An interview with a Chinese tourist

Lin, a tourist from China, has been interviewed by a Chinese newspaper in London.

我高中刚毕业，九月上大学。为庆祝高考成功，暑假爸爸妈妈带我出国旅游。

选择来英国，是因为我们对英国文化感兴趣。爸爸是曼联足球俱乐部的球迷，妈妈喜欢英国流行音乐，我喜欢《哈利·波特》电影。我们今天去剧院看了莎士比亚戏剧，明天要去参观大英博物馆。

饮食还行吧，我们愿意尝试一下英国当地的食物。这里的茶、咖啡、烤面包都不错，但是早上我更喜欢吃中国早餐，希望酒店房间多提供一些方便面。

酒店服务员都很礼貌，有的还会说一些简单的中文，我特别喜欢。跟我们说英语的时候，他们最好说慢点儿。另外，打招呼的话，握手就得，中国人不太能接受拥抱、吻脸颊。

英国礼物在中国很受欢迎。我给爷爷奶奶买了两瓶红酒，给姐姐买了一本英文小说，给朋友买了巧克力和短袖衫。

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参考文献

What Chinese tourists really want: Harry Potter, Pot Noodles and Manchester United.

British people should avoid kissing, hugs and politics and focus on Harry Potter and Manchester United instead if they want to woo high-spending Chinese tourists, according to the UK tourism agency.

The number of visitors travelling to the UK from China is expected to soar from fewer than 500 in 1996 to almost 500,000 by 2026, a report from VisitBritain states. It gives advice on how best to capitalise on the emergence of a travel-hungry super-rich elite, as well as affluent middle classes, in the world’s last communist superpower.

Chinese tourists spent more than £513 million in the UK last year, but the figure is set to rise sharply.

“The Chinese rate Britain highly for its cultural heritage and contemporary culture, associating Britain strongly with museums and films. They are mostly interested in the royal family, Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter and Downton Abbey,” it said.

The agency said that English football was a key attraction for the Chinese. Manchester United are the best supported club in China and Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur also feaature in the top ten most popular teams.

The report also advises British businesspeople to avoid overfamiliarity with their Chinese guests.

“Kissing and hugging are not a common form of greeting with the Chinese. Many of them would feel embarrassed and so it is best to avoid it,” it said.

The guide suggests avoiding politics as a conversation topic and bringing a token gift.

A survey of those who travelled to Britain revealed that 75 per cent felt “extremely welcome or very welcome” and 73 per cent would be extremely likely to recommend the country to friends. London was the most popular destination with 144,000 visits in 2016. Scotland was second with 41,000 visits and the north west of England attracted 39,000 visits.

The report suggests that travellers are keen to try foreign food and drink: “More Chinese have started developing the so-called ‘western palate’ and might appreciate wine, whisky, cheese, dairy products and desserts. However, many Chinese tourists will recourse to familiar Chinese food once in a while.”

Hoteliers have previously been urged to provide dehydrated noodles alongside tea and coffee-making facilities.

Graeme White, head of tourism for Scottish Development International, a state-funded trade agency, told The Times: “Providing in-room Pot Noodles is one practical way to support Chinese guests. One of the challenges we were made aware of was that Chinese visitors were buying noodles and heating them in kettles in their hotel rooms.”

Richard Nicholls of VisitBritain said: “Britain is offering excellent value for Chinese visitors and it’s great to see the increased numbers of tourists from this important market.”