曼彻斯特珠宝商获中国游客青睐

The north of England has never been more popular with Chinese tourists. In 2015, there were 64,000 visits from China, up from 35,000 in 2014 — a record, according to national tourism agency VisitBritain. Direct flights to Beijing from Manchester begin this month, and Shanghai could follow, further boosting tourism.

英格兰北部地区从未像现在这样受到中国游客青睐。2015年，来自中国的游客多达6.4万人，远高于2014年的3.5万人——据英国旅游业管理机构英国旅游局(VisitBritain)称，这是一个创纪录的水平。从北京直飞曼彻斯特的航班最近开通，不久还可能开通从上海直飞的航班，这将进一步推动旅游业发展。

Rising numbers of visitors — often to see relatives or to watch Premier League football — have increased their economic contribution. In 2015, Chinese tourists spent £83m in the north, up 17 per cent on the previous year, according to VisitBritain. The Marketing Manchester agency has developed a guide in Mandarin to tax-free shopping in the city, distributed in China as well as in Britain (the guide is also available in Cantonese and Arabic).

随着游客人数的增加——往往是为了探亲访友或者观看英格兰足球超级联赛(Premier League)——他们对拉动经济的贡献也在加大。英国旅游局的数据显示，2015年中国游客在英格兰北部地区支出了8300万英镑，较上年增长了17%。曼彻斯特推广机构Marketing Manchester制作了一份简体中文导购手册，介绍曼彻斯特市内的免税购物点，在中国以及英国分发(该手册还有繁体中文和阿拉伯语版)。

Luxury businesses in particular are benefiting from the influx of Chinese visitors: at Boodles, a family-owned jeweller that dates back to 1798, Chinese clients account for more than 10 per cent of turnover at its Manchester shop. The company has hosted several meals at Chinese restaurants for valued clients.

奢侈品行业尤其受益于中国游客的涌入：在可以追溯到1798年的家族所有珠宝商Boodles，中国客户贡献了其曼彻斯特商铺超过10%的营业额。该公司已经在中式餐厅举办了数次餐会，宴请重要客户。

Michael Wainwright, managing director, says that the Liverpool-based business had always been popular with local Chinese. “Now we have their relatives from China and Hong Kong coming in. Students also bring their parents. Sunday afternoons are when we usually see them.

Boodles董事总经理迈克尔•温赖特(Michael Wainwright)表示，总部设在利物浦的该公司一直深受当地中国人的喜爱。“现在这些客户来自中国内地和香港的亲属也来光顾我们的店铺。中国留学生也带来了他们的父母。我们通常会在星期天下午见到他们。”

“They really like diamonds — they do not go so much for coloured stones. They also like Patek Philippe watches — they are the only third-party item we sell. It is hard to get them in China and they are a lot more expensive.”

“他们真的非常喜爱钻石——他们对彩色宝石就没有这么高的兴致。他们还喜欢百达翡丽(Patek Philippe)的手表——这是我们销售的唯一第三方产品。百达翡丽在中国国内难以买到，价格也贵得多。”

Hancocks jewellers, also in Manchester’s prime King Street shopping district, occasionally opens specifically for wealthy Chinese customers in the evenings. Roy Lunt, the owner, says there has been a big increase in Chinese shoppers, who now account for a 10th of sales. One of his prize possessions is a sales slip for £220,000 for a single ruby that went to a Chinese customer.

Hancocks珠宝店同样位于曼彻斯特主要商业区国王街(King Street)，该店有时会在晚间专门为富有的中国顾客开店营业。其所有者罗伊•伦特(Roy Lunt)表示，来自中国的购物者近来显著增加，现已占到了销售额的十分之一。他的珍藏品之一是一张售货单，其中记录的一颗红宝石以22万英镑被一位中国客户买走。

“There is nothing of this quality outside London. We get a lot of referrals from jewellers there,” he says.

他表示：“伦敦以外几乎找不到这等品质的珠宝，而我们接待了大量由伦敦珠宝商介绍过来的客户。”

Word of mouth also works well. “We sold a sapphire ring worth £50,000. The lady took it back to Hong Kong and someone saw it and said how beautiful it was, then they came over to buy from me.”

口碑营销同样效果显著。“我们售出了一枚价值5万英镑的蓝宝石戒指。那位女士将戒指带回了香港，其他人见了以后大赞这枚戒指多么美丽，然后他们也来到我这里购买珠宝。”

Another attraction of Manchester is that prices there can be lower than in London because of the northern city’s lower rents and wages.

曼彻斯特吸引人的另一个地方在于，这里的价格有可能低于伦敦，因为这座北方城市的房租和工资水平较低。

Manchester has more than 14,000 ethnic Chinese residents, according to the 2011 census, along with thousands more students at its universities. Nearby Liverpool has 8,000 Chinese residents, as well as 3,200 students, and is twinned with Shanghai, which modelled its waterfront on that of the British port.

2011年的人口调查显示，曼彻斯特有超过1.4万华裔市民，此外这里的大学还有数以千计的中国留学生。邻近的利物浦有8000名华裔市民以及3200名中国留学生。利物浦与上海是姐妹城市，当年上海的外滩就是以这座英国港口城市为蓝本规划的。

Boodles’ shop at Harrods department store in London has a Chinese-speaking member of staff, and Manchester could be next, Mr Wainwright says.

温赖特表示，Boodles在伦敦哈罗德(Harrods)百货商店的店面配备了一名会说中文的店员，曼彻斯特商店可能是下一家聘请说中文店员的商店。

The jeweller has no plans, however, for a store in China, after closing its Hong Kong branch. “It is a very difficult place to do business. We are very happy to sell to them here in the UK,” Mr Wainwright says.

但Boodles目前没有计划在中国开设店铺，此前该公司关闭了在香港的分公司。温赖特称：“在中国做生意难度很大。我们非常乐于在英国国内向中国客户销售商品。”