Visitors to the UK from China have doubled in the last five years, according to VisitBritain, and it is hoped that these numbers will treble in the next six years. The fact that the government recently decided to streamline UK visa applications from Chinese nationals should help these numbers continue to grow, which is a big positive for the hospitality industry.
The GCW Charter Campaign aims to gather and inspire UK hospitality businesses to offer assistance to Chinese tourists and help them identify hotels and other attractions that provide information in Chinese and adapt their product towards this rising market.
Booking.com has just released its top five more popular accommodation sites for Chinese visitors to the UK.
Top five Accommodations in the UK as rated by Chinese visitors:
- Holiday Inn Express Birmingham – Snow Hill, Birmingham, 9.6
- Old Town Chambers, Edinburgh, 9.4
- Bath Paradise House, Bath, 9.4
- Broadlands Guest House, Windermere, 9.3
- Tower Guest House, York, 9.3
This list of the top five accommodation spots is determined by Chinese visitors to the UK who use Booking.com to secure their accommodation.
Booking.com
Booking.com has just become a member of the charter after a successful application. Its service for Chinese visitors includes things such as customer service in the Chinese language, support to guarantee a booking with China Union Pay, and a team of Chinese researchers, developers and designers for user friendliness.
UK area manager for Booking.com Jason Grist said: “In line with industry trends we have experienced a 50 per cent increase in UK bookings by Chinese tourists in Q1 2014 compared to the same timeframe in 2013.
“In addition, we have seen the range of accommodations stayed in increase by almost a third. We believe this growth is just the beginning, and by enhancing our service for Chinese visitors it will help drive interest not only for us, but also for UK tourism.”
GCW programme manager for VisitBritain Jo Leslie said: “There is strong evidence that businesses who go the extra mile in catering for certain nationalities quickly reap the benefits.”