Hopping into the Year of the Rabbit, Centretown retailers say an agreement touted by the federal government as a way to rake in Chinese tourist dollars is making no difference in their sales.
Canada’s receipt of approved destination status from China lets more Chinese nationals get Canadian tourist visas. Until August 2010, China would generally only permit travel to Canada for business, to study, or to visit friends and relatives.
Rob Spittall, co-owner of Bank Street’s The Comic Book Shoppe, says he thinks the shopping trends of Chinese tourists are related to the availability of certain products in China.
“I can look at the right wall of the store and confidently say that 95 per cent of the stuff is made in China,” he says.
Spittall says he thinks Chinese tourists are more interested in snapping up high-end designer duds as souvenirs.
“We can compare this to action figures,” he says. “With action figures, there are real ones and knock offs. The thing is that both real and fake action figures are widely available and cheap in China.”
China doesn’t have so many real, affordable Chanel purses for sale, he says.
But even European-made, four-ply cashmere sweaters starting at $195 plus tax aren’t juicy enough bait, says Boutique le Papillion’s manager, Amina Akhtar.
“We have a marketing problem,” says Kenny Zhang, a senior research analyst with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, a think-tank on relations with Asia. “We’re not selling brands with an international reputation.”
A report by the Canadian Tourism Commission said arrivals from China grew 19.8 per cent between October 2009 and October 2010. Zhang says this increase is linked to approved destination status.
However, it’s becoming clear approved destination status won’t yield the expected 50 per cent increase in Chinese tourism dollars for Canada, says Zhang.
Canada captures about one per cent of the money spent by approved destination status travellers around the world, he adds, because it’s competing with 112 countries already in similar agreements with China.
But some Ottawa businesses are cashing in thanks to approved-destination status. Tin Bo Travel’s manager, Anton Cheng, says his business is booming.
Cheng only takes tour groups shopping on Bank and Rideau streets. Because many shops close around 6 p.m., says Cheng, tourists can only squeeze in one or two hours of shopping.
Grace Xin, outgoing executive director of the Somerset Street Chinatown BIA, says businesses must adjust to suit the itineraries of Chinese tourists if they want to capitalize on them.
“Chinese people are excitement seeking people, they want shops to go to after their daytime tours end,” she says.
Spittall says he won’t stay open later.
“I just can’t justify it in sales.”