Does your business have the right Cultural Pitch?


 Chinese tourists spend big money in the United States. In Boston, companies are trying to figure out how to draw them in.
It's no surprise that Chinese visitors come to New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC. Those are their top three American destinations. Then there's the next tier - places like Boston.
Chinese visitors come here primarily to see top universities such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Then they leave.
Local businesses would like them to stay a bit longer though. There's a simple reason.
Jolin Zhou, of the Boston-based Chinese tour operator Sunshine Travel, told a story of a Chinese man who was recently visiting Boston with his teenage son on a college scouting trip.
Zhou says: "One day he asked my co-worker, 'Can you recommend a meal, a good restaurant and bring me there? The best restaurant in Boston, no matter how expensive.' My co-worker brought him to a restaurant; they spent $1,000 for two of them for dinner."
Zhou told this story to about 75 businesspeople working in the hospitality industry at the statehouse in Boston.
They were gathered for a tourism workshop, hosted by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, which aims to attract Chinese visitors.
Massachusetts is following the lead of states such as California, which has developed a China Ready programme.
They offer a learning kit to teach Californian businesses how to better serve Chinese tourists and understand their culture.

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