Tourism to China is expected to surge, following the Beijing Summer Games.

According to a 16-market survey conducted by Nielsen after the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, consumers throughout the world are increasingly interested in traveling to mainland China. 

Forty-five percent of those surveyed after the Opening ceremony said they intended to travel to mainland China at some point.  Following the Closing Ceremony, that percentage increased to 51%.  For 80% of the respondents, who had never visited mainland China, it would their first trip to the country.

Meanwhile, respondents who said they had no interest in visiting mainland China dropped from one-third, after the Opening Ceremony, to one-quarter, following the Closing Ceremony. 

Interest in visiting mainland China was highest in neighboring Hong Kong (86%), Singapore (86%), and India (80%).  Large percentages of repondents in Mexico (72%), Taiwan (69%), South Africa (69%) and South Korea (66%) also expressed desire to travel to China.

Positive impressions of China, generated by global Olympics TV coverage, may account for the surging interest in travel to the country, Grace Pan, head of leisure and travel research, Nielsen China, noted. 

“According to the World Tourism Organization, China will be the world’s largest tourist destination by 2020 receiving 137 million overseas tourists in 2020, and in the meantime and generating 100 million outbound tourists of their own,” Pan said.  “With the Beijing Olympics generating such strong interest in China, they may well reach these numbers earlier than anticipated.”

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Read China Daily’s coverage of Nielsen’s findings.