China’s emerging class of young, educated and resource-rich travel lovers are passionate about visiting countries, especially in East and South Asia, but India is yet to figure on their list of top eight destinations, an international conclave was told here today.

Kerala, as one of India’s leading tourist destinations, must strive to latch on to this new trend of graduates from China below 35 years of age touring abroad, mostly with families, Beijing-based Richard Matuzevich of the World Tourism Cities Federation told the International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT).

The third edition of the two-day ICTT, being organised by the Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI) in collaboration with the Kerala government’s Department of Tourism, began at Le Meridien Hotel on Thursday.

At the opening session, titled ‘How to do social media tourism promotion to get Chinese tourists?’ Matuzevich noted that the world’s most populous country today has its financially well-off segment keen to show their peers that they have “been there, done that.” With a monthly income ranging between $2,400 and $3,400, a chunk of them can speak foreign languages as well, he added.

Rise in tourist numbers

Addressing the delegates comprising tour operators, hoteliers, owners of resorts and homestays, SEO (search engine optimisation) companies, software firms, social media marketing companies and bloggers, he said the average time such Chinese tourists spent on a visit abroad was nine to 10 days.

ATTOI convener PK Anish Kumar said, “From what was 13.1 crore in 2017, the projected figure of Chinese tourists abroad is 20 crore next year,” he said, about their annual rise of around 20 per cent.

The two-day event seeks to bring various stakeholders of travel and tourism on to a single platform.

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