yong chen
Will the Covid-19 Pandemic Presage Another Once-a-Decade Contraction in Tourism?
Yong Chen | April 23, 2020
By Yong Chen A difficult time on the horizon Had the novel coronavirus not occurred, 2019 would have been hailed as another year of stellar growth in the global tourism industry. The strongest growth would have been recorded in the Asia-Pacific region not only as a tourist-generating region but also as a destination. In particular, China had propelled the global tourism growth in terms of both tourist numbers and spending over the past decade. Chinese outbound spending outstripped that of the United States in 2012, and by 2018, Chinese tourist spending amounted to US$277 billion. A McKinsey study estimates that Chinese outbound spending was...
Chinese Tourism at a Difficult Time
Yong Chen | March 19, 2020
What makes the year 2019-20 unprecedented in Chinese tourism is the spate of incidents coming one after another, namely the US-China trade war, the Hong Kong protests and the novel coronavirus outbreak. By Yong Chen Demand shocks and tourism The global tourism industry could not have been hurt so badly any time in history other than the year 2019−20. The tourism industry involves temporary displacement of people from one place to another, whereby demand is generated. Thus, any factor that impedes tourist flow will cause a negative demand shock in the industry one way or another. The impact on tourism demand depends on the nature of the...
Chinese Hotel Brands Expand Overseas but Face Challenges on the Way
Dr. Yong Chen | March 3, 2017
by Stuart Pallister As more and more Chinese tourists go abroad on holiday, China's budget hotel chains are expanding overseas to serve the country's growing numbers of international travelers. According to a recent article in the Financial Times, low-cost hotels such as 7Days Inn and GreenTree Inn have already opened hotels in Austria, the U.S., Thailand and Vietnam, and are looking to expand further in Germany and Italy, following Anbang's purchase of the high-end Waldorf Astoria in New York for nearly $2 billion in 2014. The Huazhu Group has formed an alliance with French hotel chain Accor aimed at international expansion and the Sha...
