Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/513366
Mandarin-speaking representatives meet and greet Chinese tourists, and even before that, a social-media cam- paign reaches out to them while they are still planning their trip. Most market watchers say this is only the beginning, particularly in the U.S. They expect a sharp rise in Chinese visi- tors this year, following the U.S. presi- dent's recent agreement with China, which has extended the term of a multi- ple-entry visa from one year to 10 years. "This is a game changer for U.S. retail- ers and shopping centers," Gervois said. Those half-million Chinese visi- tors to the U.S. already plow some $21 billion into the American econ- omy annually, but with the added enticement of the longer-duration visas, that could rise to as much as $85 billion by 2021, according to Commerce Department projections. Some retailers report that Chinese travelers spend up to three times what other shoppers spend. They are buying gifts for friends and family back home, from whom they come with shopping commissions, Gervois says. Beyond their numbers and the thickness of their wallets, Chinese visitors to the U.S. manifest this ad- ditional quality: They really love to shop. "Cultural tourism is not yet extremely developed," said Gervois. "For now, shopping is still one of the main highlights of a trip to the U.S." To be sure, a mall located in a tour- ist mecca is well positioned to benefit from all this, but it may well have be- come less essential than before. More and more travelers have "been there, done that," and these are looking be- yond Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City and similar tourist destina- tions, says Gervois, who notes that he ran a feature on Pittsburgh recently. Observers advise landlords and retail- ers to make their properties attractive to Chinese shoppers. First, it is important for merchants to accept UnionPay, Chi- na's version of Visa. "If they can't pay for the product that they want to buy with J u n e 2 0 1 5 / S C T 35 v i p t r e a t m e n t a t B e v e r l y C e n t e r ' s C u s t o m e r - s e r v i C e