of passengers we transported to Hong Kong has decreased by at least one-third in July," Zhang Wuan, spokesman for Shanghai-based Spring Airlines, China's leading budget carrier by revenue, told the Global Times Friday.
Analysts attributed the drop to the ongoing conflict between Hongkongers and mainlanders, deteriorating shopping environments, an unfavorable exchange rate and competition from other tourist destinations.
Some individual tourists agree. "The services in Hong Kong shops are deteriorating. And some -Hongkongers' disgust with -mainlanders has hurt our feelings," said Wang, the Shenzhen resident.
Besides, Hong Kong doesn't have enough to make it a great tourist destination, said Liu Hongliang, a 32-year-old resident from Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
"Hong Kong isn't all that different than any other modern city," he said. "Hong Kong architecture and culture are not that unique, so it's not a very attractive destination for me."
The drop in mainland tourists has taken a toll on the city's retail and hotel industries. Average hotel room prices have fallen for nine straight months, according to a report from xinhuanet.com in July. And retail sales, including sales of high-end jewelry and watches, have also fallen in four of the first five months of this year, the report said.
"Hongkongers need to start being friendly again to mainland tourists as soon as possible," Sun from Fudan University said.
Turning to Japan, Russia
"Japan has much better services than Hong Kong," Wang said. "I also find the exotic sites attractive and the goods to be a good value."
Without hesitation, she said Japan was her favorite tourist destination. She's not alone.
"The number of passengers our airline has taken to Japan doubled in July, and booking figures show that it will double again in August," said Zhang, the airline spokesman.
Zhang noted that Japan has instituted several policies to bring in more tourists.
Japan relaxed visa restrictions for Chinese tourists from January 19.
"Japan is striving to make tourism a new source of economic growth," Sun said. "Because domestic tourism consumption is weak in Japan, attracting large number of foreign tourists is crucial."
Chinese tourists averagely spent about 300,000 yen ($2,430) per person in Japan in the first quarter this year, increased 20.9 percent year-on-year, huanqiu.com reported in April, citing Japanese media.
Japan is an attractive destination for Chinese tourists because of its proximity to China, its convenient visa policies and the favorable exchange rate, experts said.
Russia has also become a hot destination for Chinese tourists.
The number of Chinese visitors to Russia in the first half of 2015 increased 180 percent year-on-year, xinmin.cn reported on July 27, citing Russian media.
Two weeks ago, Liu, the Harbin resident, returned from a trip to Russia with 20 colleagues.
He said Russia is attracting more and more Chinese tourists.
"We saw many Chinese people at local shops, and these shops have employees who can speak Chinese to serve Chinese tourists. We were all impressed by the easy lifestyle, the clean environment, the cheap, quality goods and the politeness of the local people," he noted.
Other destinations
The number of tourists to South Korea has recently fallen due to the recent outbreak of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus.
The average number of daily Chinese visitors to South Korea fell by 54.3 percent in June year-on-year, according to the South Korea's embassy in China.
The number of Chinese passengers flying to South Korea on a Spring Airlines flight has fallen by more than half, said Zhang, the airline spokesman.
The South Korean government has recently launched three measures to rekindle tourism interest in the country. The measures appear to be working.
"Data shows that our bookings for August have recovered to more than 70 percent of what they were during the same period last year," Zhang said.
To compete for Chinese tourists, more than 10 countries across Europe and North America, including Italy, Germany, Belgium and the UK, have simplified tourist visa applications and shortened visa processing times.
"The increasing number of Chinese tourists abroad brings huge opportunities to overseas tourism markets, but also big challenges to domestic tourism markets," Sun said.
