Texas courts growth in Asian visitors

HOUSTON, Texas — He may have retired in 2011, but Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming is still proving an influential figure. This time, though, it’s not on the court but in the competitive field of tourism.

The former Houston Rockets center has played a huge role in attracting Asian tourists to the city. In fact, more Chinese tourists have visited Texas this year than ever before and are soon expected to become the largest group of overseas visitors (not including Mexico and Canada) to the US.

And cities like Houston are trying to cash in, according to Attract China, a New York-based company that focuses on outbound Chinese tourism to North America.

David Becker, CEO of Attract China, said the contribution of Chinese visitors to the US economy is expected to hit $85 billion by 2021.

With the Christmas holiday season in full swing on the Texas Gulf Coast, businesses are stepping up their efforts to attract customers from Asia.

Local hotels, like the upscale St. Regis Houston, make a special effort to accommodate visitors, with signs written in Chinese and green tea in the rooms. The hotel also provides a toothbrush, comb and razor blades because many hotels in China do provide toiletries for guests.

Chinese tourists recently became the biggest international shoppers at The Galleria, Houston’s premiere upscale indoor mall, and stores are even hiring Mandarin-speaking sales staff to cater to them.

And at Moody Gardens in Galveston, a team from Harbin, the capital of the northeast Heilongjiang province, sculpted 138-kilogram blocks of ice into monkeys, butterflies and orchids to create an exhibit for holiday makers.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of tourists are taking to the seas on cruise ships, embarking on voyages to Mexico and the Caribbean, and beyond.