Foreign Tourism
#31
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I got lost in the area pictured below last weekend, and it's less than 10 miles from where I live.

There were also street vendors selling live pigeons and the like.
#32
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While I agree with you in the general sense (i.e. cities are morphing into shopping malls), interesting and rural is never far away.
I got lost in the area pictured below last weekend, and it's less than 10 miles from where I live.

There were also street vendors selling live pigeons and the like.
I got lost in the area pictured below last weekend, and it's less than 10 miles from where I live.

There were also street vendors selling live pigeons and the like.
#33


Join Date: Jan 2005
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I think the poor perception of China is the number 1 issue, not visa. If you look at HK and Japan, both don't require Visas for most developed country visitors. HK tourism has rebounded to only 40% of pre-pandemic levels while Japan numbers has rebounded to 70% of 2019 numbers despite lack of Chinese group tourists (only recently restarted).
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...bour-shortages
https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-da...o%20May%202019.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...bour-shortages
https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-da...o%20May%202019.
#34

Join Date: Aug 2021
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China's reactions do not help, of course, but China did not start the decoupling.
#35
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The lack of interest in China tourism from the US-aligned west is a direct result of the trade/tech war and an aspect of decoupling. The saturation of negative China coverage in Five Eyes media that started in 2018 when the trade war started accomplished its intended effect.
China's reactions do not help, of course, but China did not start the decoupling.
China's reactions do not help, of course, but China did not start the decoupling.
#36




Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,397
I think the poor perception of China is the number 1 issue, not visa. If you look at HK and Japan, both don't require Visas for most developed country visitors. HK tourism has rebounded to only 40% of pre-pandemic levels while Japan numbers has rebounded to 70% of 2019 numbers despite lack of Chinese group tourists (only recently restarted).
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...bour-shortages
https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-da...o%20May%202019.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...bour-shortages
https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-da...o%20May%202019.
#37


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The figures for HK are misleading. The 40% calculation is done using the first five months of 2023. The border between China and HK was only opened in February and Covid measures in HK weren't removed until March. You need to look at the numbers for April and May to get a better sense of where things are.
https://www.discoverhongkong.com/con...Arrivals-E.pdf
#38
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The figures for HK are misleading. The 40% calculation is done using the first five months of 2023. The border between China and HK was only opened in February and Covid measures in HK weren't removed until March. You need to look at the numbers for April and May to get a better sense of where things are.
Japan is set up for a much stronger future as a tourist destination than either the mainland or HK.
#39
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HK is suffering and will continue to suffer from being viewed by many potential tourists as just another Chinese city now. In addition, many people used HK as a gateway to the mainland even up to 2019 when making a business trip (although admittedly much less than in the early 2000's); they'd stop in HK for a few days before or after their trip to the mainland. Now, with business travel to China not really booming, I'd expect HK to suffer from this as well.
Japan is set up for a much stronger future as a tourist destination than either the mainland or HK.
Japan is set up for a much stronger future as a tourist destination than either the mainland or HK.
#40
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Other Asian tourist prefer visiting Japan over China by a wide margin. I expect this to continue and the increasing interest from western tourists in Japan to also continue going forward.
China will need to really go on a charm offensive to win back foreign tourists. Right now they dont seem to have any interest in doing so and they are also currently overwhelmed with domestic tourism so maybe the need isnt so great either.
China will need to really go on a charm offensive to win back foreign tourists. Right now they dont seem to have any interest in doing so and they are also currently overwhelmed with domestic tourism so maybe the need isnt so great either.
#41


Join Date: Jan 2005
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Other Asian tourist prefer visiting Japan over China by a wide margin. I expect this to continue and the increasing interest from western tourists in Japan to also continue going forward.
China will need to really go on a charm offensive to win back foreign tourists. Right now they dont seem to have any interest in doing so and they are also currently overwhelmed with domestic tourism so maybe the need isnt so great either.
China will need to really go on a charm offensive to win back foreign tourists. Right now they dont seem to have any interest in doing so and they are also currently overwhelmed with domestic tourism so maybe the need isnt so great either.
#42




Join Date: May 2010
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It's hard to know what's what in China. Some news reports are that domestic travel has more than completely recovered yet the airlines continue to lose money. China Big 3 lose 1.5-2.0 billion $ in first half 2023 At least the losses are declining.
#43
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I don't know. If I owned a restaurant or hotel, my target customers would be the types of Chinese people that order everything on the menu and my most expensive wines.
#44




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#45
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