CRI听力:American Businesses Ready for Chinese Tourist Influx during Spring Festival

2016 has been dubbed the year of China-U.S. tourism, with the biggest rush expected around the Chinese Spring Festival.

In New York City, luxury department store, Bloomingdales, is celebrating the Year of the Monkey by honoring a Chinese tradition, giving out "hong bao", red envelopes with money inside.

And, Amy Grilly, director of the award-winning restaurant chain Hakkasan Group, says they will also be offering a special Chinese New Year menu over the next few weeks.

"Every guest that dines off the Chinese New Year menu will get a red pouch with a gold coin in it, it's good luck, it's prosperity for the year. Every guest that comes to the restaurant will get a wishing ribbon, so it's a gold ribbon, that you can write your wish on and you can hang it in part of the restaurant. The belief is you write your wish on a ribbon, you hang it from a wishing tree and when it comes it will blow your wish into the new year."

And the readiness to welcome a big influx of Chinese visitors isn't limited to the east coast.

Brian Buchwald, CEO of Bomoda, says many retailers across the States are devising strategies catering for Chinese tourists.

"Chinese tourists have become major spenders and major drivers of growth and stability for large brands worldwide. In the hotel category for brands like Starwood and Hilton and others have really put a focus on the Chinese tourist. But obviously also retail so brands like Macy's and now Bloomingdale's is coming on very strong."

In 2014, 1.8 million Chinese tourists visited the United States and spent an eye-watering 21.1 billion dollars, a figure that's expected to nearly quadruple over the next five years.

Vice president of Bloomingdales' International Programs, Jerry Wu, outlined his company's aim to provide Chinese customers with a comfortable shopping experience.

"I think there is a tremendous amount of growth within China and their willingness and thirst for luxury goods has really propelled a strategic need to cater to them. We are an all-inclusive company, so what we like to do is look at the trends of the countries that are growing and really just provide them with experiences, shopping experiences that they would experience back home."

The U.S. Department of Commerce has said that by 2021, Chinese tourists could be spending as much as 80 billion dollars in the United States.

For CRI, this is Huang Shan.