Pamper Chinese Tourists

In 2017, 3.46 million Chinese visitors arrived in the United States, and about 40 percent of them visited a park or national monument.

These nature-loving tourists are also ready to open their wallets. In 2016, Chinese visitors spent more than visitors from any other country: $33.2 billion USD.

South America, Antarctica, and Europe are also beginning to boom with Chinese travelers who are awakening to the joys of adventure travel.

As the tourism industry strives to meet the needs of Chinese visitors, some communities are looking to meet this opportunity head-on.

In February, Yellowstone National Park and the University of Montana teamed up to host a West Yellowstone, Montana, workshop for Yellowstone-area businesses focused on travel trends, cultural values, communication tips, and marketing strategies applicable to Chinese visitors.

These are a few tips offered by experts on how to prepare an adventure business to meet the needs and expectations of this growing group of visitors.

When adventure tour operators and their clients don’t speak the same language, a variety of problems can arise, from minor communication issues to huge safety concerns.

Even if visitors can communicate in English well enough to coordinate a pick-up time, that doesn’t mean they have a sufficient understanding of the language to comprehend complex safety instructions.

You’ll get nods, smiles, agreement, and the waiver signed, but you won’t really have communicated with guests, said Jake Finifrock, ATTA’s regional director for Asia, a travel consultant, and owner of Midnight Son Tours. There has to be a language element in there.

There are a number of ways to overcome these barriers:

Hire Mandarin speaking seasonal staff: Hiring workers who can communicate with Chinese visitors in their native language is a huge benefit.

When people understand each other’s language and culture, it paves the way for more in-depth communication and understanding.

Provide written information in Mandarin: Companies should use Chinese signage, with waiver forms and instructions in Chinese.

Use a single-page, laminated sheet in Chinese outlining the elements of each activity in Chinese.

Provide maps and visual materials: All guests appreciate an understanding of where they will be going and what they will be doing. When you don’t share a common language, visuals can help promote understanding.

Provide maps for guests of where to go and what they are going to do, Finifrock said. He provides pictures and handouts of anything technical, often presenting the material on the bus ride so people have time to prepare.

Avoid humor: Humor often doesn’t translate across languages and cultures. A joke may confuse guests who do not share a common language and culture. That doesn’t mean don’t smile and don’t laugh.

A lot of times, you might use word jokes, or worst-case scenario humor to put our guests at ease. That doesn’t always translate very well with Chinese guests.

Translate it right: Do not simply use Google Translate or other free or low-cost translation services. Getting quality translations is expensive, but he believes it is a worthwhile investment.

If they are going to be materials you might use for 10 years, it’s an investment you’ll want to make.
‌
Use a translator who is a native Chinese citizen who speaks english.

After the translator translates the materials to Chinese, have another translator to translate them back to English to ensure no information was lost.

Tour operators can mitigate this potential element of surprise by employing a variety of strategies:

Communicate clearly: Guides may communicate with guests differently than Chinese guides.

While a U.S. guide may say it’s probably not a good idea to do something, Chinese guests may be more used to a guide who firmly says do not under any circumstances do that in order to communicate a danger.

It’s not that they disrespect the authority of the guide, but they don’t understand the actual dangers there.
‌
In addition to communicating dangers, it’s also important to be clear about logistics, including meeting points and times.

Be sure everyone knows to come prepared with the right clothing and anything else they will need for the day.

Use visual demonstrations: Providing visual demonstrations of key topics and safety concepts can help people who aren’t fluent in English as well as people with varying styles of learning.

Physically demonstrating concepts such as high side on a raft can help people understand what to do.

Communication goes beyond language translation. People who live within different cultures may have different ideas and expectations about everything from personal space to group dynamics.

Prepare for success prior to receiving Chinese travelers by considering a number of logistical and cultural factors:

Companies should provide their staff members with cultural training.
‌
It’s is important to recognize some cultures have very distinct cultural norm differences, so making sure your staff is aware of those differences, expectations, and how people communicate is really important because it reduces the frustration on either side.

Someone may be misinterpreting something or may not understand why someone is acting a certain way.

Use the right measurements: If guests are from a country that uses kilometers and meters, be sure to provide measurements in the appropriate format.

This is especially important when providing safety information, such as how far to stay away from dangers like wildlife.

Understand expectations of personal space: In the United States and other countries, people may wait in single-file lines, which isn’t the norm in China, and while the idea of personal space exists in China, it takes a different approach.

Tour operators should feel comfortable with telling their Chinese guests that, because they are mixing with guests from other cultures, they should adopt the local expectations regarding queueing and personal space.

There is a Chinese saying that roughly translates to when in Rome, do as the Romans, and they are very respectful of such things if they are pointed out to them.

Identify the leader: In Chinese culture, group dynamics are very different than in Western culture. Groups will typically defer to a leader.

Identifying the group’s leader and communicating with that person can increase the effectiveness of communication.
‌
Generally, the leader is a more mature person. The oldest tends to be the person with the authority, but if he’s too old he starts to lose that authority and his adult child might assume that role, for example.

It’s clearly defined to them and not always clearly visible on the outside.

Asking who to give instructions to or just watching to see how people act. The leader will typically be the person to whom the group shows respect.

For example, they might give the leader the best bicycle or make sure the leader gets the first serving at lunch.

Provide What Chinese Visitors Want and Expect

Chinese visitors often have certain expectations on their adventure trips abroad. By meeting these expectations, tour operators can help ensure their guests will be happy.

Some things Chinese guests typically want and expect on a trip include:

Three hot meals a day: Chinese visitors generally expect three hot meals a day, and they may be disappointed when presented with a sandwich and soft drink for lunch.

Chinese tourists really expect three hot meals a day, having hot water available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Having a hot meal at lunch instead of just a packed sandwich is very much a norm of what they expect.

Ample opportunities for photography: Photo stops are important, so provide plenty of opportunities for photography.

Photos are a huge part of their experience. They want to be in the photos. It’s not just taking a picture of a mountain, it’s taking pictures of themselves in front of the mountain, taking a selfie, group pictures.

Preparing for Chinese visitors isn’t something companies can do overnight. It requires long-term preparation and a determination to learn.

If a company really wants to engage, they’re going to have to have a learner’s mindset. He encouraged tourism professionals to spend time learning, engaging, and approaching the issue with a culturally sensitive point of view in order to prepare for the surge in Chinese visitation.


Tourism Observer

CROATIA: Plitvice Lakes National Park

For our late summer vacation we planned a trip to Europe, with the Czech Republic and Croatia as the highlights. Croatia has always been on my World Travel Bucket List, but my knowledge and interest in the country was primarily limited to the gorgeous beaches and beautiful Dubrovnik. But, after a quick internet search on things to do in Croatia, I learned about what is undoubtedly the country’s most stunning place (and certainly its most visited), Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Located in the mountainous central part of Croatia, Plitvice Lakes National Park (the oldest national park in southeast Europe) was founded in 1949 and covers an astonishing 73,350 acres. With its extensive maze of lakes and waterfalls that gleam in brilliant shades of emerald green and sapphire blue, Plitvice can easily be described as the jewel of Croatia, attracting more than 1,000,000 visitors each year.

We drove our rental car from the rocky coast of the Adriatic Sea and wound our way through the countryside, which quickly changed to mountains. The two-lane highway made for a long road trip and, as we neared the park, the RV and car traffic increased exponentially, partially due to extensive road construction. The Plitvice Lakes National Park visitor’s center lay just three miles beyond the standstill traffic, but it took us over an hour to get there.

Once we found a parking spot between two trees in the forest, we walked back to the visitor’s center, which was teeming with people. We spoke to a helpful park employee, who gave us information about campgrounds and directed us to the ticket booth. The cost of a one-day adult ticket is 110 Kuna, or about 19 USD, payable only in Kuna or by credit card. We purchased tickets for the following day and made our way to the campground.

The park offers numerous options for sightseeing, with eight different hiking routes available. Each combines various sections of the park and vary according to length and required physical ability, with buses and electric boats supplementing the trails that crisscross the park. We chose Route H, a 4- to 6-hour hike which hit most of the main waterfalls and lakes. We arrived shortly after the park’s 8am opening time and made our way to the bus stop to begin our adventures.

The bus stop was a mob scene: With buses only running about every 20 minutes, and with no discernable queue, the park’s many visitors were all simply milling about in frustration. When the buses did arrive, a crush of people pushed aboard, claimed all the seats, and then packed the aisles. It wasn’t until the buses were full that a park employee finally approached and loudly declared that standing in the aisles was not permitted. Frustrated people suddenly became angry people as they filed back off the bus.

We waited another 20 minutes, and were able to squeeze onto the next bus for the ten 10-minute ride up the hill. Once we arrived, we let our fellow bus passengers immediately flood the trail while we visited the small cafe at the trailhead for a coffee. A few minutes later, we started down the trail (which consisted of dirt paths mixed with boardwalks), walking over the first of many ponds and lakes filled with such crystal clear water, it took my breath away.

But unfortunately, those breathtaking views were soon obliterated by overwhelming crowds of people lining the narrow pathways. Given the fact that an amazing photo opportunity seemingly waited around every corner, the problem was compounded when those in front of us stopped in an effort to frame the perfect shot. I was also surprised by the numbers of people working their way up the trail toward the trailhead where the bus had dropped us off. Two-way traffic on the trail literally brought everything to a standstill.

Although we were squeezing to find our way between hundreds of people, the hike down the mountain, past a multitude of lakes and waterfalls, was gorgeous. Waterfowl dotted the crystalline surfaces, and the sun glinted brightly at every angle, highlighting the fish that lurked just beneath. We shouldered our way through the crowds in anticipation of boarding one of the boats and exploring a different part of the park.

We made our way across the lake and disembarked with renewed spirits, as the crowds on the trails initially didn’t seem quite so heavy. Unfortunately, you can’t judge a book by its cover. This part of the park featured numerous rock outcroppings and overhangs, which further narrowed the trails as we hiked. The views were even more stunning, but that also meant that more and more people were stopping in the middle of the trail to take photos.

We decided to make our way back towards the park entrance, which meant that we once again boarded one of the Plitvice Lakes National Park boats to make the trip, but we clearly weren’t the only ones with that idea. Even with a capacity of 100 passengers per vessel, there were so few boats making the run that we waited for over an hour to board, and the line behind us just kept growing. Eventually, we made it back to our car, but waited further in the inevitable traffic jam on the highway.

I’m no stranger to crowded national parks. I’ve been to Yellowstone National Park on holiday weekends, which is enough to test any traveler’s nerves. Wherever these parks are in the world, they are made to be enjoyed, and I can’t fault throngs of other people for appreciating the same natural wonders that I do. Perhaps I was naive to think that the situation would be different in Croatia.

Regardless, the incredible scenery of Plitvice Lakes National Park is in no way overrated. It’s simply stunning in its beauty. Just be prepared to catch that beauty while peering over the shoulders of the multitudes in front of you, and make sure you have a cold beer waiting at the end of the day. You’ll need it!

Tourist Charged For Collecting Hot Spring Water

A tourist has been fined US$1000 for collecting water from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park.

The incident follows a recent death at the park, when another tourist fell into a hot spring in a restricted area.

Officials said that a Chinese tourist was caught walking off a boardwalk and collecting water in the Mammoth Hot Springs thermal area on Tuesday.

The man was also seen breaking through a surrounding travertine crust, a fragile limestone deposit generated by the spring.

After being interviewed, the tourist said he had not read the safety information provided at the park entrance. He also admitted to collecting water from the spring.

The tourist faces court charges and will make an appearance in the Yellowstone Justice Center Court.

"Park rangers appreciate the willingness of the witness to document and report the violation," officials said in a statement.

"Park employees call on all visitors to protect their park and protect themselves.

"Without visitor cooperation, park natural wonders will continue to be damaged and more individuals may be injured or killed. It is a violation of federal regulations to collect any park resources."

Last month, a baby bison had to be euthanised after well-meaning tourists became concerned for its safety and transported it to a ranger station in the back of their SUV.

Only days later, a group of Canadian YouTubers - including one New Zealander - were hit with criminal charges for walking on an off-limits geyser in the park.

USA: Yellowstone National Park Tourist Fined $1,000 For Walking Off Boardwalk

A man visiting Yellowstone National Park left with more than just memories Wednesday after he left the boardwalk at the Mammoth Hot Springs area. He walked away with a $1,000 fine and $30 court processing fee.

According to the park, a witness saw the man step off the boardwalk, walk on the terrace formation near Liberty Cap and collect thermal water. The witness also said the man broke through travertine crust, which is very fragile.

When the man was interviewed by law officials, the Chinese national said he didn't read the safety information provided as he entered the park. He also admitted to taking water from the hot springs.

The man was issued a federal violation notice, requiring an appearance in the Yellowstone Justice Center Court.

"Park employees call on all visitors to protect their park and protect themselves," Yellowstone Park officials said in a news release. "Regulations to stay on designated trails and boardwalks in thermal areas are for visitor safety and the safety of the exceptional park natural resources. Without visitor cooperation, park natural wonders will continue to be damaged and more individuals may be injured or killed. It is a violation of federal regulations to collect any park resources."

The hefty fine follows another tourist issue at Yellowstone earlier this year in which a bison was loaded into a vehicle because it "looked cold." The bison was later euthanized when it could not be reunited with its herd.

USA: Montana Tourism Grows Stronger

The state of Montana covers more than 94 million acres, but its tourism industry is built on 1,080,225 of them.

Given what happened in 2015, and what’s on tap in 2016, that should bode well for many of the state’s businesses that rely heavily on visitors, said Daniel Iverson, communications manager for the Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development.

Those 1,080,225 acres belong to all Americans, and come in the form of Glacier National Park (1,013,572 acres) and Yellowstone National Park (96 percent of which lies in Wyoming, but which has 66,653 acres — and three of its five entrances — in Montana).

Yellowstone smashed its record for visitation earlier this year, and is on course to cross 4 million visitors a year for the first time ever and post a 15- to 16-percent increase more than 2014. There were times this year when lines to get into the park were so long, rangers waived hundreds of vehicles through at a time without charging the entrance fee in an effort to keep traffic moving.

Glacier, meantime, broke a 31-year-old visitation record in 2014 when it welcomed more than 2.3 million people and is poised to erase that again in 2015.

The park is edging toward a second straight record despite a challenging summer that included wildfires inside its borders, smoke-filled skies and the 2 ½-week closure of a significant chunk of its most popular attraction — Going to the Sun Road — during the height of the season.

The two national parks are definitely our cornerstones. They’re front and center, montana focuses a lot of the promotional works we do on them.

Information from the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research indicate that more than half the out-of-state visitors to Montana visited Yellowstone while, and 40 percent visited Glacier.

They’re the top two attractions by a comfortable margin.

With the National Park Service celebrating its 100th birthday in 2016, the centennial could help draw more attention — and visitors — to parks, including the two in Montana.

“We’re talking with our partners about how to promote, and take advantage of, the centennial,” Iverson says. “We think the increase in visitation to the parks will continue.”

The two parks predate the National Park Service itself, and have already celebrated their own centennials — Glacier six years ago, and Yellowstone, America’s first national park, back in 1972. But the NPS centennial will draw national attention in 2016, and Montana could benefit.

Among the ideas being considered, is one that would promote various routes between the parks — and attractions along the way — that could benefit more than communities close to Yellowstone and Glacier.

The parks should help the 2016 tourism outlook for the state.

You might be surprised at some of the other things that could affect it.

Iverson says Norma Nickerson, the director of the Institute of Tourism and Recreation Research, has noted that 2016 is a presidential election year. She called it a “wild card” that could lead to caution among voters/tourists who are uncertain about how the election of certain candidates could affect the economy.

That uncertainty could affect their travel plans.

Fuel prices and economies in other nations figure in. Another variable is the weather, which will wind up playing a major role in whatever Montana’s final 2015 tourism numbers turn out to be.

A lot depends on the weather.

After a good snow year in 2014, Montana saw a 10 percent drop in the number of skiers in a drier, lighter-snow year in 2015. That lack of precipitation carried over into the summer and affected the wildfire season, a year after wildfires weren’t much of a factor.

The lack of snow and increase in wildfires was accompanied by a weakening of the Canadian dollar that also affected a very important part of Montana’s economy — visitors from the North.

Most of our visitors come in by road,there was 4.2 percent increase at our west, south and eastern borders.

But there was a 6.3 percent decrease in traffic coming into Montana from the Canadian border, and that hurts the economy in many places across the northern tier of the state, and as far south as Great Falls.

It’s really slowing up communities like Great Falls. With a weak Canadian dollar, “Essentially, (Canadians) can’t buy as much for their dollar as they used to be able to while in the United States.

Early figures for 2015 final figures won’t be available until early 2016 — indicated that in addition to the higher numbers of visitors entering by vehicle over Montana’s borders with Idaho, Wyoming and North and South Dakota, there was a 1.8 percent increased in air travel, and a 2.2 percent increase in the number of hotel and motel rooms sold.

Montana usually comes close to matching national projections for tourism,for 2016, the U.S. Travel Association is predicting a 2 percent increase in the number of trips taken, and a 2.3 percent increase in spending.

International visitors to Montana seem to be increasing, which is part of a national trend.

The international markets are skyrocketing, especially Asia and China. We have a program focused on international travelers, and work with tour operators because a lot of international visitors like to go through tour operators to show the Montana sights they can sell to international markets.

No doubt Glacier and Yellowstone are on that list. Montana’s attractions certainly don’t stop with the national parks, there’s some spectacular scenery on those other 93 million acres but for many out-of-state visitors, whether they’re from other countries or other states, the national parks are the first thing they want to see.