Stronger RMB to benefit outbound travellers
By Liu Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-29 06:16

Nevertheless, this may well only be a short-term occurrence. As China's travel resources, in terms of facilities, services and site development, become more mature and optimized, more overseas consumers will turn their eyes to the market, nullifying any negative currency shifts.

Wei shared Chen's views that the yuan appreciation would not influence China's tourism industry too much. He added that considering Chinese people's ever-increasing income and the rich travel resources of the nation, the future for outbound and inbound travel is promising.

Statistics from China National Travel Administration (CNTA) indicates that 20.22 million Chinese people travelled abroad in 2003, surpassing Japan and becoming one of the world's top 10 countries in terms of overseas tourism consumption. China's outbound travellers reached 29 million last year, a 43 per cent increase from a year earlier.

Overseas students are regarded as another group of beneficiaries of the renminbi revaluation. However, the situation is similar to that in the tourism sector: steady growth is expected rather than a short-term boom.

Wei said that a decision on overseas study was usually made after a long-term and thoughtful consideration process. Family discussions usually revolved mostly around the quality of education and its influence on the student's future.

"Most families in China today only have one child, so they may not be too particular about expenditure, especially if the adjustment is only 2 per cent," said Wei.

A marketing manager of JJL Group, one of China's leading private overseas study consulting companies, who asked to remain anonymous, said there is no evidence that overseas study demands have surged rapidly since July 21.

"Figures of people asking for consulting services and website page viewers are both yet to witness an increase," said the manager.