The new tourism tiger

Outbound travelers from China now easily top the global list in spending, Clare Buchanan and Li Fusheng report

Chinese have caught the travel bug and countries around the world are racing to catch up and accommodate the world's biggest source of tourism.

Some 98 million Chinese tourists headed overseas in 2013, a nine-fold increase from 2000, according to the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute.

Outbound travel is even more popular this year. One example is an "Around the World in 80 Days" trip from HH Travel. Though priced at 1.25 million yuan ($160,300) a person, the package sold out immediately after the luxury travel agency offered it in May.

Chinese globetrotters are also the biggest spenders, splashing out a whopping $129 billion in 2013, a 26 percent increase from 2012.

The figure was well ahead of tourists from the United States, which ranked second on the UN World Tourism Organization list at $86 billion.

China, Russia and Brazil account for half of the increase in world tourism spending, according to statistics from the UNWTO.

The three source markets accounted for $ 40 billion of the total $81 billion increase in international tourism spending in 2013.

"The impressive growth from China and Russia reflects a growing middle class in those countries, which will surely continue to change the map of world tourism," said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

With the number of outbound Chinese tourists expected to rise further, countries and travel companies are scrambling for a share of the cash spent by increasingly wealthy Chinese travelers.

The United Kingdom relaxed visa requirements to make it easier to attract Chinese tourists and last week US President Barrack Obama signed a memorandum giving the Homeland Security and Commerce departments four months to come up with a plan to streamline the entry process for foreign visitors.

Chinese police reinforcements have been hired to help keep visitors safe on the streets of Paris and more and more Chinese-speaking ski instructors teach beginners on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Canada.

And waitresses are offering Chinese menus aboard cruise liners bound for the Antarctic as some 2,000 Chinese tourists head for the region each year.

In London, luxury department store Harrods announced it will accept Unionpay credit cards issued in China.

And "Chinese tourists are getting more and more demanding," said Professor Wolfgang Arlt, director of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute.

"They are well aware of the fact that the whole world is chasing their purchasing power, so they insist on being treated with respect and special attention," Arlt said.

"Without training, product adaptation and a deep understanding of the demand structure it is not possible to satisfy the specific needs of this important source market."

Contract the writers at clare@chinadaily.net.cn and lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn