Welcome Back, Low-Spending Tourists
Bloomberg Businessweek US|February 20 - 27, 2023 (Double Issue)
Chinese budget tour groups were unpopular before Covid. Now nations covet their cash
James E. Ellis
Welcome Back, Low-Spending Tourists

Before the pandemic, travel agent Zhao Ling spent much of her time helping Chinese clients visit Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia cheaply. Based in the city of Deyang in Sichuan province, she organized inexpensive package tours that shepherded busloads of travelers through affiliated stores and restaurants—and steered customers away from other, locally owned businesses. Deriding the all-inclusive packages as so-called zero-dollar tourism because much of the money—lots of it spent before visitors left China—didn’t filter throughout the local economies, critics blamed agents like Zhao for overcrowding beaches, temples, and other popular sites, from Phuket’s boisterous Patong entertainment district to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex.

“Of course they don’t like us,” Zhao says. “No one does.”

Chinese in recent years had become a major driver of the tourism industry globally, making 155 million trips outside the mainland in 2019, according to Ministry of Culture and Tourism data. The country’s travelers accounted for 16% of global tourism spending that year, double that of 2010, according to Natixis SA. Many of them traveled on packages, which helped inexperienced Chinese tourists avoid language problems and logistics challenges. Still, criticism had been growing that the increasing dependence on Chinese visitors wasn’t worth the disruptions that the low-spending throngs wrought. That simmering debate cooled when China shut its borders in 2020 to halt Covid-19’s spread, a move that left tourism businesses shuttered across Asia and many hospitality workers unemployed.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK USView all
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 mins  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023