How does tourism affect china?

Answer 1

China is a beautiful country and has attractive tourist destinations. I visited the country for business in 2009 and would like to share my views as a business executive and a tourist, looking at the angle of what I went through. This may not be the general case for every body.

VISA - China is a very famous country known for the Great walls and I thought visa will be easy from Dubai as it appeared from the official website. I have been to Hong Kong, which is now part of China and it was very simple. I was requested to get an official invitation in original sealed and signed by the authorities in China. Luckily I had so many friends who volunteered to send me the invitation, but it took time (2 weeks) to get the document procured and send it by courier.

Airport Reception - I landed in Beijing and checkout was easy. At the passport control there were attempts to evaluate your satisfaction level and get electronic answer. However after customs they checked my passport and asked why I am coming to China? I said Business. What document you have to prove? It made me feel as if the real visa evaluation was taking place here. Luckily I had some telephone numbers and appointment times listed in a sheet of paper in my brief case and I tossed them on to the officer. Honestly I felt the officer had been trained to be friendly but his past duties made him go through some tough questioning. I was relived when he said thank you and enjoy your time in Beijing.

Language - The taxi driver dint know English. So he couldn't understand me. Knowing this problem I bought a mobile sim as the first thing in the airport, which saved me. I phoned my friend and gave him to instruct the driver.

Exchange - I was charged 20 Yuan more for the exchange service, after converting on the displayed rates.

Caged driver - I found the driver caged inside a steel frame from passenger sides. I was uneasy at the beginning and I cannot ask him why because he don't speak my language.

Toll collection - We had to stop at most toll plaza's to pay toll. Luckily the driver paid them all before he collected from me at the end.

Hotels - The Electrical sockets are different and you cannot use any of your standard computer appliances. Some Hotels had converters while others didnt. WIFI is unheard of. Upon request they give you a network cable and charge you additional. I was a Muslim and toilets were fully dry. There were no choices even in 5 star hotels.

Halal Food - No one knows about halal food and it was a big challenge to find at the beginning. Later I discovered some restaurents with the help of my friends.

Provincial Air Travelling and Transport is a big challenge if you don't know Chinese or don't have English speaking friends who can help. Making available Literature, and sign boards etc. most situations can be overcome.

My general feeling is that Tourism is desgined for the locals and attempts can be seen to have been made to improve the picture. It may take some time for the overall culture to change.

Answer 2

it helps china's economy grow