JACKSON HOLE, WYO – It’s no secret anymore that Chinese tourists have found Jackson Hole. They’ve even got one of their own. Beginning about five years ago, tourism from China to the US spiked noticeably from an estimated 270,000 visitors in 2005 to about 1.8 million in 2013. And in 2017, Statista.com estimated about 3.5 million Chinese visited the US, as many as 500,000 may have made it to Wyoming to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
It the trend shows no sign of stopping. China was the leading global outbound market in 2016 with over 135 million international departures from that country. This number has been increasing in double digits since 2010. Will it continue? Consider this: a mere 6% of Chinese people own a passport.
Authorities in Yellowstone NP estimate about 83 percent of its visitors are domestic. Of the remainder, or the 17 percent foreign visitors, Chinese people represented 34 percent or basically one-third of all Yellowstone tourists from beyond U.S. boundaries. Chinese far eclipsed Italians (11%) and Canadians (10%) as the otherwise most-frequent visitors.
In response, Yellowstone hired three Mandarin-speaking rangers in 2016. Last year, they hired four.
Would your business or organization benefit from learning more about the Chinese tourist market? The National Park Gateway Community Chinese Tourism Workshop will be offered Tuesday, February 27 from 9am to 4:30pm at the Holiday Inn West Yellowstone. It is free but RSVP to Jennifer Thomsen.
Objectives:
- Understand the expectations of Chinese tourists for their national park and gateway community experience.
- Explore Chinese cultural perceptions of nature and national parks.
- Learn about Chinese tourism trends related to national parks and gateway communities.
- Share strategies and resources for improving communication, experience, service, and safety with Chinese tourists.
Workshop Activities:
- National and regional speakers on topics related to communication, marketing, Chinese culture and tourism trends for tourism in parks and gateway communities.
- Breakout sessions on opportunities and challenges for Chinese tourism in national parks and gateway communities.
- Sharing strategies to create a communication and resource-sharing platform among participants post-workshop.
- Network and informally share experiences during lunch and coffee breaks.
