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The other funny thing is that she said that SF isn't as well known in China as people in the US think. She said that the only cities that Chinese really care about in the US, at least for visiting, are NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami, and Honolulu. Apparently she didn't even know much of anything about SF until she came to the US a few years ago.
SF has much bigger visitor counts from China than basically all those cities excepting LA and NYC, so that makes no sense.
And I suspect Chicago and Miami are not really on the radar for Chinese visitors.
I wouldn't stress about the "outlook" projections. I've never seen one that came anywhere close to being true. I remember reading back in the late 90's how Stockholm, Milwaukee, Perth, etc would be the greatest cities by 2010! The tech bubble would dethrone Silicon Valley! China would take over the world! Japan will eat us alive! Argentina will be the strongest country in the world by 1950!
It's just speculative garbage meant to be taken as a talking point than an actual projection. The only well educated projections seem to come from the UN concerning countries.
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Originally Posted by thefallensrvnge
Toronto being so low on the outlook took me by surprise. What's that about?
SF has much bigger visitor counts from China than basically all those cities excepting LA and NYC, so that makes no sense.
And I suspect Chicago and Miami are not really on the radar for Chinese visitors.
These aren't my observations. It's merely what my girlfriend who's from China and moved to NYC 2 years ago told me. She's said some very interesting things that surprised me about this type of stuff for various areas of the US. The thing about San Francisco was that it is not as well known to Chinese as people in the US think. She also has stated things like "Many Chinese do not really give a **** about visiting Washington DC."
Here are the actual numbers for Chinese visitors to U.S. cities, and they are basically what you expect- NYC, DC and all the major West Coast destinations.
In order, top destinations for Chinese visitors to U.S. are-
I'm a little surprised that DC is in the Top 5, (I would have thought Honolulu or Seattle because of their West Coast location) but besides that, it's exactly as expected.
NYC, LA and SF are obviously the Big 3 when it comes to Chinese visitors, and that will probably always be the case, since they have the largest Chinese populations and business connections, are major tourist centers, and fairly strong business and cultural ties.
Here are the actual numbers for Chinese visitors to U.S. cities, and they are basically what you expect- NYC, DC and all the major West Coast destinations.
In order, top destinations for Chinese visitors to U.S. are-
I'm a little surprised that DC is in the Top 5, (I would have thought Honolulu or Seattle because of their West Coast location) but besides that, it's exactly as expected.
NYC, LA and SF are obviously the Big 3 when it comes to Chinese visitors, and that will probably always be the case, since they have the largest Chinese populations and business connections, are major tourist centers, and fairly strong business and cultural ties.
It's the center of political power, yes, obviously. But I still find it surprising.
I would not expect Ottawa to be a huge destination for Chinese in Canada, or Brasilia a huge destination for Chinese in Brazil. And DC tends to be more of a domestic tourist center than an international one, because its appeal for leisure visitors is almost entirely related to its status as national capitol.
It's the center of political power, yes, obviously. But I still find it surprising.
I would not expect Ottawa to be a huge destination for Chinese in Canada, or Brasilia a huge destination for Chinese in Brazil. And DC tends to be more of a domestic tourist center than an international one, because its appeal for leisure visitors is almost entirely related to its status as national capitol.
I didn't think tourism was the criteria. And DC is a power center far above Ottowa or Brasilia.
I didn't think tourism was the criteria. And DC is a power center far above Ottowa or Brasilia.
Tourism wasn't a criteria for ranking visitors? Why else are Chinese people visiting for leisure?
I don't see how DC is more important to the U.S. than Ottawa or Brasilia are to Canada or Brazil. In all these cases, the national capitols are among the most important cities, but not at the top of most important cities (at best top 5, say). Ottawa is the fourth most populous Canadian metro and Brasilia is the fourth most populous Brazilian metro.
I would not expect Ottawa to be a huge destination for Chinese in Canada, or Brasilia a huge destination for Chinese in Brazil. And DC tends to be more of a domestic tourist center than an international one, because its appeal for leisure visitors is almost entirely related to its status as national capitol.
This was my girlfriend's sentiment. It's important to people from the US and other international people who are interested in US history, but overall you can't expect many people to be interested in the government and its buildings of a country that is not theirs to warrant a very long trip there. DC has some awesome cultural institutions though, but does it warrant a 3+ day vacation to the city? For some I guess it might, but not necessarily of the weight that a NYC, Miami, Vegas, etc might pull where international tourists know from the start they're going on a fun vacation.
US tourism is a weird one in my opinion that in reality doesn't offer as much as some other countries around the world. Just my own opinion though.
Tourism wasn't a criteria for ranking visitors? Why else are Chinese people visiting for leisure?
I don't see how DC is more important to the U.S. than Ottawa or Brasilia are to Canada or Brazil. In all these cases, the national capitols are among the most important cities, but not at the top of most important cities (at best top 5, say). Ottawa is the fourth most populous Canadian metro and Brasilia is the fourth most populous Brazilian metro.
Canada is a part of the G-8, but Brazil is not. I mean really, is DC not one of the political power centers of the world? And this is supposed to be a global list, not just nation by nation. Heck, if you were looking at tourism, Denver should be on the list!
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