East meets West

A pact signed last month between China and the United States should give a significant boost to the U.S. tourism industry, an industry expert said Monday in Colorado Springs.

“I think we’re going to see an explosion of the Chinese market into this country in the future,” said Ron Erdmann of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries.

Erdmann spoke on the opening day of the Go West Summit, a travel trade show being held this week at The Broadmoor. He forecast a moderate increase of 4 percent in the number of foreign visitors who will come to the United States in 2008.

“For the most part, growing 4 or 5 percentage points is sort of the norm,” Erdmann said. “Anything beyond that is a very good year.”

The forecast by the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries projects an 11 percent increase in Chinese visitors to the U.S. in 2008.

That may prove to be too low, Erdmann said, because the forecast was developed before the December signing of an agreement clearing the way for group leisure travel from China to the U.S. The pact, which takes effect this spring, allows Chinese travel agencies to work with U.S. companies to organize and market group tours to the United States. In addition, U.S. travel destinations will be able to market themselves in China.

The Department of Commerce forecasts that the U.S. will welcome 579,000 Chinese travelers by 2011, an 81 percent increase from 2006.

The Pikes Peak region is hoping to grab a share of that exploding market, said Terry Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“That’s a priority of our mayor,” Sullivan said. “He gave me a directive and said, ‘I hope you can capitalize on this China market.’”

Experience Colorado Springs has hired a local Chinese-American businesswoman on a contract basis to represent the Springs at trade shows in the Los Angeles area, Sullivan said.

“We’re trying to show Colorado Springs as the authentic America,” he said.

Last week, in advance of the Go West Summit, Experience Colorado Springs hosted a breakfast for tour operators and travel writers from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

“It’s the first time I can recall having that many from the Pacific Rim at one time coming here,” Sullivan said.

Of the roughly 6.3 million visitors a year to the Pikes Peak region, an estimated 6 percent to 8 percent come from other countries. International travelers, Sullivan said, “tend to stay longer and spend more.” And Chinese travelers, the Department of Commerce says, typically spend more than others. In 2006, the average Chinese visitor to the U.S. spent more than $6,000.

One potentially troubling trend, Erdmann said, is that international visitors are traveling less when they arrive in the United States. Instead of visiting two or three other destinations, “they’re staying put,” he said. With New York and California remaining the prime markets for foreign visitors, that makes it more critical for destinations in between to promote themselves and keep on top of the changing market.

“Get your name out there,” Erdmann advised.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0272 or bill.radford@gazette.com

INTERNATIONAL VISITORS

WHERE THEY’RE FROM: In 2006, the most foreign visitors to the U.S. came from Canada. Following Canada were Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, South Korea, Australia, Italy and Brazil.

WHERE THEY GO: The top U.S. destination for overseas visitors to the U.S. in 2006 was New York, with 29.6 percent of the market share, followed by California, Florida, Hawaii and Nevada in the top five.

U.S. OFFICE OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRIES