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Lovemore Chikova: News Editor

Chinese people love adventure, are very outgoing and prepared to make huge commitments and sacrifices to amuse themselves. Making themselves happy is a trait in many Chinese people, which one can only notice after staying a little longer in their country.If you judge them by the example of their kith and kin living in your country, you may conclude that the Chinese are conservative, always pre-occupied with business and like to stay in-doors.

Yet, it is a completely different picture when it comes to the real China. Here people, like in many other countries, take business seriously, but they have an extra attribute in that they view amusement with an equal measure of gravity.

A visit to domestic tourist attractions and parks is like a must for every Chinese and such areas are always overcrowded with local joy seekers, both young and old. The Chinese take holiday making so seriously that domestic tourism has become one of the major contributors to the fiscus.

Let us take this week alone, which is a holiday in China running from Friday last week to tomorrow.

On October 1 each year, the Chinese celebrate their National Day, but that holiday is officially three days.

The remaining days were declared a holiday to give workers a deserved break.

This affords them enough time to travel longer distances, either to visit tourist attractions or their families. Since China marked the 67th National Day on Friday last week, tourist attractions in the country have been clogged with visitors.

In fact, the China Tourism Academy estimates that by the time the holiday ends tomorrow, more than 600 million Chinese would have travelled both internally and externally to tourist destinations.

These are expected to fork out a combined $72 billion in amusement alone, just in one week.

This is a staggering figure, far above the Gross Domestic Product of many countries in Africa and other developing continents.

Equally important is that the Chinese are prepared to share such kind of wealth with the rest of the world through tourism.

Xinhua News Agency recently quoted the head of China National Tourism Administration Mr Li Jinzao saying the country will have 600 million outbound travellers annually by 2020.

This will triple the spending by the Chinese tourists to about $460 billion.

Countries, especially those in Africa, must escalate their efforts to attract the Chinese tourists if they are to get a fair share of such proceeds.

Southern Africa, because of its outstanding tourist attractions, stands out as one region that can benefit from this global travel by the Chinese.

But the answer lies in marketing the region as a single tourist destination.

If a tourist is offered an incentive to visit three or four countries per single trip, the gesture is likely to be accepted without any qualms.

This is because the long distance between China and Southern Africa can discourage a tourist from returning after the first visit.

The advantage possessed by countries which make up the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is that they are very close to each other.

What is needed is to improve connectivity, especially the frequency of air traffic between destinations.

With effective transportation, a tourist can easily visit Zimbabwe, cross the border into Botswana, then into Namibia and to South Africa within a week.

A workshop on tourism held by SADC countries in Beijing at the end of last month showed huge benefits accruing through marketing the region as one big tourist destination.

Such an approach was extensively discussed at the workshop titled “SADC Tourism Trade Workshop” spearheaded by the SADC Business Forum.

It was attended by representatives from embassies for SADC countries based in Beijing and players in the Chinese tourism sector.

The 15 members of SADC are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

It was noted during the discussions that Southern Africa is well placed to offer Chinese tourists much more enjoyable trips by giving them a chance to visit several attractions in the region at one go.

The delegates noted that the region is endowed with several beautiful, exotic and diverse destinations which offer a lot in areas such as adventure, animals, culture, cuisine and the tapestry landscape.

If pursued with vigour, the new approach can result in the increased number of tourist arrivals from China into the region, as the countries pursue a common goal in tourism development.

At the workshop, the SADC countries held an exhibition to showcase their destinations and what they offer to Chinese tourists.

Botswana’s ambassador to China Mr Sasala Chasala George gave a message of hope, indicating that the Chinese tourism market was of paramount importance to SADC.

If countries in the region unite and market the region to Chinese tourists as one big destination, more tourists will be attracted by the diverse market, was his message.

But improving infrastructure is one of the important areas which will help the region in easily becoming a favourite for Chinese tourists.

Interesting statistics released at the workshop showed that in September alone, at least 75 new hotels were officially opened in countries in the region.

This shows how committed the region has become to improving its infrastructure in preparation for getting a share of the outbound tourists from the Asian economic giant.

Another issue that needs urgent attention is the issuance of a uni-visa for travellers to the region.

A uni-visa for the region has been on the cards for a long time, but the process must be expedited now in anticipation of the huge in-flow of tourists from China.

The experiment has proved workable after Zimbabwe and Zambia successfully implemented the uni-visa, and the region can draw lessons from that experience.

It is also crucial that the region has the SADC Protocol on the Development of Tourism, which is meant to facilitate easy travel by tourists in different various countries.

Chinese tourists are known to respond positively to incentives and are always scouting for destinations with favourable conditions.

Take Zimbabwe as an example where Chinese tourist arrivals increased by 32 percent between March and September this year following the relaxation of the visa application process.

Zimbabwe announced in March that Chinese nationals could now apply for their visa on arrival and the response has been a surge in the tourist arrivals from the Asian economic giant.

Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Dr Ray Ndhlukula confirmed the figures and attributed them to the visa incentive.

The SADC region might be endowed with top notch tourist attractions, but it needs to improve in many other areas if it is to benefit from the expected 600 million outbound Chinese tourists.

Some of the issues cited above like infrastructure, linking of destinations and relaxation of visa requirements are crucial to attract an average tourist.

Most tourist destinations in the SADC region are still natural and attractive, where one can sleep to the sounds of the bush, the roar of the hungry lion or the high-pitched giggle of the hyena.

Big game like elephant, giraffe, rhino, hippopotamus, lions, buffalo and leopards roam freely in the wild, where tourists can encounter them in their natural habitat.

Add to this the many natural wonders across the region, the long beaches in some countries, the diverse cultural attractions and above all the peaceful people whose hospitality is unmistakable.