MAINLAND Chinese arrivals to the US have grown steadily, with New York, Florida and Las Vegas hailed as popular destinations, according to Haybina Hao, director, international development, NTA, the leading association for professionals serving travellers to, from and within North America.
Hao credited the better approval rate for visas as one of the reasons for the rise in mainland Chinese arrivals.
States like Guam and Hawaii were also seeing better traffic because of their proximity to the mainland and improved direct flight access, she added.
“In Asia, mainland China is the market with the biggest potential in the next three to five years,” Hao predicted.
David Yu, NTA chief representative-China, said that 801,738 Chinese visited the US in 2010. NTA expects the number to exceed 2.6 million by 2016.
The US currently gets mostly leisure tourists from the mainland, who stay an average of up to two weeks. Popular reasons for visiting are shopping, golf, fishing trips and summer camp for students.
“We have also seen an increase in business travellers,” Hao said.
By Amee Enriquez
