China is the world’s biggest source of international students and it’s estimated that nearly 1 million Chinese are currently studying overseas. Formerly the preserve of the elite – President Li Xinping’s own daughter studied at Harvard – overseas study is increasingly affordable to China’s growing middle class, who may make considerable sacrifices to grant their only child a foreign university education. 1 in 6 overseas students is Chinese, and yet the tourism potential of this group in the UK has hardly begun to be explored.
It’s estimated that nearly 1 million Chinese are currently studying abroad, and China’s Ministry of Education reports that over 500,000 Chinese went overseas to study in 2015 alone. In the same year the 58,000 Chinese enrolling for their first year at UK universities outnumbered the total number of students from the 27 countries of the EU doing the same. And while they are usually embarking upon their overseas adventure entirely independently, a few are even accompanied by their (‘tiger’) mothers in an intercontinental version of helicopter parenting.
Chinese overseas students are fueling a property boom too. In some areas of California, the majority of new-build housing is bought by Chinese, and total Chinese real estate purchases in the USA were valued at US$110bn in 2015. Whispers abound that London’s new build luxury housing stock is being snapped up by Chinese purchasers – and while that may be the case, only one London university makes the top 10 by Chinese student numbers.
The educational and cultural lure of Liverpool and Manchester
Chinese students make up around 4% of the student body in the UK. A strong academic tradition and established university system combine with history and Royal glamour to tempt Chinese undergraduates to the Land of Fish and Chips. Perennial favourite Sherlock Holmes plays a part too, not least because his latest impersonator Curly Foo (as Benedict Cumberbatch is known in Mandarin) sits squarely within the tradition of the English gentleman.
The perhaps surprising geographical spread of Chinese students in the UK sees a preference for universities in the Midlands and the North, with the universities of Liverpool and Manchester the top draws. The capital has only one representative, University College of London, in the top 10 by number of Chinese students.
A missed tourism opportunity?
Little attention so far has been paid to the significant tourism opportunity posed by Chinese students studying in the UK. This is perhaps surprising given their numbers, average length of stay of 2-4 years and curiosity to visit attractions in their host country. We asked Mei Si, a student at Brighton University, for her insight into UK-based Chinese students’ travel.
One potentially lucrative aspect of Chinese students’ travel is the trip made by their parents for graduation, which usually takes place in the June to July or December to January period. This is the most likely time for Chinese parents to visit their offspring studying overseas and they’re keen to see the sights of the UK, on trips which can last from a few days to a couple of months. The Chinese student organises and books the trip which is likely to include some traditional sights such as Big Ben and luxury shops, but there is also space for other destinations – providing the Chinese student is aware of them.
Chinese students, like their home-based counterparts, are greatly influenced by reviews and recommendations in Chinese media and social media. Reaching Chinese students, even once in the UK, depends on cultivating positive coverage in Chinese media. The unexpected success of Brighton’s Regency Seafood Restaurant underlines the enormous returns which can come from just one celebrity endorsement in China, and small product adaptations, for instance Mandarin signage, information and audioguides, can make a big difference when it comes to garnering a following in China.
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