The Grand Canyon expects more visitors from China

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China will soon overtake Europe to become the top outbound tourist market of the U.S. state of Arizona, tourism officials here have said.

"We expect China to become our number one overseas tourist market by 2025," said Scott Dunn, public information officer for the Arizona Tourism Board (ATB).

Chinese visitors currently lag behind Germany, France and Britain with 81,000 travelers per year to the Grand Canyon, America's prime tourist attraction and one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

"We have seen an increase of 286 percent from 2010 to 2017: a monumental growth from the China market," Dunn said, adding that the number of Chinese tourists to the Grand Canyon soared from 21,972 in 2010 to 81,373 in 2017.

The Great Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona. /VCG Photo

Arizona's efforts

With the 2019 tourism year just having started, Arizona, home to a number of world class attractions, is hedging its bet and focusing on China's burgeoning middle class of 400 million people.

Thanks to Dunn and his China expert, deputy director Becky Blaine, ATB is setting a national example for attracting Chinese visitors.

"Cultural nuances are very important to address," Dunn said.

ATB held several Chinese seminars last year, teaching local businesses how to engage travelers from China, giving tips on how to work with Chinese tour operators, helping Arizona businesses to translate websites into Chinese, and listing a variety of other Chinese cultural specifics to enhance Chinese visitors' experience in the Grand Canyon state.

The state of Arizona is focusing on attracting more Chinese tourists. /VCG Photo

Attracting the middle class

The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) predicted that China's middle class is expected to hit 520 million people by 2025, and with a disposable income of more than two trillion U.S. dollars. This young, travel-hungry group is a sought-after market with limitless potential.

With San Jose in California adding direct flights to China in 2016, other western U.S. cities, including Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah, have been considering direct access to the world's second-largest economy.

"A game changer," said Dunn of direct flights from Phoenix, capital of Arizona to China, hot on the radar of local businesses.

"There is an Arizona channel on WeChat, and we conduct trade missions to Chengdu and Beijing (in China)," Dunn said.

(Cover: The Great Canyon in Arizona of the United States. /VCG Photo )

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency