November 6, 2018

China, Tourism and a Foothold in Antarctica

180373d28c101a0333830c

There are two news stories from China that describe how much that country is changing not only global economies but world politics. From Xinhuanet.com comes some startling statistics on how much impact China’s outbound travel tourism industry has globally.

Many hotels  now offer service in Mandarin, free wifi  (a feature that has been offered free for years in hotels in China) and hot water pots.

For the entire world travel industry, Chinese tourists leaving that country add 16.7 percent of the added value and create 25 percent of all the jobs globally related to tourism.

Not only did Chinese tourism boost international tourism by ten percent, 130  million trips were made by Chinese citizens last year. This figure is increasing annually by 7 per  cent, with tourism from China accounting for 20 percent of global travel revenue. It is a very big group of people travelling with a lot of spending power.

And it is not just in tourism that China is having a profound global impact. The Duke of Data Simon Fraser University’s Andy Yan sends this article from the Bloomberg press indicating that China is not only creating a “Polar Silk Road” through the Arctic for moving oil and goods but also looking at tourism and exploration of Antarctica. Below an ice sheet that is 2.6 kilometers thick,China has prepared a report that over 100 billion barrels of oil and 5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas are present. You can be sure that was not surveyed simply for inventory purposes.

That Antarctic report concludes that China must be more active in setting up regulations for deep-sea, polar regions, outer space ~and strangely in the same sentence~the internet. To accomplish a hold in the Antarctic, China must strengthen their research presence and build more tourism infrastructure to be seen as influential enough to participate in the multinational governing of this sensitive region.

With Chinese tourists already forming the second largest sightseeing group visiting Antarctica, a new exploration camp has been established for further Chinese research and tourism on the ice cap, while trying to establish their claim for governance. You can have a look at this initiative in the YouTube video below.

2.3春节南极游成为中国游客新宠20有人14天花费8万元.jpgImage: China.org

Posted in

Support

If you love this region and have a view to its future please subscribe, donate, or become a Patron.

Share on

Comments

Subscribe to Viewpoint Vancouver

Get breaking news and fresh views, direct to your inbox.

Join 7,284 other subscribers

Show your Support

Check our Patreon page for stylish coffee mugs, private city tours, and more – or, make a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you for helping shape this place we love.

Popular Articles

See All

All Articles