CRI听力:Chinese more willing to visit UK, helped by pound slump

The latest figures from China's central bank shows the central parity rate of the Chinese yuan against UK pound is down nearly 12-percent from the pre-referendum level last Friday.

The decrease is coinciding with the main UK sale season for summer shopping.

Cui Zhongliang with the Tongcheng Travel Agency says they're finding that Chinese tourists are looking at this and becoming more willing to travel and shop in UK.

"Consumers will see a price drop of five or six percent when shopping there now. As the exchange rate continues to drop, and as can also be seen from industry statistics, Chinese consumers will have greater purchasing power by shopping in the U.K."

On June 25th, Tianjin Airlines opened a new route linking Tianjin with London, 2 days after the Brexit referendum.

Niu Lin with Tianjin Airlines' marketing department says their move is already creating benefits for the company.

"Research shows that the flow of passengers has increased at a rate of 15 percent. We have a lot of expectations for the route. Passenger occupancy rates are expected to go above 85 percent in the near future."

Flights from Tianjin to London are now three-quarters full, just 10-days into the new service.

The number of Chinese tourists to the UK rose by 46 percent last year to 270-thousand.

Those tourists spent a combined 580 million pounds, or around 760 million U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent.

Meanwhile, those considering a trip to the UK are being advised to book quickly.

Flight costs are rising as students begin their summer vacations this month, meaning ticket prices will be higher until at least the end of August.

Liu Yichang with Hong Kong Airlines says this is true for most international flights.

"The ticket prices increase by 20 to 30 percent in July and August compared to May and June. Tickets for popular destinations such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are going to see noticable price increases. For example, the price for a flight from Chengdu to Tokyo may rise to between 3 and 4-thousand yuan, which is close to 600 US dollars on the high end."

Chinese airlines have begun offering discounted family packages, and have started to increase flight schedules to major destinations in a bid to attract more passengers.

For CRI, I'm Zhao Jianfu.