ith China's economy booming at 9.4 per cent in the last quarter and disposable incomes rising, the Chinese are discovering the joys of travelling to foreign lands. The World Tourism Organisation has predicted that China will become the world's fourth-largest source of overseas tourists by 2020. However, their travels so far are restricted mostly to South East Asian countries. Singapore has emerged as the favourite destination, though many Chinese tourists also visited Europe last year.

Singapore is favoured due to its large Mandarin-speaking population plus its cleanliness and safety. Though most of the Chinese tourists are middle-class, they belong to prospering provincial capitals in the country. ... more