The American hospitality industry is looking for efforts to make Chinese visitors feel more at home since they are projected to soon surpass travellers from the United Kingdom and Japan as the single largest overseas demographic.
This is not only applicable to New York and Los Angeles or the other typical tourist hubs and the smaller cities like Boston, Las Vegas, Seattle and Washington, D.C., are also getting into the act.
Elliott Ferguson, CEO of Destination DC said that Americans traditionally lag behind what other international designations do for different cultures. The city’s convention and tourism organization last year launched “Welcome China,” a certification program for local businesses.
The local tourism associations have recently launched campaigns aimed at getting their member hotels, restaurants and tourism companies to better incorporate Chinese language as well as their customs into their offerings. for instance, in Las Vegas, Caesars Entertainment last year started offering guests at some of its affiliated resorts the option to book and pay for hotel rooms using WeChat, China’s most popular social media app.
According to the industry experts, the smaller cities, which can’t afford to be caught flat-footed as China’s growing middle class almost nonexistent two decades ago, are flexing its spending power.
The growing ranks of affluent Chinese are also staying longer and visiting more locations in the U.S. as they plan for their children’s college education or seek real estate and other investment opportunities.
With Republican President Donald Trump tightening the international travel policies, U.S. tourism officials are working to assure partners in China that they remain welcoming.
