Chinese travelers to the US: tourists or investors?

Yin Guohua heaved a sigh of relief last week as his plane touched down in Beijing after an 11-day tour of the US.
As a member of China’s first-ever delegation to shop for American real estate, Yin was prepared for hectic travel, endless showings, and pushy salesmen.
He was not prepared for the reporters. “Everywhere we went, there were cameras chasing us,” Yin said ruefully.
The novelty of Chinese shopping for American property guaranteed publicity for the 21-man delegation, which visited Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York, and Boston. Another 19 delegates, most of them 35-50 years old, missed the trip because of visa problems.
Soufun.com, the real estate portal, organized the trip but did not announce the results.
Yin, a lawyer who had said he intended to buy a $1 million apartment in either Los Angeles or New York, also declined to say whether he had made a deal, but said the trip met his expectations. “In fact, we had a wider range of choices than we expected,” he said.

Howard Rosen, a senior manager at Grubb & Ellis, a New York-based property agency, said he does not think most Chinese individuals are qualified to purchase real property in the US “unless the money is here.”
Investors with deposits in Hong Kong may qualify, he said, but assets on the Chinese mainland will not satisfy US sellers, Rosen said.
In addition, foreign investment in US property requires a lengthy process, according to Rosen. Without “certainty of disclosure,” Chinese investors will not be taken seriously, he said.

Chen Yunfeng, secretary general of the China Real Estate Managers Association, said he also doubts that the time is right for Chinese to buy US investment property.
“Given the current US economy, there is no sign that the price of property will appreciate strongly in the short term,” said Chen. The price may even continue to slide if the crisis worsens, he said.
More buying trips are likely, however, as China’s new millionaires look for places to invest their wealth.
According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group, China had the world’s fifth-largest population of millionaires in 2008 with 391,000, up 20 percent from the previous year. “Wealthy Chinese are now considering to buy luxury properties when they come to the US, not only Rolex and Louis Vuitton bags”, said Pierre Gervois, CEO of China Elite Focus, a Shanghai based marketing and PR company specialized on rich Chinese.
The growing interest among Chinese in buying overseas properties is not focused solely on the US.
“There are more people coming to us, asking about the process of buying an overseas property,” said Rainer Schleif, a manager of Aimeilan Consulting (Beijing) Co Ltd, a company that deals mainly with Australian and Singaporean real estate.
Desire to emigrate and the sharp depreciation of the Australian dollar have piqued investors’ interest, Schleif said.

New York welcomes Chinese tourists (and their dollars…)

According to First Financial Daily, a tour group of more than a thousand Chinese tourists spent the Lunar New Year (Spring Festival) in New York. These tourists spent $6,000  dollars on average in U.S. during this trip.

The tour group was warmly welcomed in New York City. In front of Macy’sDepartment Store on New York’s 34th Avenue, the largest department store in the United States, hosted the largest ever tourist group from China. The group consisted of 1,000 Chinese from Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities. To welcome the “thousand-person” tourist group, Macy’s invited a lion dance performance group and gave each Chinese visitor a special “international coupon” and small gift.

The Empire State Building closed to the public during 8 pm to 10 pm on February 16 to let this Chinese tour group enjoy a special tour. That night, Peng Keyu, the Chinese Consul General in New York lit color lights in the traditional Chinese colors red and yellow on the top floor of the Empire State Building, adding festive atmosphere to the night sky in New York.

The vice president of Macy’s expressed his hope that more Chinese could come and visit the U.S. to go shopping. American stores have become increasingly interested in Chinese tourist groups because of their strong purchasing power.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, each traveler from China spent an average of $6,000 during his or her 8-10 day visit in the United States, 50 percent more than that of tourists from other countries spent during the same period. The “thousand-person” tourist group will contribute 6 million U.S. dollars to the U.S. economy. Chinese tourists have really brought vigor to the U.S. east coast business which is quite depressed in recent two years.

This tour group was jointly organized by NYC & Company, the U.S. Continental Airlines and several travel agencies in China and the U.S.

With many famous buildings and museums, New York has become the first choice for Chinese tourists traveling to U.S. cities. Among all Chinese tourists travel to the United States, 44 percent chose New York as a destination. In order to attract more Chinese tourists, NYC & Company has opened an office in Shanghai. According to Pierre Gervois, CEO of China Elite Focus, the famous Shanghai  PR agency  for affluent Chinese international travelers “Macy’s has a very smart strategy to attract affluent Chinese shoppers. The new generation of Chinese outbound travelers prefers to travel to NYC for their shopping, rather than to buy in Shanghai stores, with higher prices and not a wide range of products”

George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company said their staff at the office in Shanghai are always asked about the shooting location of TV drama Sex and the City by tourists preparing to visit the United States. “It is not impossible to organize a Sex and the City tour in New York conducted in Chinese.”

NYC & Company data show that in 2008 there were 9.5 million foreign tourists who visited New York City, among which 257,000 were Japanese tourists, more than the total number of visitors from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong (218,000). But in terms of per capita consumption, the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong tourists spent $2,148 in New York, about $400 more than Japanese tourists.

More than ever, affluent Chinese tourists are welcome in the U.S.

After years of relatively minor interest (and in some cases no interest at all!), Hawaii, California and Las Vegas are among American tourist destinations vying fiercely for a vast and largely untapped new market segment. Yes, to be a Chinese tourist these days is to be a widely-sought traveler.
Hawaii has beaches and its famed “aloha spirit” as its siren call. Las Vegas offers gambling and its entertainment-oriented attractions. San Francisco can boast high-end shopping and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Beset by one of the worst recessions in decades, the U.S. destinations are spending significant sums on marketing campaigns in China’s most populous regions, and are urging U.S. embassy officials and Chinese airlines to ease the logistical burdens of flying to the United States.
The payoff could be substantial – particularly in Hawaii, the closest U.S. destination to China but which is, at least for now, harder for the Chinese to reach by air.

Attracting more Chinese tourists “will bring back a lot of jobs” to Hawaii, Gov. Linda Lingle said recently, after returning from a tourism and economic mission to China.
About a half-million Chinese traveled to all U.S. destinations last year, and that number is expected to grow by double digits in each of the next four years mainly because of China’s growing economy and new wealth, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Tourism officials note that the Chinese middle and upper classes each rivals the size of the entire U.S. population, so luring just a fraction would produce huge numbers.
“Everybody looks at China and sees a country with 1.3 billion people and a growing economy, and they say, ‘Oh my God, it’s the greatest travel market that ever was,'” said Professor Frank Haas from School of Travel Industry Management at the University of Hawaii.

To lure the Chinese, the Hawaii Tourism Authority has budgeted a total of nearly $2.7 million this fiscal year for marketing there and in Korea. That includes $447,000 to participate in the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, which begins in May.
But for the Chinese traveler, preparations for a trip to the U.S. can still be a hassle. Only the U.S. embassy in Beijing and four consulates located mostly on China’s eastern coast handle visa applications, which require an in-person interview. However, traveling in groups, which tourism experts say Chinese prefer, can ease those impediments.

Chinese travelers spend more than counterparts from any other country – about $7,200 per person per trip, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Chinese bloggers will help to promote Hawaii

Three students attending the Macau University of Science and Technologyhave started a blog in Chinese about Hawaii.
Carrying cameras, cell phones, and with easy access to computers, Lou Jie (Jackie) and He Ping (Freda), originally from Shanghai, and Jiang Ji (Maggie) from the nearby province of Jiangsu, have already blogged in Chinese about their trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center, shrimp on a stick from Kahuku, the beauty of the islands, and other first impressions, being that this is their first visit to Hawaii. “After watching American Idol, we can see that Hawaii is different from the rest [of] America,” said Jackie. All three agree that they can understand why people want to come to Hawaii and what some of the roadblocks are for the Chinese.

The students are part of the AIPT (Association of International Practical Training) program, which has sent a total of 58 students from their university to the United States to get practical training. Twelve are in Hawaii.

These students are providing Hawaii tourism autorities with a fresh, youthful, cultural perspective on Hawaii tourism and how to reach the Chinese.

Freda says China’s new and friendlier visa policies, enabling group tours to the US and advertising and promoting in China, will help with tourism to Hawaii from China. The students noted the friendliness of the people, good food, beautiful scenery, and flowers as things that stand out about Hawaii.

Register for ATME Executive Think Tank “Getting in on the inbound Chinese market”

ATME EXECUTIVE THINK TANK AGENDA
GETTING IN ON THE INBOUND CHINESE MARKET

A note to attendees: This Think Tank is meant to be totally interactive, so expect a lot of exchange and sharing of ideas, knowledge, hints and concepts about this intriguing market.    But also bear in mind if you don’t want to disclose some aspect of your work so far in this area you shouldn’t feel compelled to do so. These are extraordinary times and the sharing of information might be just what’s needed to help create a successful marketing strategy that works for everyone.

ALL EVENTS AT THE CROWNE PLAZA LAX, LOS ANGELES, CA

FEBRUARY 12TH (THURSDAY)

THINK TANK OPENING – Location: Colombard & Moselle Room
Dennis Marzella and Joseph Jaquay, Co-Chairs THE CHINESE CONSUMER – WHAT THEY WANT AND HOW TO REACH THEM
Barbara Bryant, Regional Director NA, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
DATA ON THE CHINESE INBOUND MARKET Ron Erdmann, Deputy Director, Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, U.S. Department of Commerce Heather Hardwick, Vice President, Menlo Consulting
COFFEE BREAK
THE CHINESE MARKET: DEVELOPMENT Frank Haas, Interim Assistant Dean, University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management, previously VP of Marketing of the Hawaii Tourist Board. Lessons learned from the Japanese market and what other group research and their trade delegations have learned about the Chinese inbound market.
DESTINATION MARKETER PERSPECTIVE: HOW WE ARE DEVELOPING THE CHINESE MARKET – MODERATED BY DENNIS MARZELLA, CEO, MARZELLA ASSOCIATES, INC. Rafael Villanueva, Director of International Sales & Marketing, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
Lorraine Hunt-Bono, Commissioner, Nevada Commission on Tourism Frank Haas, Interim Assistant Dean, University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management and former VP of Marketing, Hawaii Tourist Board
DINNER – SALON A Dinner Speaker: Joel Chusid, General Manager, NA, Hainan Airlines Corporation Joel Chusid shares his experience launching China’s 4th largest airline into the North American market. He also worked with China Eastern Airlines where he learned about cultural differences and the Chinese way of doing business. Prior to developing his expertise with the Chinese markets and business he was a VP of Marketing and Sales at American Airlines where he was one of the original staff members in the start up of American Eagle, AA’s commuter airline. He is a well known aviation expert and is also the author of a monthly column, “Tailpieces”, available at ATME.org

FEBRUARY 13TH (FRIDAY)

Location: COLOMBARD & MOSELLE (Think Tank in same room)
WHAT THE CHINESE MARKET WANTS: HOTELS, TOUR OPERATORS, FINANCIAL SERVICES, ETC. Nick Qin, President, China Professional Tours, Inc. Joseph JaQuay, Vice President, Diner’s Club/Discover
Patrick Swen, Sales Director, Lassen Tour and Travel, Inc, member of JTB Americas Group Moderator: Dennis Marzella, CEO, Marzella Associates
COFFEE BREAK (in same room)
THE LUXURY CHINESE MARKET – HOW TO REACH THE NEW MILLIONAIRES AND UPSCALE CHINESE TRAVELERS
Pierre Gervois, Managing Partner, China Elite Focus Limited, a publication and marketing firm that specializes in the affluent Chinese traveler.
ON MARKETING TO THE CHINESE Advertising and PR Pierre Gervois, Managing Partner, China Elite Focus LTD
LUNCH – LUNCH SPEAKER – Lisa Simon, President, NTA Find out how the forward thinking National Tour Association took the lead on developing the inbound Chinese market and what they have learned that will help you market your product or destination to the Chinese market.
THINK TANK WRAP UP SESSION (in same room as lunch)
NETWORKING SESSION Stay to Continue Discussions with Peers, Potential Partners and Alliances

Sacramento region expects surge in Chinese tourists in 2009

Relaxed travel rules between the United States and China have opened the door to Chinese tour groups for the first time.
The new rules could mean tens of millions of dollars for Northern California, a gateway for Chinese coming to America ever since the Gold Rush.
Before the new rules, Chinese were allowed to visit the United States only on business, to see relatives or by special invitation from universities or other public institutions. Under a U.S.-China agreement reached in  last December, Chinese tourists can now come on organized trips to the United States just for leisure.
Last year,  40 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad, but only 300,000 came to the United States because of the old visa restrictions, said Defa Tong, spokesman for the People’s Republic of China’s Consulate General in San Francisco.

That number is expected to double in the next several years, and with the average tourist spending $198 a day in the United States, Tong said. “It’s a huge market.”
The new Chinese tourists could spend as much as $60 million a year in Sacramento alone, according to data provided by the U.S. Commerce Department and the California Department of Tourism.
Northern California, home to 500,000 Chinese Americans, will likely be a first stop for many of them as it has been for generations.

By the 1940s, about 3,000 Chinese farmers and factory workers lived around Locke, which had fish markets, herb shops, casinos, boarding houses and the Star Theatre.
By the 1990s, Locke was nearly a ghost town until Shanghai painter Ning Hou breathed new life into its rickety streets with his gallery and art school.
But Locke – for all its history and charm – isn’t enough for Sacramento to take advantage of the growing tourist market, Yee said.
Yee is leading the charge for the “Yee Fow Center for History, Culture and Trade,” which would be located not far from the site of Sacramento’s original Chinatown.
“We don’t really have a place we can bring Chinese tourists unless you take them to Locke,” said Pat Fong-Kushida, president of the 700-member Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce.
Yee, Fong-Kushida and other Asian Americans are hoping a new 240-acre development planned for the railyard will include a center honoring Chinese contributions to California.

Still, Sacramento could easily draw 10,000 to 20,000 new Chinese tourists in the next year, said Richard Champley, senior research analyst for the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“They may want to come and see the governor,” said Champley.

His agency figures that Chinese visitors typically spend “in the neighborhood of $6,000 per visitor per trip, including $3,000-$4,000 a person on hotels, food and rental cars.”

American Airlines targets affluent Chinese travelers

Our blog has had the pleasure to obtain an exclusive interview from Mr Victor Lee, American AirlinesGreater China’s Regional Director, based in Shanghai. As the United States are one of the favorite destination of the Chinese travelers for both business and leisure, we wanted to know more about the strategy of American Airlines in China.

Since  April 2006, American Airlines operates a daily flight from Shanghai Pudong to Chicago O’Hare. In 2010, a new flight route will be open from Beijng to Chicago, to give more options to the Chinese travelers.

“The expansion of our network to China is a profoundly significant event that strengthens American as a global competitor and further enhances Chicago as one of the nation’s foremost international gateways,” said Mr Victor Lee. “With daily nonstop service between Chicago and Shanghai, China’s largest and most dynamic business center, we will provide broad new access to China for tens of thousands of passengers and shippers in cities large and small, stimulating the market and building strong new commercial and cultural ties between our two countries.” Mr Lee added.

For now, the main part of the Chinese travelers from Shanghai were business travelers, but, with the new recent US visa policy opening the doors to Chinese tourists groups, and the number of rich Chinese citizens in Shanghai, American Airlines is expecting a fast growing on this flight route, specially for the First and Business class Chinese travelers.

American Airlines operates the Shanghai flight using 245-seat Boeing 777-200 aircraft, the largest in American’s fleet. In First Class, the 777 features 16 Flagship Suite seats that transform into a fully flat six-foot, six-inch bed with drop-down armrests that allow for easier access and more sleeping space.

The new  Business Class offers ergonomically-advanced seat design. The new, highly adjustable, lie-flat seat allows passengers to customize the setting to their personal preference. Business Class Chinese passengers also will have convenient access to a number of amenities, including gourmet food, in-flight entertainment and power ports in every seat.

“American Airlines wants simply to offer the best service between China and the US”, said Mr Lee.

According to China Elite Focus analysts, it is crucial for the airlines to market their brand in China as luxury brands rather than to try to be the cheapest airline. American Airlines has choosen the appropriate strategy when they insist on the quality of their service and want to be seen by the Chinese travelers as a luxury brand among the other airlines.

Also, American Airlines has partnerships in the US with  more than one thousand hotels, resorts that gives to Chinese travelers a wide choice of business and leisure destinations in the US.

Interview conducted in Shanghai by Pierre Gervois, China Elite Focus Managing Partner & CEO

Utah is waiting for more affluent Chinese visitors

Hundreds of thousand of affluent Chinese tourists enjoying beautiful American landscapes, eating good food, discovering the americans warm welcome… and spending a lot of dollars.
That’s the vision that some Utah tourism-industry executives have, now that China and the United States have an arrangement designed to let Chinese groups travel for fun throughout America. The vision includes someday soon topping the record 320,000 Chinese visitors to the United States in 2006.

“This is a dream destination for the Chinese,” said Keith Griffall, chief executive officer of Western Leisure Inc., a Midvale-based group tour company. “They really haven’t had that opportunity to come here before, and the numbers could grow dramatically. Three hundred and twenty thousand sounds like lot of people, but it could get into the millions easily, and we are looking to get just a little bit of that pie.”

Western Leisure is taking advantage of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries that was signed in December. The agreement provides “approved-destination status” by the Chinese government and permits Chinese group leisure travel to the United States. Travel restrictions have been loosened in recent years for the Chinese, coinciding with a growing number of middle-class Chinese being able to afford long trips. Chinese individuals and groups with visas can travel to the United States for business and education, but Chinese regulations of its travel agencies restrict group leisure trips to nations that have a bilateral agreement with the Chinese government.

The December memorandum with the United States opens the Chinese market for U.S. companies. Western Leisure is one of about 80 companies in the United States that are officially approved to work with outbound travel operators in China to get Chinese groups to visit the United States in packaged group leisure tours. Western Leisure is working with Julian Tours, based in Washington, D.C., to market services under the name “American Travel Dreams” and has a representative at an office in Beijing.

The number of Chinese visitors to the United States has been on the rise since 2003, when 157,000 Chinese travelers came to America. The 320,000 Chinese visitors in 2006 put China as the 17th-largest international travel market for the United States. The Department of Commerce expects 579,000 Chinese to visit by 2011. The United Nations World Tourism Organization is predicting that overall outbound Chinese travel could reach 100 million by 2020.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez has said the new memorandum should allow more Chinese visitors to “experience America’s hospitality, cultural diversity and natural beauty.”

Griffall, who has served on the Board of the Travel Industry of America for the past six years and is past president of the National Tour Association, said the growing incomes in China are creating a huge potential market for tourism. “If you look at the big picture, the size of the population and the number of people able to travel now because of the money they’re making, you can look and it will appear kind of overwhelming,” he said. “Not all of them can travel, but the fact is that more can, and more and more will be able to.”

Fusheng Wu, associate professor at the Asian Studies Program and director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Utah, believes a lot of affluent and upper-middle-class Chinese want to visit the United States. He has Chinese friends who have traveled to Europe for recreation because of a travel memorandum between China and the European Union.
“I know a lot of people who want to come to the United States just to take a look, because the United States, in a lot of Chinese people’s minds, really represents the ultimate achievement of the Western civilization. There’s a lot of interest in coming to the United States, and lot of people have the financial resources to do that.”

When they come, they probably will spend big. The Travel Industry Association estimates that in 2006, the typical Chinese visitor in the United States spent more than $6,000 on a trip, compared with the typical $1,000 per stay for domestic travelers. Total spending by the 320,000 visitors in 2006 was more than $2 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. That included $1.6 billion on travel products and services and $431 million to U.S. carriers. As said Pierre Gervois, CEO of China Elite Focus, a marketing agency specialized on the affluent and very affluent Chinese outbound tourists “This new wave of Chinese tourists coming to the United States wants to discover the “real” America, with beautiful landscapes and the authentic America”


Leigh von der Esch, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, said the office has no firm or current numbers on Chinese visitors, but most
their visits have been business-oriented. She said the office will try to ensure that the products being marketed to the Chinese contain lots of information about Utah. “The first thing we want to do is familiarize our product with the Chinese tour operators so we’re ‘top of mind’ within what they’re selling,” she said.

Chinese tourists love New York

Chinese tourists in Times Square: A huge number of nation’s growing middle class is expected to visit city after new agreement allowing China’s travel agencies to promote tours.

City tour operators are smacking their lips at the prospect of an influx of nouveaux riches from China – the result of a new travel deal between that country and the U.S.

The agreement, signed Dec. 11 by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, allows tour operators in China to promote group trips to U.S. shores. Commerce figures estimate it could draw an estimated 579,000 Chinese visitors by 2011.

China’s 1.4 billion population includes an increasingly affluent middle class. Already, the Chinese outspend other tourists in New York. Each shells out an average $2,200 per visit, compared with $1,750 by travelers from other countries, said Kimberly Spell, a spokeswoman for NYC & Co., the city’s tourism organization. They gobble up blue jeans, skateboards and other American goods, she said. But they’re especially hungry for the Western luxury products that line Fifth Ave., Madison Ave. and department store shelves.

“All they want to do is shop,” said Jiao Ma, 25, who moved to New York from China about 10 years ago.

Standing outside the Louis Vuitton store at 57th St. and Fifth Ave., Ma said she expects many Chinese nationals to take advantage of the group tours. “They buy tons and tons of LV bags, and then go home and post online ‘Look what I got!'” she said.

Anticipating the agreement, New York City set up a tourism-marketing office in Shanghai in June to promote the Big Apple to Chinese travel agents.Some145,000 Chinese visited the city in 2006, a number expected to hit 159,000 last year, city officials said.

“We’ve never seen a country with a population this size have a dramatic change in who can come visit,” Spell said. “It’s staggering to think of the potential.”Business travelers dominate the Chinese tourist market, but city landmarks are tailor-made for the tour operators expected to advertise the U.S. to Chinese who enjoy traveling in groups.

Gray Line Tours is now offering Mandarin-language tours of the city; they are about 40% full, said company president Tom Lewis.

Inaugural tour of Chinese group leisure travelers to the United States

The National Tour Association (NTA) and the Travel Industry Associationhosted a welcome event June 19, 2008, marking the inaugural tour of Chinese group leisure travelers to the United States.

More than 260 Chinese travelers were in attendance, along with U.S. and Chinese government and industry leaders. Guests included China National Tourism Administration Chairman Shao Qiwei, U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China Clark Randt, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, Travel Industry Association President and CEO Roger Dow, National Tour Association Chairman and CEO Bob Hoelscher, CTP, and NTA President Lisa Simon, CTP.

“NTA is proud to join with TIA in hosting this monumental event as the U.S. opens its doors to these new international leisure visitors,” said NTA Chairman and CEO Bob Hoelscher, CTP. “NTA tour operators participating in the China Inbound Program are ready to assist Chinese travel agents, and the initial NTA list included more than 90 U.S.-based tour operators.”

Following this inaugural event, six different groups of Chinese travelers will now tour Washington, D.C., and New York before traveling to Los Angeles, Hawaii, and San Francisco.

“This welcome event marks the beginning of a great time for the U.S.,” said NTA President Lisa Simon, CTP. “We have the opportunity to boost the U.S. economy and project a welcoming image to these visitors. NTA hopes each of these travelers will go back to China with an incredible travel experience and plan to return to the United States often.”

Simon added that “NTA is the industry partner that has enabled the Memorandum of Understanding to be facilitated by implementing the list of tour operators approved to work with Chinese travel agents.”

1st Chinese tour group arrive in Washington

The first group of Chinese tourists arrived in Washington’s Dulles International airport Tuesday night local time.
There were more than 200 travelers from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. They’re on a 12-day tour, which will take them to Washington, New York and Los Angeles. Their arrival in Washington DC coincides with the fourth round of China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue in the States, which is significant for the opening of US-bound Chinese tours.

Local governments have arranged a series of welcome ceremonies for the Chinese tourists. The New York Tourism Bureau will host a cocktail party on their arrival. And the Los Angeles Tourism Bureau is welcoming the Chinese tourists with “China week”.

The US is China’s fifth largest tourist destination. Last year, over 710,000 Chinese people visited the US, that’s up 12 percent compared with the previous year.