Cebu-China business links may spark tourism appeal

If the Cebu tourism stakeholders will be able to establish good business relationships between Chinese businessmen in Changchun, China, there is a good possibility that Cebu will be able to attract millions of Chinese tourists from this part of China.

According to Tang Tiesheng, deputy director general of Changchun Bureau of Commerce, most Chinese investors, and businessmen in his City is interested to forge tourism cooperation between Cebu, and Changchun.

This means that it is easier for Cebu to lure the over seven million population in Changchun, China, if tourism promotion activities partnership between the two cities will be started.

Tiesheng is leading the over 100 Chinese delegates to join the first China Changchun Investment and Trade Exhibit to open in Cebu at the SM Cebu Trade Hall this coming March 23 (2007).

He said Cebu is a potential vacation hub for Chinese tourists, because of its tropical environment, among other attractions.

Aside from attracting millions of Chinese tourists, the six-day investment and trade exhibition could also spell interest in tourism related investments by Chinese businessmen to Cebu, he added.

Changchun City is located in the northern part of China, he said Cebu and Changchun have good complementarities in terms of economic and trade dynamism, thus its government has decided to initiate a closer relationship with Cebu.

Earlier, Economist Nicholas Kwan, Standard Chartered Bank regional head of Research in Asia, said although the tourism growth in the whole of Asia Pacific region is expected to slow down this year, the Philippines could cope with this realism if it were to attract the huge Chinese market.

Kwan said the total 1.3 billion population in China is now keen on traveling, about 50 million to 100 million of them can now afford to travel outside their country, and regarded as the one of the highest tourist spenders.

Currently, although most of the traveling Chinese are only traveling to Hong Kong, but if the Philippines or Cebu in particular will embark extra aggressive marketing promotions to China, these Chinese travel enthusiasts would start to consider the Philippines as their alternative destination.

What is good in attracting Chinese, is they not only travel as tourists, but also traveling as "invest-consumers" as most of them are shopping in bulk for business back in China, Kwan added.

A travel expenditure of one Chinese tourist is equivalent to four to five tourists combined. This means, that Chinese visitors spend more than the traditional foreign tourists.

"Chinese [travelers] are either tourists or investors, they buy in bulk, that’s why in Hong Kong we call them ‘invest-consumers’," Kwan said.

In attracting this promising market, Kwan said it depends on how good the place in positioning itself to Chinese market.

Earlier, Department of Tourism (DOT-7) regional director Patria Aurora Roa said Cebu, or the entire Central Visayas region has started to embark on making regional brochures in Mandarin language to prepare for the influx of Chinese tourists to Central Visayas.