What’s the Chinese Word for Tsunami?

Here are some statistics we picked up from an Internet site on how many more Chinese are traveling abroad, leaving the Communist paradise to experience life in other locales. And as everyone will tell you, this massive wave of Chinese tourism, already lapping at the shores of Southeast Asia, is just beginning. Assuming those hordes of tourists want to spice up their vacations with a little action at the gaming tables, does the region have enough casinos?

Mainland tourists are a new and growing phenomenon, in Bali and the rest of Asia. As their incomes soar and Beijing loosens restrictions on foreign travel, China’s middle classes are venturing eagerly beyond the Middle Kingdom. Last year, the number of Chinese trips overseas rose to a record 35 million, up from 620,000 in 1990, according to China’s national statistics bureau. About half were to destinations in Southeast Asia.

Hong Kong has been the biggest beneficiary of this trend. Last year, visitors from the mainland accounted for 13.6 million — more than half the 25 million total outside arrivals to the former British colony.