ChinaOB Daily: Zero-dollar tours, Mexico, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Nepal

Editor’s note: We’re starting a new daily roundup of news — ChinaOB Daily— affecting outbound business, for countries trying to attract Chinese travelers.

• Thailand to work with China to curb zero- dollar tours: Thailand and China will join hands to curb fraudulent practices by tour operators…that have reportedly engaged in the so-called “zero-dollar tours”. Such tours have appeared to be cheap but could turn out to be more expensive, since the Chinese tourists would..pay highly-overcharged prices for jewelry, leather goods and…lunches or dinners in restaurants in Thailand.
• Chinese visitors to Mexico rise 35 percent: Chinese tourist arrivals to Mexico grew 35.1 percent in the first quarter of 2013 over the same period last year..from January to April, Mexico received 19,635 tourists coming from China.
• Tourism New Zealand signs deal with UnionPay to boost Chinese tourism: The MoU commits Tourism New Zealand to increasing awareness of UnionPay cards as an option for Chinese tourists to pay for goods or services in New Zealand. UnionPay is committed to promoting New Zealand as a tourist destination for Chinese tourists.
•  Sri Lanka painting buses in China for increasing awareness: Sri Lanka tourism authority had paid to deck out 50 city buses each in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu with landscape photographs of the island for promotion. The number of Chinese tourists in Sri Lanka in Q1 increased by 56 percent year-on-year…The total number of tourists expected this year is 60,000.
• Chinese visitors set to pass New Zealand vistors to Australia: New statistics show Chinese tourists….are poised to topple New Zealand as the top ranking country for inbound tourism. Seasonally adjusted figures indicate that short-term arrivals fell 1.3 per cent in April to 523,700, but China is bucking the trend.
• Nepal sees big rise in Chinese visitors: Figures by Tribhuvan International Airport show a significant rise in the number of Chinese and Malaysian tourists. In May, Chinese visitors increased by 43.6 percent to 3, 314. In the first five months of this year, 25,341 Chinese visited Nepal — up 25.9 percent.