We have prepared these top 8 tips for VisitBritain’s China Welcome Charter portal, and I thought I would share them as they apply to all destinations.

http://www.visitbritain.org/greatchinawelcome/chinaready/

Here are our 8 Top Tips to help you get your business China Ready. Why 8 tips? Because No. 8 is regarded as the luckiest number in Chinese culture. ‘Eight’ is pronounced ‘Ba’ in Chinese which sounds similar to the word ‘Fa’ which means to make a fortune. No. 8 is favoured by businessmen as it represents prosperity, success and high social status. In some areas of China people pay large sums of money for a telephone number with an 8 in it, and homes on the eighth floor of a building would be the most sought after!

1. Learn to see beyond the clichés about Chinese tourists

For example, don’t assume that the Chinese only want to eat Chinese food. Experiencing local cuisine is important to them, so a week’s program should include at least a couple of non-Chinese meals. Also be aware of the growing number of Chinese travelling in small, self-organised groups whose travel patterns are quite different to large groups.

2. Think about long-term engagement and commitment

Chinese prefer to do business with friends – so work to build that friendship and trust above simply pushing business through. Invite them to visit you and host them well. Send them Chinese New Year greetings cards and bring them small gifts when you meet.

3. China is not a single market. Understand the regional and demographic identifiers

You would not have the same sales strategy and marketing campaign for all European countries. China is the same. Taking the time to learn about demographic differences across regions will pay big dividends.

4. Maintain an active presence on China’s internet

If you are not physically in China, your web presence needs to be. Chinese are much more active on social media and spend more time online compared to Western people. Being active means engaging with them there, through a well localized website, local hosting, social media profiles on Weibo/Wechat and video content on Youku.

5. Localisation is important and should be delivered appropriately

Localisation is much more than simply accurate translation. Under no circumstance should you use machine translation for your website. Having no Chinese at all is preferable to using an automated google translate button, no matter how attractive the proposition is. Payment solutions can also be localized, as can social media links and customer service.

6. Emphasise the brand heritage, its history and the human interest story in your marketing

If your destination is known in China for culture, history, art, nature or other accomplishments, bring out these elements whenever you are describing your own product or service, but try to relate them specifically to Chinese culture and influences (Classical China, Confucianism, modern history) wherever you can.

7. Keep up to date on developments – China changes quickly

There are lots of sources of information you can register for which will provide you with regular news and updates on what is happening in the market.

(our monthly and weekly newsletters are a free resource)

8. Show respect for Chinese culture

The dynamics in China now allow Chinese travel agents to expect competitive prices, flexible payment terms and agreement to last minute changes. The pressure from their own clients to satisfy every whim is very high. When you understand their pressures, you can anticipate some of the possible conflict areas and plan for them.

For more advice and insights, visit www.visitbritain.org/greatchinawelcome

Learn more about the Chinese market at a special seminar organised by London & Partners in the morning of Tuesday 1 July.

Speakers will include the President of the China Tourism Academy – the Chinese Government’s ‘tourism thinktank’ – who is visiting the UK for just two days, together with experts in training, quality accreditation, marketing and distribution for the Chinese market. Roy Graff, Managing Director of ChinaContact has been invited to give a speech during the seminar.

The event – which is being held at the London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale and sponsored by Geocast TV - will also include an update on the GREAT China Welcome programme.

Attendance is free but places are limited. Confirm your place at events@londonandpartners.com by 25 June.

Travel Distribution Summit Asia 2014 will take place in Singapore on May 27-28th, read more HERE

TiE UK (The Indus Entrepreneurs), the UK’s leading not-for-profit organisation for entrepreneurs, and CAN (China Advisers Network) are organising a major networking event that will see a panel of prominent entrepreneurs give their views on the substantial market opportunities that exist for UK companies in India and China in today’s economy. “The Entrepreneur’s experience in China and India” will focus on future business trends in India and China and will be an open discussion and sharing of enterprise experience in China, India and the UK.

Points for discussion will include:
•    Setting up a business in China or India.
•    Government regulations.
•    Cultural influence on potential entrepreneurs in China and India.
•    Which country is better suited to developing independent business and why?

Speakers at the event will include Arun Aggarwal, Vice President and head of consulting for EMEA at Tata Consultancy Services; Davinder Mann, Co-founder and CTO of Consensus Consulting Group; Yintong Betser, CEO of Active Anglo Chinese Communications and Edward Holroyd Pearce, Director of  CRCC Asia. The session will be moderated by Roy Graff, Managing Director of ChinaContact.

The panellists, who all have significant experience of doing business in India and China, will share their views of the different but substantial market opportunities that continue to exist in India and China today and advise on how entrepreneurs and growing companies in the UK can best position themselves to capitalise on them. The panellists will also draw on their personal experiences of setting up businesses in China or India – from dealing with government regulations to the cultural influences that budding entrepreneurs need to be aware of – and give their opinion on which of the countries that is most supportive of growing businesses.

TiE UK Board Member, Arun Aggarwal, said: “During the past year the world economy has changed beyond all recognition and new ways of doing business are emerging.  Entrepreneurs are the driving force of the economy and, as a global network with a mission to foster entrepreneurship; TiE UK can offer a unique insight into the substantial opportunities that remain for creating new and growing businesses in India and China.
“I believe that this event will provide a forum for our members and guests to reflect on the emerging markets that we need to understand in order to do business in the future, as well as an opportunity to build valuable connections.
“I would also like to thank our global sponsors – Microsoft, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Silicon Valley Bank, Nishith Desai Associates and The Standard Chartered Private Bank – regional sponsors – ABN Amro, HSBC and KPMG – and partners, such as CASS Business School, for the important support they provide in helping us achieve our common goal of fostering entrepreneurship globally.”

Roy Graff, Managing Director of ChinaContact commented: “As a member of TiE UK and a Founding Member of the China Advisers Network, I saw the potential of collaboration between these two dynamic and innovative organisations. China and India are poised to become the power bases of the 21st century global economy. Their passion for growth and development is evident, but there remain many cultural obstacles to overcome in cross-border business.  It is important for us to understand the unique characteristics of doing business in both these economies to take advantage from their growth. The UK can play an important role in fostering entrepreneurial spirit in the many young people from those two countries that come to study or work here.”

TiE UK is part of the world’s largest and most successful entrepreneurs not-for-profit network founded in Silicon Valley in 1992 with a mission to nurture entrepreneurship as the engine of wealth creation. It has since grown to 53 Chapters (branches) in 12 countries. TiE UK has been helping entrepreneurs realise their business goals since 2000 and is one of the largest Chapters in the TiE network with over 700 members. It has provided mentoring services to over 130 entrepreneurs in the last two years and organises 40 events a year.
TiE UK’s mentors include such high profile figures as Arun Aggarwal, VP – Head of Consulting, EMEA at Tata Consultancy Services; Dinesh Dhamija, Founder of ebookers; Davinder Mann, Founder of Consensus Consulting Limited; George Coelho, Managing Director of Good Energies and Founder of Benchmark Capital Europe; Tom Singh, Founder of New Look who is TiE UK’s Chairman; Lord Karan Bilimoria, Founder of Cobra Beer; Aditya Mittal, CFO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company, and Chai Patel, Founder of the Priory Healthcare Group.
CAN was established in November 2007 by a group of founder members whose areas of business expertise range from recruitment to tourism and business consultancy to marketing. The common thread is that all members are actively working in or with Chinese businesses. CAN provides members with a forum for discussion, exchange of views and support and will act as a platform to present a corporate profile and represent the views of a group of people who share the same area of work, albeit from many different angles.
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To register for this event at the discounted rate of just £15.00 instead of £20.00 visit this page:
https://www.123signup.com/register?id=zrcmc

Editors Notes
Press contact (TiE-UK): Margaret Henry, PR Consultant, TiE UK.
Tel: +44 (0)1865 811199    Email: m.henry@oxin.co.uk
Photo available on request – post event

Press contact (CAN): Lawson Dodd

Tel: +44 20 7535 1355 Email: joanna.dodd@lawsondodd.co.uk

About the speakers

Arun Aggarwal, VP, Head of Consulting – EMEA, Tata Consultancy Services.
Arun is responsible for the development and management of the business and IT consultancy services offered across all sectors by TCS in Europe, complementing the IT and BPO services. TCS is India’s largest IT services company with over 130,000 employees and  some $6 billion turnover.  Arun was previously a Partner in PwC UK.

Davinder Mann, Co-founder and CTO of Consensus Consulting Group.
Davinder Mann is the co-founder and CTO of Consensus Consulting Group, a company operating in the IT consulting practice area for FTSE 100 clients. Earlier, he worked for AT&T as head of their Unix Kernel Product developments program in New Jersey , where he implemented the first commercial use of Amdahl mainframe UNIX on the US 800 Toll Network. Davinder returned to the UK in 1991 and founded several businesses including Umannix Computing. He holds a 1st class degree in Computer Science, is Charterd IT Practitioner and holds several directorships.

Edward Holroyd Pearce, Director, CRCC Asia
Edward read Oriental Studies at Cambridge University and Peking University and gained an MSc in International Management for China from SOAS, University of London.  He worked as an assistant manager at China Eastern Airlines and then worked at an asset management company with over US$2Billion under management, specializing in investment in China. He has a strong knowledge of the Chinese service sector with a good network of contacts in insurance, banking and finance. Calling upon his experience of living and working in China, Edward has been interviewed on TV and radio, discussing the current economic climate in China and advising Western businesses on how they should improve their operations in China.  He is also involved with supporting charities in both China and Thailand. More…

Yintong Betser, CEO, Active Anglo Chinese Communications

Yintong was born and educated in Beijing and then moved to London in 1993. Following several marketing roles within a variety of British companies, she established her own company, Active – Anglo Chinese Communications in 2001. She often speaks at seminars on China and is a regular contributor to various trade magazines. More…

Roy Graff, Managing Director, ChinaContact
Roy has been immersed in Asian business and culture since 1994 and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. He launched ChinaContact in 2005 after working in Shanghai and Beijing for three years and focuses his consultancy practice on China’s tourism and hospitality sectors. More…

About TiE UK
Founded in Silicon Valley in 1992, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) is the world’s leading not for profit organisation that promotes entrepreneurship.  Although its birth name signifies the South Asian or Indus roots of its founders, TiE stands for Talent, Ideas and Enterprise. TiE’s core activities are mentoring and education programmes and networking events.  The network links budding entrepreneurs to successful and prominent entrepreneurs and professionals through its unique Mentoring Programme.  TiE also organises a TiEger’s Den Business Pitch Competition, inspirational networking events and Special Interest Groups in Healthcare, Outsourcing, Social Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital.
The TiE network includes many participants in the entrepreneurial ecosystem – high profile entrepreneurs as well as up and coming entrepreneurs, venture capital firms, angel investors and professionals that specialise in services to support entrepreneurs.  Launched in 2000, TiE UK operates from London and Manchester.  It has over 140 Charter members and over 900 regular members, making it the second larget Chapter globally. TiE UK’s partners include: the CBI; London Business School, Cass Business School; The Hub; Make your Mark (Enterprise Insight); British Library Business & IP Centre; Manchester Junior Chamber of Commerce; Warwick University; Said Business School at Oxford University; the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at Cambridge University; Manchester Business School; Manchester Metropolitan University Business School’s Centre for Enterprise and Imperial Entrepreneurs.
TiE UK is sponsored by: ABN AMRO Private Banking; HSBC Bank; KPMG. TiE Global is sponsored by: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Silicon Valley Bank, Nishith Desai Associates and The Standard Chartered Private Bank. For further information: http://www.tie.org

About China Advisers Network (CAN)
CAN was established in November 2007 with a group of founder members whose areas of business expertise range from recruitment to tourism and business consultancy to marketing. The common thread is that all members are actively working in or with Chinese businesses. CAN provides members with a forum for discussion, exchange of views and support and will act as a platform to present a corporate profile and represent the views of a group of people who share the same area of work, albeit from many different angles.
The inspiration for CAN came from Madeleine Sturrock of PanCathay Consulting “Having worked with China for many years, it struck me that the boutique or independent consultancy needs a dedicated forum. These niche firms bring a particular point of view to doing business with China and offer specialist insights which can be invaluable to firms and organizations who want to get their business with China on the right track. CAN offers the platform to source a whole variety of Chinese expertise in one place – a valuable tool for any company looking for information and knowledge on China.”
http://www.china-advisers-network.com

As Shanghai tries hard to steal the limelight from Beijing and its impressive showing at the Olympics, IT&CM will hold the first seminar of the morning on the 16th of April to discuss how Expo2010 will impact on Shanghai, and China as a premier destination for the meetings sector and business travel. Another hot topic in 2009, with the recession biting hard at large scale events, trade shows and business travel, is the use of social networking and ‘social media’ to increase online exposure while reducing marketing spend. Roy will be addressing both these topics in workshops held during IT&CM China exhibition. Roy is a long time China specialist with 16 years of experience in the tourism industry.

Workshop details:

16 April, 8:30 / World Expo 2010 – What will be its legacy?

By hosting the 2010 World Expo, China – and Shanghai – grab the global limelight in the next  few years. This case study shows the size and status of the grand-scale international event and what it means for China to successfully host and stage this, as well as the branding, image and future potential of China as a MICE destination.

16 April, 14:45 / Social networking – should you be using it?

In the networking world, it’s not who you know, it’s who knows you. Networking accounts for approximately 87 per cent of business in the market place today. Networking is in fact a life skill, not just something we do when we want something from someone we know or from a total stranger. But how do you know if you are networking effectively or if there is room for improvement with your networking style? Discover the power of networking and take away secrets and strategies to get ahead in your life and business.

For additional information about attending IT&CM and the workshops, visit the IT&CM China website at http://www.itcmchina.com

To receive the workshop presentations please join the ChinaContact Tourism Network where it will be available for download a week after the event.