Visit Britain - China Market Profile

Chinese visitors to the UK and the impact of Death on the Nile

Every year CBBC, our partners and members handle a huge number of inward delegations, so we thought we would share Visit Britain’s 2010 report on the China market to help you identify new ways of hosting your Chinese guests in the UK; highlight shared interests for emphasis; understand where Chinese perceptions of the UK stem from; the influence of ‘Death on the Nile’; and explore why the Chinese favour visiting France.  With visas in both directions being in the news, we thought this might inform part of your debate.

Most of this information is quoted directly from the report, but we have taken the liberty of adding some useful action points for your benefit.  For the full report, click here

History and Heritage
The Chinese have a mutual respect for Britain’s “1,000 year old history” – they see kinship here between China and Britain.  Take your Chinese guest to visit famous historic buildings and monuments in your area.

Natural Scenic Beauty / Landscapes
Chinese love visiting scenic beauty spots.  Britain is perceived to be a clean and green place to visit.  Take your Chinese visitors to explore Britain’s many parks and gardens and famous countryside.

Mystery / Unusual
Chinese consumers have an interest in mystery, ghost stories and the like such as Harry Potter, Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes and the Knights of the Round Table. Is there a ghoulish haunted house to visit or local legend you can tell your visitor?

Influence of films
The image of Britain in China is one influenced by detective stories, with images of foggy weather, men with beards and walking sticks! There are a few culprits that perpetuate myths about Britain: Sherlock Holmes, literature taught in schools and universities such as Dickens and old films like Waterloo Bridge, The 39 Steps, and Death on the Nile!  Despite being set in Egypt, Death on the Nile is a key source of the “English gentleman” imagery that is so pervasive in Chinese perceptions. Have you watched this recently? It might be worth catching up on how Britain is perceived! Limited modern updates on Britain come from more contemporary films such as Mr Bean, Notting Hill and Harry Potter.

Superlatives
Chinese are very interested in superlatives and dramatic visual appeal eg the ‘greatest’, ‘biggest’, ‘oldest’, ‘most unique’ etc.  So take your visitors to visit the smallest house, oldest pub and have a story ready to share…
 
Food and Drink
The Chinese are very particular about their food and are used to eating Chinese style without readily accepting other cuisines.  So take your visitors to recommended high quality local Chinese restaurants, but also find at least one good example of local British cuisine to recommend for your visitors.

Romance and the appeal of France
Britain is considered a romantic place! But France with its greater romance is a far more popular destination. Consumer research confirms that France is the most aspirational destination for Chinese going to Europe. In fact Italy receives 4 times as many visitors as Britain, France over 3 times and Germany over twice.

High awareness and positive perceptions about France show a well cultivated relationship between France and China.  It is interesting that Gallic arrogance and language barriers were hardly mentioned by Chinese travellers.  According to Air China, within Europe, France and Italy will remain the key destinations for a number of reasons:
• Rich tourism infrastructure
• Chinese school curriculum
• Travel agencies have mature itineraries in these two countries
• The Schengen visa


Full report is available here:
If you would like to comment on any issues here, please email feedback@cbbc.org