The Chinese are coming...

But not to Malta and Gozo. Malta, followed closely by Germany, was the first European country to sign an agreement with China to facilitate the flow of tourists between the two countries. That agreement, granting Malta 'Approved Destination Status' was signed in Valletta on July 24, 2001. More than three years have passed. Since then, millions of Chinese tourists have poured into top destinations of every continent, from Australia to Cuba.

Since the beginning of this month Chinese tourists also started arriving in Europe. But Malta has so far lost out because it has failed to get its act together and use to its advantage the three-year lead it had in acquiring Approved Destination Status with China.

Other European destinations, notably France, Italy and Switzerland, have been quick to act and used the last few years to get ready to welcome Chinese tourists visiting them.

Last year more than 20 million Chinese tourists left China to visit other countries. By 2020 there will be 100 million tourists visiting destinations in other parts of the world. The World Tourism Organisation already considers Chinese tourists coming from the most economically developed regions of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou as the seventh largest spenders in the world market. Most Chinese tourists still travel in groups, visit several countries on one trip and have high spending levels in destination countries.

Why have we not done like other countries and taken the necessary steps to tap this lucrative market. By next year France is working to get 800,000 Chinese tourists. In five years' time they will rise to a million when they will become the biggest arrivals to France, ahead of the British, Americans and Japanese. Knowing that things do not happen on their own, five years ago the French Tourism Ministry formed a China Committee bringing together managers from top stores, restaurants and tourist attractions to devise ways to best serve Chinese clientele.

So when the first Chinese tourists arrived in Paris on September 1 they found that the top attractions from the Louvre to the Galeries Lafayette department store had already printed floor maps in Mandarin and taught personnel a few Chinese phrases to welcome the huge influx of visitors. Patricia Tartour, chairman of French tour operator Maison de la Chine, recently said: "The infrastructures in France are up to scratch, and the industry is really aware of this new market and waiting for them as if they were Santa Claus." The Accor and InterContinental hotel chains have also jumped on the Beijing bandwagon, offering tea sets, Chinese newspapers and Asian-style breakfasts to customers craving the comforts of home.

When will government wake up?

At Bateaux Parisiens, one of several companies offering Seine river cruises, employees have learned to say hello in Mandarin and audio guides are available in the language. Industry experts are hoping that the flood of Chinese tourists during the last quarter of 2004 could help salvage what has been a poor year for the French tourism industry due to a disappointing summer.

Italian Junior Foreign Trade Minister Adolfo Urso has also echoed the optimism of his French counterparts, telling journalists: "The Chinese could compensate amply for the drop in the number of German tourists and surpass the number of Japanese visitors who go every year, which consistently tops two million."

Authorities in the Netherlands are expecting a dramatic surge in the number of Chinese visitors, and that by 2008 the numbers could climb from 60,000 per year to around 500,000. Although countries including the UK, Denmark and Ireland are not covered by the EU agreement with China, the British tourism authorities are also hoping to gain 'approved destination' status from the Chinese government sometime next month because they are also intent on attracting Chinese tourists to Britain.

For the foreseeable future Chinese tourism will be a 'multi-destination' package with trips to three or four European countries in eight to 10 days, France and Italy being the top spots. So key Maltese tourism players, from government to hotels, airlines and tour operators, will have to team up with their European counterparts to attract Chinese tourists to Malta.

We simply cannot afford to ignore China, the top growing tourism market for the future. What is government waiting for to show the necessary leadership, drive and initiative to mobilise the sector not to continue wasting such a good opportunity to attract more and higher spending tourists to Malta and Gozo?

evaristbartolo@hotmail.com