Romance Blossoms In Africa

　　with the sound of waves rushing gentlyup along the shore， a Chinese girl was taking herfirst steps down the aisle. On the beautiful islandof Praslin， thousands of miles away from herhomeland， this was the beach wedding she hadbeen dreaming about ever since she was a younggirl. As part of the wedding， their “love tree，” twotrees with branches interlocking， a token of truelove in Chinese culture， was planted on the sand ofthe Seychelles.

　　“I have heard the Seychelles’ reputation as the’last Eden on the earth’ for a long time. It’s home toseveral of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

　　The sea color transpires from sapphire and deepblue to sky and light blue， like an oil painting，” thebride Qiao Qiao told ChinAfrica. “Most importantly，both of us are French majors， so the French-speakingSeychelles will be a perfect choice.”

　　“We both want a wedding featuring nature. Bluesky， sunshine， beach and sea are what we considernecessary for a romantic wedding. Getting marriedin such a place has been our dream，” the groom，Chen Likai， added.

　　African romantic

　　In Chinese society， marriage is always significant andparamount in one’s life， so weddings are taken veryseriously. The beautiful islands such as the Maldives，Bali and Aegean have all been popular honeymoondestinations among Chinese young people for years.

　　But recently， some African countries have startedto appear on the destination list， drawing attentionwith their unique charms and luxuriousenvironments.

　　“Although all of them are islands， thescenery and cultures are very different，” QiaoQiao said. “Maldives and Bali featureSouth Asian folklore， while the Seychellescarries connotations of Africanstyle， more quiet and peaceful with fewertourists.”

　　“In the Seychelles， we went to severalsmall islands， and each of them amazedus with beautiful sights all different fromone another. In addition to those islands， Africancountries also boast great tourism resources suchas blooming forests and vast plains and deserts. Itsunique culture， kind people and splendid landscapesare all incomparable advantages.”

　　In 2010， Chinese superstar Daniel Wu’s SouthAfrica wedding drew public attention with unrivalledmedia coverage and also generated Chinese people’sinterest in African travel. Weddings in Africancountries soon became a rising trend among youngcouples， who saw the romantic appeal of Africa.

　　A growing trend

　　Beijing citizen Zhang Hong grew fond of Tanzaniaafter seeing a sequence of picturesabout the country. After browsing theInternet for some travel tips， Zhang andher husband set off to Tanzania on theirfirst wedding anniversary. “It’s a brandnew experience.”

　　Abundant in tourism resources， Africais today experiencing a blossoming tourismindustry with unique characteristics.

　　Statistics from the Central Bankof Seychelles show that the country’s tourismrevenue in 2013 totaled $343 million， increasing 11percent over the previous year.

　　Many Chinese travel agencies are beginning tooffer travel packages to destinations such as Mauritius，South Africa， the Seychelles， Kenya and Mauritania.

　　An increasing number of Chinese tourists areshowing interest in African travel. According to LiHongyan， Chief Representative of China Market ofSeychelles Mason’s Travel (PTY) Ltd.， the number ofvisitors to the Seychelles increased 10.7 percent in2013， reaching a historic high of 230，272. Thisincludes 7，745 Chinese tourists， a notable rise of 55percent.

　　“Thanks to the highly developed online media，the Chinese younger generation can get informationabout the Seychelles through travel blogs， SNSand their cellphones. Therefore they already haveknowledge about what they will see in Africa beforetheir travels begin，” Li said.

　　Things to improve

　　After having a wedding in Africa， Qiao Qiao builther own understanding about the Africa tourismindustry. She believes that African tourism featuresunique culture and landscapes， and that thisuniqueness is the key to success in the industry.

　　“For Chinese tourists， the problem lies in languageand transportation， for instance， in many parts ofAfrica， the official language is usually French，” shesaid. “Few African countries have a mature tourismindustry， but it’s a characteristic rather than adownside. It could be an appeal to people with anadventurous personality.”

　　Working in the tourism industry for almost sevenyears， Li believes that African tourism， despite itsappeal of unique landscapes and distinctive people，also has some shortcomings such as low efficiencyand a lack of Chinese service.

　　After doing a lot of investigation for her own wedding，Qiao Qiao was confident about her knowledgeof African travel. “Mauritius， the Seychelles， Kenyaand many other African countries are visa-free forChinese citizens or accept visas on arrival， which isone of the reasons for Africa’s increasing appeal toChinese tourists. However， in some travel forums，you often see a lot of people asking about Malariaprevention and the climate of certain African countries.Consequently， people still have some doubtsand are conservative when it comes to traveling inAfrica.”

　　“We also noticed that many Chinese touristscan’t stomach the local food and sometimes evensuffer diarrhea. So it’s better for local tourism tomake some improvements to meet different needs，”Qiao said.

　　In the Seychelles， plants grow quickly due to thesuperior climate of the famous island. The weddingplanner Victoria promised to send Qiao Qiao a pictureof their love tree on every wedding anniversary.

　　Qiao and her husband have also planned to have asecond trip to the Seychelles one day in the future.