Beijing engineer Wang Fei, who visited Singapore earlier this year, says travelling overseas is now the in-thing for Chinese.
Millions of her fellow countrymen would seem to agree.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The country's population of 1.3 billion is already unleashing more than 10 million overseas travellers each year and the figure is growing.
China's Asian neighbors long feared its entry into the WTO because of the economic competition it would bring.
But the flip side of China's admission to the global trade body is the opportunities it provides, notably for Asia's tourism industry, a major pillar of the regional economy.
"Overseas travel is `in' now. People have money to splurge on holidays," Wang said in Beijing. "They are not content with just travelling within the country."
The government in Beijing still restricts travel for its citizens and most Chinese live on just a few dollars a day, but the country is producing a burgeoning middle class that can dwarf the populations of many other countries.
Neighbours Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore are among the top 10 global destinations for China's tourists.
"We have seen a 20 percent to 30 percent increase in business from China," said Harry Leong, general manager of Singapore's River View Hotel. "A lot of them travel on group tours or come here for training."
Sumet Kriengchaiyaprug, honorary secretary general of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said the number of Chinese travellers rose 13 percent in the first quarter of 2002 and estimates that about 800,000 will visit the country this year.
"They come mainly from cities like Beijing and Guangzhou but we are seeing more tourists from the provinces," he said.
Nearly half the world's tourism jobs are located in Asia. The industry drives just under a tenth of the regional economy and provides seven percent of jobs, the Asian Development Bank said.
In Hong Kong, a former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Chinese visitors have overtaken Americans as the biggest spenders.
The territory expects the number of visitors to Hong Kong to rise 7.9 percent to 14.81 million this year, helped by China's decision to allow more tour groups to visit Hong Kong from the mainland since January.
"The Chinese tourists don't spend a lot on accommodation, but on shopping and dining. They buy high-end products like gold jewellery," said Donna Mongan, public relations manager for the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Some hoteliers said more Chinese travellers were moving upmarket, even if most still stay in budget or mid-range accommodation.
The luxury Hotel Intercontinental chain, with room rates averaging nearly HK$2,000 (US$256) per night, has been sending sales people to talk to travel agents in China.
"They are very rich but it takes time to educate them how to spend money in the right hotel," assistant director of sales Clarence Tse told Reuters from Hong Kong.
"But we see this changing. They would like to spend a bit more on deluxe accommodation, especially the younger generation."
In Southeast Asia, Chinese tourists are closing the gap on the Japanese, the region's traditional big-spenders until their economy fell into a deep recession last year.
The Singapore Tourism Board said the average Chinese visitor spent S$201 (US$113) per day in 2000, compared with S$128 spent by a Japanese traveller. Japanese travellers were spending more than S$300 in 1991.
"The Chinese may not have reached the peak of the Japanese during their heyday, but they are spending on luxury items as well," said Darren Cher, a senior executive with Singapore's Ananda Travel, which handles tours from China and Hong Kong.
"Rolexes are a popular buy," he said.
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