It’s not exactly a fair comparison, but Chinese tourists spent USD 77 billion more during the first three quarters of 2014 than foreign visitors did in China over the same period. 

That is a very us-and-them comparison: all of the money spent by Chinese tourists, versus everything spent by foreign tourists, whose numbers have been declining for at least a year, in China, according to People’s Daily Online. Ninety-five million trips were made to China, versus 85 million outbound trips during the same period.

The deficit for the year could be as high as USD 100 billion.

“Despite occasional disorderly conduct, Chinese tourists were generally well received abroad as many of them spent lavishly on luxury goods, from branded bags to expensive wrist watches,” People’s Daily wrote, in a way that manages to demean not only Chinese tourists, but those who do business with them overseas.

Photo: CNN