Destinations known | Chinese tourists show support for Xinjiang as interest in travel to region at centre of diplomatic furore surges

Indignant Chinese travellers show support for northwest region accused of using forced Uygur labour in cotton-production for major fashion brands

Guest house bookings rise 60 per cent month-on-month after labels H&M, Nike, Adidas, Burberry and Gap raise concerns over human rights

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The mountain landscape of China’s Xinjiang region. Photo: Getty Images

Mercedes Hutton

Published: 8:45am, 31 Mar 2021Updated: 12:45pm, 31 Mar 2021

Before the pandemic, China was not only the world’s largest exporter of tourists, but also one of its most visited countries, welcoming 65.7 million international arrivals in 2019, behind only France (89.4 million), Spain (83.6 million) and the United States (79.3 million), according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Needless to say, times have changed, and with overseas visits to the Middle Kingdom out of the question and Western politicians and media focusing their attention on the northwest region of Xinjiang, it’s tempting to wonder whether China will lose its appeal as a destination when foreign travel resumes.

Xinjiang is in the headlines and trending on social media because of statements made by major fashion labels saying they did not source cotton from the region, where authorities are accused of using forced Uygur labour to pick cotton. More than a fifth of the world’s cotton is produced in China, of which 84 per cent comes from Xinjiang, according to a report by the Washington-based think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

As a result, the likes of H&M, Nike, Adidas, Gap and Burberry suddenly found themselves reckoning with the full force of China’s state-owned media, consumers and social media users. They were not happy. Some brands (Hugo Boss) even reversed course and issued statements of support for Xinjiang cotton, so desperate were they to hold on to their slice of the mainland’s lucrative market.

And then China’s tourists got involved, showing their support for Xinjiang and its cotton by going online and searching for trips to the region.

“Travel to Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region gained instant popularity among Chinese tourists on Thursday […] after some foreign clothing brands announced their refusal to use cotton produced in the region,” state-owned tabloid Global Times reported on March 25.

Citing statistics provided by domestic travel platform Mafengwo, the paper reported that searches for “where to go in Xinjiang this April” surged by 275 per cent in the 24 hours preceding 2pm on March 25. “Pre-bookings of guesthouses in Xinjiang rose 60 per cent on Wednesday and Thursday compared with last month, China’s Airbnb, Tujia, told the Global Times.

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.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Destinations known | Chinese tourists show support for Xinjiang as interest in travel to region at centre of diplomatic furore surges

Destinations known | Chinese tourists show support for Xinjiang as interest in travel to region at centre of diplomatic furore surges