Visit California Welcomes Thousands of Chinese Visitors on Lunar New Year Tours of the Golden State

Visit California welcomes thousands of Chinese travelers to the Golden State on special Chinese New Year California tours. More than 2,300 Lunar New Year tour packages were booked for the 2014 spring festival travel season. Dozens of tour groups following multiple different itineraries are visiting attractions in and around California’s iconic gateway cities. More than 500 Chinese visitors will converge February 1 at the Disneyland Resort for a celebratory Chinese New Year banquet followed by a private World of Color show in California Adventure Park. Hundreds more will visit Universal Studios Hollywood February 2 for a special banquet luncheon and Mandarin tours of the park’s top attractions.

“We are honored to welcome these large delegations of visitors from China who chose to celebrate this most treasured family holiday in California,” said Caroline Beteta, president & chief executive officer of Visit California. “As our number one overseas market with over $1.6 billion in spending in 2012, Chinese travelers have a massive impact on our state’s tourism economy and the Lunar New Year holiday is a peak travel period.”

In October 2013, Visit California launched a “Mega Happy New Year in California” digital marketing campaign, the first paid media campaign designed to amplify the Golden State’s invitation for Chinese travelers to spend the popular Lunar New Year vacation period in California. California’s official tourism ambassador in China, Ms. Gao Yuanyuan, starred in online advertisements and new web content that encouraged consumers to book the travel packages being offered by 23 Chinese tour operators in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Province. More than 2,300 of these packages were booked, which will generate more than $5 million in travel-related spending throughout the state.

This is the fifth consecutive year that Chinese leisure travelers have been invited to celebrate the Lunar New Year in California through a large organized group tour effort. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of California hospitality businesses are now offering Lunar New Year specials, events and promotions, providing Chinese visitors with more opportunities to celebrate throughout the state and honor spring festival traditions.

Tour participants are forecasted to spend at least $2,472 per person in California. Collectively, visitors from China spent a record $1.6 billion in California in 2012. China is California’s fastest growing inbound market with substantial double-digit growth year over year and a solid 45.5% market share of US travel. China jumped from being California’s fourth largest overseas market in 2011 to the number one spot in 2012, with a record 670,817 visitors. Visitation from China is forecasted to grown an additional +62% between 2013 and 2016. In 2014, Visit California plans to invest $4.5 million in marketing to the Chinese consumer.

“California is the number one U.S. destination for Chinese travelers and our increased investment reflects our commitment to the market,” added Beteta. “As the primary U.S. gateway for this exciting market, we have an incredible opportunity to capitalize on the improving visa application process and increase in air service to the Golden State by making California a more welcoming and desirable place for Chinese visitors.”

In 2012, Visit California launched the “China Ready” educational initiative to prepare the state’s tourism industry to better serve Chinese travelers, establish a standard level of service and ultimately maintain California’s competitive edge. Since then hundreds of tour operators, industry partners and travel agents have participated in dozens of targeted trainings and workshops in both China and California.