Europe poised for bumper Chinese tourism season
The stars are aligning for a bumper year of Chinese tourism in Europe thanks to a growing taste for culture over shopping and fears of a cold reception in Donald Trump's America.
"We came with our children to see the art, the culture, not to go to the mall," a 40-year-old woman who gave her name as Li told Reuters on a visit to Paris for the second time.
"We went to the Versailles castle, saw the Arc de Triomphe, and we are seeing Notre Dame now," she said on a sunny afternoon near the French capital's mediaeval cathedral.
In a new trend, Chinese tourists are increasingly eschewing package tours to Europe to strike out on their own trips off the beaten path, surveys suggest.
