Chinese tourism: The good, the bad and the backlash

Chinese are now the top international tourism spenders, with 83 million travelers spending US$102 billion last year. That figure will rise, with the UNWTO estimating 100 million Chinese traveling abroad in 2015. But is the world ready to handle the influx?

t might be the biggest phenomenon to hit the global travel industry since the invention of commercial flight -- Chinese tourism.
The figures are incredible.
By 2015, 100 million Chinese will pack their bags to travel abroad, according to a report from the UN World Tourism Organization.
In 2012, Chinese overtook Americans and Germans as the world's top international tourism spenders, with 83 million people spending a record US$102 billion on international tourism.
Pretty much any country with "Approved Destination Status" -- a bilateral tourism arrangement with China -- has remarkable numbers to throw out on Chinese tourism growth, from the United States to France.
The figures are even more dramatic closer to home. South Korea recently reported that in February, for the first time ever, Chinese tourists overtook Japanese tourists in terms of arrival numbers.
Hong Kong and Thailand cite similar growth.

source :
CNN