Chinese travelers are the most important source of income for global tourism, according to a report published by the Inited Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Germans, Russians and Japanese are not too far on their spending budget for tourism, according to the study.
Encouraged by the growth of their currency, Chinese tourists spent a record $102 billion in 2012, 40% more than in 2011, when they left in the countries they have visited $73 billion. According to the same report, the number of international trips made by Chinese tourists grew from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012, with China becoming the fastest growing market in the world.
“In 2005 China ranked seventh in international tourism expenditure, and has since successively overtaken Italy, Japan, France and the United Kingdom. With last year’s surge, China leaped to first place, surpassing the top spender, Germany, and the United States,” said the report.
“With this sustained growth, China has become the largest spender in international tourism globally in 2012,” the UNWTO report reads.
Although the study did not make an analysis of the cost per trip, a simple calculation relative to the total amount spent and the number of international travelers, suggests that a Chinese tourist spends an average of $1,230 on each travel.
According to the data, by 2015, 100 million Chinese will travel abroad, a number previously projected for 2020. This year’s figures are based mainly on Chinese tendency to spend large sums on shopping.
Another significant progress was observed on the Russian tourists, where international tourism increased by 32% in 2012, which helped it climb two positions in the top.
“Emerging economies continue to lead growth in tourism demand,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. “The impressive growth of tourism expenditure from China and Russia reflects the entry into the tourism market of a growing middle class from these countries, which will surely continue to change the map of world tourism,” said Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary General.
Only countries in the top ten with a fall in the number of international tourists are France (down 6%) and Italy (down 1%).
Expenditures among countries in international tourism for 2012:
1. China – $102 billion
2. Germany – $83.8 billion
3. U.S. – $83.7 billion
4. United Kingdom – $52.3 billion
5. Russian Federation – $42.8 billion
6. France – $38.1 billion
7. Canada – $35.2 billion
8. Japan – $28.1 billion
9. Australia – $27.6 billion
10. Italy – $26.2 billion
11. Singapore – $22.4 billion
12. Brazil – $22.2 billion
13. Belgium – $21.7 billion
14. Hong Kong – $20.5 billion
15. Netherlands – $20.2 billion.
Reply