Chinese tourism to some Asia-Pacific destinations fell by more than 20 per cent in August, raising concerns in the travel industry that the impact of the global financial crisis may be compounded by a slowdown in its biggest source of international growth.
Observers blame the drops partly on the Olympics, which saw Chinese gather around televisions and Beijing restrict some government employees and financial executives from travelling to ensure the country ran smoothly during the games.
Chinese data, which are not released on a regular basis, showed outbound travel rose just 3.4 per cent year on year in August, against 15.5 per cent growth for the first 8 months of the year. That figure was in line with annual growth in recent years.
Hong Kong and Macao, the two most favoured destinations of mainland Chinese, posted gains in arrivals, though at a markedly slower pace than earlier in the year.
The accelerating global financial crisis is affecting tourism in many places, but a sustained slowdown in Chinese outbound tourism would be particularly ominous for the industry. Hotels and tour operators around the world see China's rapidly growing economy as an opportunity to expand.
"Since [the Olympics and the Sichuan earthquake] there has been a continuing softness in the market place," said Geoff Buckley, managing director of Tourism Australia.
"We hoped it [the number of Chinese visitors] would pick back up but we are not seeing that. It has been made worse by the financial woes around the world."
Australia received 25 per cent fewer Chinese visitors in August compared with the previous year. Thailand, New Zealand and Singapore, which was the most popular international destination for Chinese last year, each reported similar declines, while the US state of Hawaii saw a 38.4 per cent drop.
Mr Buckley estimated that growth in the number of Chinese visitors to Australia for the year could be flat or 5 per cent higher at best, compared to a 16 per cent rise in 2007.
South Korea, the second most popular international destination last year, saw Chinese visitor numbers drop 4.5 per cent year on year in August. The number rose nearly 16 per cent in the first eight months from the same period last year.
The number of Chinese visitors to Japan, the third most popular international destination, fell 6.3 per cent in August, but numbers were still up 9.2 per cent for the first eight months and the August figure was higher than the monthly average for the rest of the year.
Mutakan Srithongsook, marketing manager at the Club Andaman resort on the Thai island of Phuket, said he had seen a 60 per cent drop in the number of Chinese visitors over the past year. "We are trying to market in other areas like Australia and Russia," he said.
Some analysts say numbers will rebound with the expiry of Olympic travel bans. "Because of the Olympics, the fall in outbound Chinese travellers in August is very misleading and should be completely disregarded in terms of the long-term trend," said Martin Craigs, president of the Aerospace Forum Asia, a Hong Kong-based aviation group.
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