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Is China Broadway's Next Big Market? 

4/6/17
Everyone who attended last week’s NYC and Company Annual Meeting witnessed a lively discussion about travel to New York from major feeder markets. If nothing else, the representatives from Brazil, U.K., India, and China reaffirmed that the world (and therefore the world of VISIT USA travel, which is therefore the business of Broadway) is a complicated and nuanced place.

One of the major topics was how the U.S. is perceived nowadays, with regards to the current political climate. England and Europe tend to be more sensitive to inflammatory rhetoric, and everyone there is feeling the effects of the strong dollar and Brexit. Brazil is seeing its economy rebound, and after years of political drama at home, the Brazilians don’t care much about political uncertainty here in the States. India, with nearly one billion people, is still struggling to be recognized as an upcoming mega-market. 

And then there’s China. According to NYC and Company’s rep, the Chinese tourism market is unfazed by the current political climate. He even joked that authoritarianism in the U.S. might even be seen as a positive for Chinese tourists. And although a lot of Chinese citizens cannot afford overseas travel, the number who can and do is astounding. The projected numbers speak for themselves:
  • In 2003, there were fewer than  200,000  Chinese visitors to the USA.
  • In 2017, there will be  3.7 million  Chinese visitors to the USA.
  • In 2021, the projection is that there will be  7.3 million  Chinese visitors to the USA—making it our largest market. 
To serve this business or, depending on your perspective, driving this incredible growth is an enormous increase in air capacity to the U.S. from all over China. This includes new flights from cities like Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen—all cities with populations over  10 million  that many have never heard of!

And for the growing middle and upper-middle classes, travel is the #1 leisure pursuit. If we can beat out tea tasting, foot massage, and cigar appreciation for the attention of the affluent Chinese consumer, you know we’re on the cusp of something big! 


Learn more about The Shubert Organization at www.shubert.nyc.
​Source: Hurun Report Chinese Luxury Customer Survey 2014 
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​Originally published in Broadway Briefing. 
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