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U.S. NEWS Saturday 1 april 2017

More US cities aim to make Chinese travelers feel at home

PHILIP MARCELO porate Chinese language The Four Seasons in D.C.’s stand us,” said Bruce Bom- ing local restaurants and
Associated Press and customs into their of- Georgetown neighbor- marito, the company’s businesses better serve Chi-
BOSTON (AP) Hotels offer ferings. They’re also em- hood makes similar ges- vice president for interna- nese customers.
congee and other Chinese barking on tourism-focused tures, as well as offering tional marketing, noting Zeng Wen, a 24-year-old
staples for room service. who works part-time as
Casinos train staff members a tour guide for Chinese-
on Chinese etiquette. Res- speakers in Chicago, said
taurants, tourist sights and she has noticed recent ef-
shopping malls translate forts to reach out to Chi-
signs, menus and informa- nese tourists, like the Hilton
tion booklets into Chinese. hotel chain’s “Hilton Huany-
The American hospitality ing” program, which de-
industry is stepping up ef- rives its name from the Chi-
forts to make Chinese visi- nese words for “welcome.”
tors feel more welcome, But Zhe Zhang, a 36-year-
since they are projected to old from Guangzhou who
soon surpass travelers from visited Los Angeles this
the United Kingdom and year, said he didn’t see any
Japan as the single largest obvious outreach to Chi-
overseas demographic. nese visitors, outside of Chi-
And it’s not just the typical nese-run establishments.
tourist hubs of New York The most intimidating part,
and Los Angeles, where he said, was ordering food
such efforts have long been with his basic grasp of Eng-
commonplace. Smaller cit- lish. “If possible, restaurants
ies like Boston, Las Vegas, could provide a simple
Seattle and Washington, Chinese menu or pictured
D.C., are increasingly get- menu,” Zhang suggested.
ting into the act, industry Tourists from China walk to board a boat for a harbor tour in Boston. In cities across the country, the Cities can’t afford to be
officials say. American hospitality industry is stepping up efforts to make Chinese visitors feel more welcome. caught flat-footed as Chi-
“Americans traditionally (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) na’s growing middle class
lag behind what other in- almost nonexistent two de-
ternational designations sales missions to China and Chinese-language televi- the Roman-themed casino cades ago flexes its spend-
do for different cultures,” opening satellite offices in sion and newspapers. It’s has rolled out other China- ing power, industry experts
said Elliott Ferguson, CEO Chinese cities to strength- also working on offering focused initiatives in recent say.
of Destination DC, the city’s en ties and sell their city to more traditional Chinese years, including training Chinese visitors already
convention and tourism or- trendsetters. dishes on its room service programs for staff on basic spend more in the U.S. than
ganization, which last year Some companies have al- and restaurant menus, said cultural etiquette for serv- other international visitors,
launched “Welcome Chi- ready embraced the mes- Liliana Baldassari, a hotel ing Chinese guests. at roughly $7,200 per per-
na,” a certification pro- sage. The Sheraton Boston spokeswoman. Those and other small son, according to the U.S.
gram for local businesses. in the Back Bay neighbor- In Las Vegas, Caesars En- touches are a step in the Travel Association, an in-
“We just kind of assume hood started offering in tertainment last year start- right direction, but more dustry trade group. Travel-
that one size fits all. Quite 2013 simple creature com- ed offering guests at some companies need to make ers from the country are
frankly, that’s just not wel- forts many Chinese travel- of its affiliated resorts the an effort to recognize the expected to more than
coming.” ers expect, including slip- option to book and pay growing importance of the double from about 2.6 mil-
Local tourism associations pers, robes, instant noo- for hotel rooms using We- Chinese market, said Justin lion visitors in 2015 to nearly
in those and other cities dles, an electric kettle and Chat, China’s most popular Minggan Wei, a 27-year- 6 million by 2021, the asso-
have recently launched green tea, and have since social media app. old from Beijing who came ciation said.
campaigns aimed at get- taken other steps to ca- “It’s made a really strong to Boston in 2008 for col- More direct flights from Chi-
ting their member hotels, ter to Chinese guests, said statement to the Chinese lege, an experience that na to a wider range of U.S.
restaurants and tourism Angela Vento, the hotel’s that these people really inspired him to launch a cities in recent years is part-
companies to better incor- general manager. welcome us and under- consulting company help- ly fueling the boom.q