In order to recognise the rising importance of the Chinese tourist market to the UK and most other global destinations, China Edge has partnered with COTRI (China Outbound Tourism Research Institute) to host a China outbound tourism networking reception on 6 November at 7 pm. The reception will be held at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel on the same day as the China Edge morning workshop on China’s tourism industry and immediately following the COTRI workshop at World Travel Market.

The reception is open to tourism, hospitality and retail professionals that are interested to learn more about the new trend of Independent Chinese travellers and how to engage with them. Meet with like minded professionals from the industry and hear China Edge Founding Director Roy Graff and COTRI CEO Prof. Wolfgang Georg Arlt give brief overviews about the changing landscape and the move from group travel to independent travel in China.

Register here for free

Keynote Speakers:

Roy Graff, China Egde Director and China Tourism Industry Veteran;
Jeremy Gordon, China Edge Director , Business Strategy;
Yu Sun, China Edge Director, Cross-Cultural Training;
Arnold Ma, China Edge Director, Digital Marketing;
Michaela Christine Wolf, Luxury Marketing Consultant.

In the afterglow of China’s National Day “golden week” of holiday shopping, George Osborne has announced changes to the visa application process for Chinese coming to the UK, making it a more attractive option.

Chinese are now the largest consumers of luxury in the world, but over 60 percent of their spending happens outside China – and the UK has an opportunity to capture a larger share of the market. The average Chinese visitor to the UK is reported to spend around £8,000, so a significant increase in visitor numbers could represent a windfall for well-prepared British brands.

“The visa reform is a long-awaited step that British industry has been lobbying on for years”, according to Roy Graff, Director of China Edge Ltd., and a China outbound travel specialist. But Graff feels it does not go far enough: “While it can help stimulate more business travel from China by offering priority, 24-hour visa processing (for a fee), I would call for the government to align itself with the Schengen visa application process in the EU, and also offer extended, multiple-entry visas to business travellers and other key groups”.

The changes to the UK visa regime come hot on the heels of changes to China’s own Tourism Law, which came into force on October 1, and regulates how operators manage activities including shopping – and related commissions. Tour operators will have to review and adapt their offers so as to abide this new law, and particularly Article 35, which states: “Travel agencies are prohibited from organizing tourism activities and luring tourists with unreasonably low prices, or getting illegitimate gains such as rebates by arranging shopping or providing tourism services that requires additional payment.”

Chinese tour operators face disruption to their normal business processes, and some traditionally popular destinations, which rely on commission-based shopping, may see a fall-off in visitors While operators seek to adapt to the new reality, there is an added opportunity for the UK to pick up on the existing demand for high-end shopping by leveraging improvements to the visa application process, and by getting brands to better engage and serve Chinese customers.

“There is much more that British luxury brands can do to effectively target, engage and serve the global Chinese consumer”, according to Jeremy Gordon of China Edge. Gordon notes that “few British brands take a strategic and structured approach to the Chinese consumer in the UK, as most have been focused on the country rather than the customer”.

According to Gordon, brands should review their strategy and the relevance of their offering for Chinese visitors, build engagement with outbound tour operators and through Chinese social media, and also enhance in-store services and training.

These issues are hot topics among brands and luxury shopping destinations in London and around the UK, and will be addressed during World Travel Market, in London in November, by China Edge, at their “Engage with Chinese Tourists” seminar on 6 November, at the Getty Gallery in London.

Notes to editors:

Download word version here

• Event Details:
  • Engaging with Chinese Tourists – overview of the China tourism sector and implications of the new Tourism Law
  • Date: November 6, 8:00-11:00am
  • Location: The Getty Gallery, London.
  • Registration is £50 + VAT/booking fee
  • Event booking site: https://chinaedge071113-pr.eventbrite.co.uk
• China Edge:
  • China Edge is a collaboration of sector experts with a wealth of experience in China including:
    • Jeremy Gordon, a strategy consultant;
    • Roy Graff, a marketing specialist;
    • Yu Sun, a cross-cultural trainer;
    • Arnold Ma, a digital media specialist;
    • Michaela Wolf, a luxury marketing specialist.
  • For a company introduction, and previous conference content, please see here: http://www.chinaedge.co.uk 
• Contact:
  • Jeremy Gordon: Tel: 07718588713; jeremy@ChinaEdge.co.uk

• 6 November, Tuesday: China outbound tourism forum, with

David Scowill, President & CEO of WTTC
Tom Jenkins, Executive Director, European Tour Operators Association (ETOA)
Marcel Schneider, CEO, TUI China
Prof Wolfgang Arlt, Director, COTRI (China Outbound Tourism Research
Institute)
Mrs. Yu Huihui, President of CITS
Mary Rance, Chief Executive, UK Inbound
Dr. Adam Wu (Moderator), Chief Operating Officer, China Business Network

Location: South Gallery Room 19

• 7 November, Wednesday: COTRI press conference

Location: South Gallery Room 17

This is a collection of tweets from the event.

• Adam Wu, CBN: China projected to be top outbound market by 2015. Chinese are highest spending tourists. China ADS agreement is bilateral tourism agreement to promote tourism in both directions.
• The main challenge to grow outbound tourism is visa issue (recurring theme).
• Jeanine Pires, Brazil:
• 60% growth in domestic tourism, 15% growth in outbound tourism.
• 70% of spend is on shopping. Very intrepid travelers.
• Sergey Stanovkin, Russia: visa regulation for Russia is hard,
• cruise visa is very easy but limited to staying with the group on day tour. Russians find it hard to get visa to Britain.
• Winter Olympic Games are boost to tourism.
• Sanjay Kothari, India: growth is strong inbound. 714 mln domestic trips.
• Heavy investment in infrastructure. Need more international airports at high quality.
• Roshene Singh, South Africa: 4% growth inbound. New entry to BRICS (from. BRICs to BRICS is am easy leap). China is largest trading partner with SA. Office in China leads double digit growth 40 and 30 percent from India and China.
• Touching on responsible tourism: how not to develop tourism, lessons from the developed economies.
• China: mass traffic into short haul destination creates pressure. Outbound tourism is aimed at reducing trade surplus and spend in other countries. Top priority for Chinese is shopping.
• Brazil: how growth in inbound tourism affect the natural resources?
• Need to control numbers into sensitive areas, help reduce poverty, preserve resources while growing.
• How true is it that foreign tourist dollars trickle down to local communities and distribute wealth?
• Russia: benefit is integration into international community, creating jobs, help infrastructure development.
• India: focus on generating employment for local people. Providing training now to ensure trickle down to villages. Targeting 15 mln. (in China it is 32 mln now). India developing sustainable tourism criteria. Classification of hotels based on energy saving and suitable architecture.
• South Africa: developed tourism with responsibility and sustainability at its core. Use inclusion and discussion to develop criteria. Launched fair trade packages in UK market today.
• BRICS talk finishing with visa discussion. Not easy for visa access from other emerging economies. China ADS is mutual so should help in both directions.
• Question to China: why so difficult to open outbound tour operator business in China?
• Adam Wu: restrictions are easing but competition too hard and expensive setup costs.
• (Actually now only very large JV operators can get outbound license. Still not fully liberalized).

This is a collection of tweets from this event.

• Busy room, over 100 people. Majority have been to China. Talk starts with population background, very basic stuff.
• ‎32 mln people employed in tourism in China. 12,000 travel agencies and 300,000 hotels
• Rail network in China highly developed (puts US to shame really). Domestic tourism grows to Lhasa, Hainan and Taiwan. Lhasa is exotic. Hainan is the Chinese Hawaii, Taiwan is the new hot spot recently opened up. ‎(missed out top destinations like Beijing, Hangzhou, Xian)
• ‎(Taiwan not strictly domestic tourism. Need visa, different currency. Politically sensitive issue) the forbidden City treasures are kept in then Taipei National Palace museum.
• Inbound tourism boosted by global events hosted in China like Olympics, World Expo, F1, Asian Games etc.
• China Olympic Games was a showcase to confirm China’s position on the world stage. World Expo was about the world coming to woo Chinese visitors.4.4 foreign visitors.
• 2010 saw 55 million visitors. That includes Taiwan, Hkg.
• China 3rd destination in the world. Only 5 destinations offer sufficient service level to foreign visitors. Beijing is 4th destination city, want to have 10 million visitors by 2016.
• HKG is here included as Chinese destination. Not sure they will agree with that. For MICE the destinations are just SHA and BEJ.
• Beijing’s Olympic legacy left great convention centers and infrastructure for major events.55 hotels of 5*.
• SITE to meet in Beijing during CIBTM.
• Incentive trips mostly go to Shanghai. ICCA to meet in SHA in 2013.
• Outbound leisure travel: 1500 outbound licensed agencies. 3 JV operators got outbound license. JTB, TUI, AMEX-CITS. Only large JV at the moment,
• Internet growth drives access to information on destinations. From 384 mln in 2009 to 551 mln by 2012 (expected).
• (stats on demand for outbound is sourced on UNWTO study from 2003. Very outdated) the number of approved destinations (ADS) is now 135 at least. Asia destination at the top are Japan, Korea, Singapore. HKG and Macau are the top but are part of China culturally.
• Outbound MICE: demand for Australia,SE Asia, Dubai.
• Corporate travel to other BRIC nations and SE Asia.
• Singapore investing heavily for Chinese incentive and meetings as well as leisure. Building casinos and entertainment.
• Conclusion: China not right for everyone. Most impact in and around Asia. Total numbers mask the bias towards China and its surroundings.
• And need help of experts to facilitate relationships and tailor the product.

Joan Vila, TUI PLC

At the recent WTM (World Travel Market) in London I interviewed Joan Vilà, Managing Director of Accommodation & Destinations Sector at Hotelbeds and TUI PLC, the parent company. Hotelbeds are 10 years old and have unveiled a revamped brand and some growth goals at the WTM this year in London.

They intend to increase investment in IT and sales/marketing spend (40% increase) and grow their workforce by 18% with particular focus on expansion in Asia and the Americas. I sat with Mr. Vilà and Marta Alvarez, Deputy Managing Director – Sales and Marketing, Hotelbeds to discuss their experience in China to-date and future plans for that market. TUI acquired an Asian company, Pacific World, in 2007 and proceeded to merge certain functions with Hotelbeds in the Asian countries. Until now, many backoffice functions and office space are shared between the two companies. While Pacific World is a full service corporate travel, incentives and meetings service provider, Hotelbeds is a bed-bank. Hotelbeds contract space and discount rates at hotels worldwide and distribute this wholesale to retail agents (through the BedsOnline brand), white-label website partners (Hotelopia) and to distributers and OTAs.

They have experienced strong growth in Asia over the past few years, especially in Korea, Singapore and Thailand. Their focus for the moment is on increasing the overall number of directly contracted hotels in the region to make them a strong player in regional travel sector. The vast majority of hotel reservations happen between Asian countries as opposed to travel from Europe or America to Asia and therefore Hotelbeds needs to own sufficient product at competitive rates compared to regional players in this sector.

Marta Alvarez, TUI PLC

TUI PLC also has a joint venture in China, TUI-China. TUI own 75% in this company while a major local brand, CTS, own 25%. Earlier this year TUI China obtained an outbound travel license from CNTA, allowing it to sell outbound tour packages to Chinese directly. Hotelbeds, by contrast, concentrates on working with the travel trade and for the moment, is focusing on driving more hotel bookings into China from their existing network of travel agent clients from around the world.

In terms of the challenges ahead, Hotelbeds are growing the team of local Chinese contract managers to increase the numbers of hotels in China and improve the prices and conditions of these contracts. They recognise that the preferred business model of Chinese hotels is different from that of Hotelbeds and are pushing hotels to accept their standard business terms. This includes providing guaranteed allocated rooms and receiving payment from Hotelbeds post check-out for all reservations. Overall they are happy with their progress to-date in Asia but acknowledge that Japan is proving a much tougher market to operate in, while China will take some time to become one of their mainstream destinations.

To assess Hotelbeds performance in China specifically is difficult as they are mostly focused on inbound business to China and Asia. They are in the contracting and growth stage now. There is no doubt that they have resources and existing infrastructure through other TUI companies such as Pacific World and TUI-China to implement an outbound strategy, selling global hotel reservations to the Chinese travel trade and becoming a major player in this sector. The advent of the outbound license given to TUI-China can make this process faster.

In terms of corporate image for TUI PLC and Hotelbeds in China, they can greatly improve their positioning through better localisation of their messaging and engagement with China’s dominant search engine, Baidu. The Chinese industry will appreciate knowing TUI group’s scale, however the website is presently not translated to Chinese. Hotelbeds also does not seem to have a Chinese language website or even Chinese information available to download.

While TUI-China does have both Chinese and English sites, the branding is very different than that of TUI Group and the site would benefit from a design refresh more suitable to Chinese viewers. The logo and brand could be localised as well as TUI’s Chinese name is actually pretty good (途易 – roughly translated as ‘the road is easy’).

Roy Graff, for ChinaContact and The China Business Network

About Hotelbeds: 

 Hotelbeds (www.hotelbeds.com) is a global hotel distribution partner with an online accommodation database of over 45,000 hotels from over 1500 hotel chains and independent hotels in 147 countries.

For the year ended 30 September 2010, Hotelbeds sold over 11 million roomnights and outperformed the market with 24% growth in total transaction values (TTV). For the year ended 30 September 2011 Hotelbeds sold circa 14 million roomnights and its total transaction values are forecast to increase by 25%.

Hotelbeds was founded in Spain in 2001 following the acquisition of Barceló Travel Division by First Choice PLC in 2000. When TUI Tourism and First Choice Holidays PLC merged in 2007, Hotelbeds became part of the Accommodation & Destinations Sector of TUI Travel PLC, the international leisure travel company. Hotelbeds has 132 offices in 38 countries and employs over 6000 people.

Notes for resubmission and use: Unauthorised use of content from ChinaContact.org is strictly prohibited. Quote and link back to original article is permitted. For republication rights, please contact the webmaster.

Showcasing new and diverse destinations and travel themes in China

London, UK 29 October 2008: Chinese tourism, both inbound and outbound, has been growing steadily for over 10 years and has overcome many challenges. This year has been particularly hard for the travel trade even before the credit-crunch. In each of the last two years, WTM and ChinaContact had been bringing together the best experts to World Travel Market, to share case studies and practical advise on engaging with the Chinese tourism sector. The event is called ‘China – the Future of Travel’ and it is the only travel industry event outside China that has the credentials to educate the sector about China.

This year the focus of the forum will be on developing China’s capacity for diverse and new travel destinations and themes as more destinations in China’s vast space become accessible thanks to improved travel infrastructure and rising service standards. After the impressive way in which China hosted the 2008 Olympic Games, research has shown that over 51% of people who viewed the Games on television would like to visit the country. Not only does China have traditional and historical destinations virtually unknown to Western tourists, but it has added new ‘must see’ sights including the acclaimed Olympic venues of the Bird’s Nest stadium and the Water Cube.

At World Travel Market, China will be represented with a national pavillion showcasing its familiar tourist attractions. In addition, on 12 November representatives of China’s tourism boards will join with experts on China travel to discuss future of sustainable tourism in China. They will signal the opening of new destinations and itineraries in Western China including the re-opening of tourism in Sichuan province and Tibet. Communities in Western China rely heavily on tourism for their livelyhood, and Western visitors who visit with reputable tour operators contribute to the development of local facilities such as schools and clinics.

The forum’s afternoon sessions will be dedicated to the development of niche tourism products such as sports, adventure, culture, music, cuisine etc.
Delegates will hear presentation and panel discussions by tourism officials from Beijing Tourism Board, Shanghai Tourism Board, Guilin Tourism Board and other senior officials.

Director of Sportsworld, the official ticketing agent for the Beijing Olympic Games, will be assessing the impact and contribution of the Olympic Games to China’s inbound tourism economy. China’s growing confidence in holding large scale events and attracting further international meetings, incentives, conferences and events business will be discussed.

China has a wealth of tourist resources beyond the usual. The forum will ask how China can accommodate 100 million tourists by 2020 without ovewhelming its traditional tourist attractions and harming the environment and culture that it relies on. Albert Ng, CEO of Wild China will give case studies of their work in China to develop tourism in rural areas which provides a memorable and confortable experience to tourists and benefits local communities.

The WTM-ChinaContact forum has already become a leader in setting out strategies and recommendations for tourism boards and travel companies wanting to engage China. In addition to discussing tourism development to China, the morning sessions are focused on the growing demand by Chinese travellers for exciting and unusual experiences abroad. As competition for these high-spending tourists grows, ChinaContact in partnership with the China Outbond Tourism Research Institute will launch a quality labelling program awarding excellence in hosting Chinese tourists. To read more about the forum and the quality label program for China Outbound Tourism, visit the website or call the organisers.

To learn more visit http://www.future-of-travel.org or call +44 20 32399688.

Registration information:

* Single ticket: £300.00 full day or £168.00 half day per person
* WTM exhibitor ticket: £240.00 / £125.00 per person
* Group ticket (minimum 5 people): £180.00 / £99.00 per person
* VIP ticket: £388.00 per person (including lunch and other benefits)
* Networking Chinese lunch: £35.00
* Student ticket: £60.00
* Media: free with a WTM Press badge

Contact details:
Media: future@ccontact.com +44 20 3239 9688
Sponsors: info@ccontact.com +44 20 3239 9688
Registration: info@future-of-travel.org +44 20 8783 9588

Organizations supporting the forum:

* Visit Britain
* China National Tourism Administration
* Switzerland Tourism Board
* Visit London
* UKinbound
* Pacific Asia Travel Association
* Visit Scotland
* China Britain Business Council
* 48 Group Club
* China Outbound Tourism Research Institute
* ChinaContact Tourism Network
* The China Business Network

WTM-ChinaContact forum post event report Nov 2007 (PDF download)

When World Travel Market hosted the second annual WTM-ChinaContact forum on China’s tourism industry on 14th November, delegates were keen on discovering the way to profitable tourism business from China. Due to knowledge and communication gaps between the Western and Chinese tourism industries, Chinese tourists have been gaining a poor reputation for low-cost, low quality travel. The forum speakers were unanimous in declaring that this is based on the misconception that Chinese tourists are poor and badly behaved. They contend that marketing efforts should target the wealthy elite and white collar workers who spend on quality and style both at home and abroad. Equally important is providing adequate information to Chinese before they travel and managing their expectations of unfamiliar destinations.

Since the beginning of this century, Chinese started to travel the world as tourists rather than just on government delegations. The Approved Destination Status program (ADS) has by 2007 given 94 countries the opportunity to actively market and promote tour packages to the Chinese. A a result of this and the increased openness of the Chinese government, Chinese outbound tourism jumped 700% over the past 10 years.

During the WTM-ChinaContact forum in London, delegates heard how the industry developed and what the global tourism industry can expect in the near future. All predictions by world organisations like UN-WTO, WTTC and PATA are that double digit growth of Chinese outbound tourism will continue until 2020 to reach 100 million people. The full day forum hosted world class authorities on the subject including PATA President and CEO Peter de Jong, Director of the China Outbound Research Institute Professor Wolfgang Arlt and Vice President of Asian Sales Development for Accor Group, Rosita Yiu. ChinaContact, a market entry specialist for China’s tourism sector, planned and hosted the event led by its Managing Director Roy Graff.

What delegates learned in the full day event was just how complex and varied is the Chinese tourism market. The experience of host countries to Chinese tourists has been distinctly mixed, linked directly to the way in which these destinations were marketed and branded in China. Thailand and other countries in SE Asia have witnessed a huge increase in Chinese visitors but frequently this meant budget tour groups sold a cheap tour subsidized by local suppliers and tour guides who make their money from selling optional extras and from shop’s sales commissions. When Australia started getting complaints about similar tours operated by unscrupulous agencies, China reacted by formulating new rules to protect consumers from dishonest travel agents and tour operators.

Destinations that focus their marketing on the top end of the consumer market found that they can keep complaints down and save their reputation. Countries like Switzerland, Seychelles, Papua New Guinea or Fiji retain a luxurious image by not appealing to the mass market. Being an expensive destination which offers value and unique experiences attracts wealthy Chinese from the big cities who travel frequently for business and leisure and enjoy the finer things in life. With 9 new Eastern European countries set to join the ADS club with their entry into the Schengen visa agreement in January 2008, competition for Chinese tourists will only intensify and standing out from the crowd will become increasingly important.

Rosita Yiu of Accor Hotels explained:

The Chinese market is heading for luxury products. Our mission is to
satisfy the needs of the new Chinese customers. The business travellers,
incentive groups and luxury travellers are looking for the finest quality of
service. Our efforts will be focused on: Advising, exchanging information
by organizing education tours with specialized tour operators and incoming
agencies; Promoting the luxury destinations through the travel market
fairs and the media; Providing additional services adapted to this market.

What became obvious through the speakers’ presentations and replies to delegate questions is that Europe by and large had probably shot itself in the foot by indiscriminate marketing and inability to regulate the fierce competition that has led to the low-cost tours phenomenon. As a result, many Chinese visitors find their experience in Europe marred by inflexible and exhausting itineraries, long hours drive on uncomfortable buses, below par food, out of the way cheap hotels and crammed visits to shopping outlets. This kind of experience informs on a destination much more than corporate marketing campaigns as Chinese tend to favor personal recommendations and travel articles when choosing travel destinations.

Stressing this fact, Professor Arlt said:

The Chinese Outbound market to Europe is rapidly segmenting into two distinct forms: Low budget, fast consumption bigger tour groups of first-time visitors on the one hand, but also more and more repeat visitors with higher non-shopping spending willingness and slower speed, consisting of small groups of friends or relatives travelling together. Especially for the latter high-end market segment quality, more precisely: identifiable quality according to the needs of Chinese visitors, is the most important pull factor to visit a specific region or buy a specific tourism service. This is the reason why the COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute is introducing a China Outbound Quality Label.

In such a large and populated country as China, niche markets evolve that require special attention. The forum focused on one such niche, the sports tourism market that currently is totally undervalued and under served in China.

“We believe that Chinese will begin to consume sports related tourism products in much larger numbers following the Olympic games in Beijing in 2008″ said SportsWorld CEO Chad Lion-Cachet. “This will include activities like golf, horse riding and sailing as well as attending international sports event such as Wimbledon, Formula 1 racing and Football finals.”

With London set to host the 2012 Olympic Games, VisitBritain and Visit London are going to exploit the marketing opportunity with a strong presence in Beijing showcasing Britain and London as attractive and diverse tourist destinations. Delegates were given details of their plans by Sandie Dawe of VisitBritain and Martine Ainsworth-Wells of Visit London.

Delegates at the forum also discussed the state of travel technology and distribution in China with the help of Olivier Dombey, until recently VP of Pegasus Solutions Asia/Pacific. The final session of the day was dedicated to tackling a diverse range of issues which included how best to offer hospitality to Chinese guests, what are the legal and financial obstacles to setting up a base in China and the challenge of recruiting and training Chinese speaking guides in Europe.

In concluding the forum Roy Graff of ChinaContact shared interim findings of the first global survey on the tourism industry’s attitudes to Chinese outbound tourism which seemed to support the notion that there is a great unexplored market for luxury tourism in China. As Peter de Jong’s presentation showed, Chinese by and large favour high end accommodation and service and expect their trip to more comfortable and luxurious than their normal lives. To reach these consumers, destination promotion boards should study niche markets and develop marketing campaigns that attract them.

Roy Graff summed up the forum: We now have 9 years of leisure tourism growth from China to learn from. The lessons that South East Asia, Australia and Singapore can teach us are invaluable. Countries who do not do their homework and prepare for the influx of new Chinese visitors over the coming years will only have their selves to blame. But for those destinations and companies that take the time and show their commitment to the Chinese market, profit is not far away. Winning formula depends on bi-lateral cooperation and offering help to the Chinese travel industry – not just selling to them.

For 2008, ChinaContact will continue to cooperate with the China Outbound Travel Research Institute and World Travel Market. Throughout 2008 we will offer training courses and workshops dedicated to specific sectors such as hospitality, tour attractions, internet marketing and destination promotion. Details will be released through our website and the free online ChinaContact tourism advice network (http://www.chinacontacttourism.ning.com).

The next WTM-ChinaContact forum is scheduled for 12 November 2008. The full program will include targeted workshops on China outbound travel for hotels, destination promotion boards, tourist attractions and tour operators and China Inbound sessions dedicated to opening up more of China to the West and constructing sustainable tourism in China.

WTM-ChinaContact forum post event report Nov 2007 (PDF download)

About ChinaContact:

The WTM-ChinaContact forum has been running in cooperation with World Travel Market since 2006 and is supported by PATA, VisitBritain, Visit London, CBBC and UKinbound. ChinaContact is a market entry specialist for China’s tourism industry offering consulting, strategy, deal brokerage, marketing, localisation and representation services.

Contact details and further information:

tel: +44 20 3239 9688

website: chinacontact.org

forum homepage: www.future-of-travel.org

What this means is that Western companies and destinations need to get smarter in how they market and sell travel services in China. It used to be the case that simply becoming an approved destination (ADS) was enough to start getting tour groups, and a photo-op with a Chinese government leader got you all the business you needed. This is no longer true. Consumers shop around, research destinations online and share experiences with others that have been on chat rooms and web forums.

When it comes to travel within China, things have also changed almost beyond recognition. The Chinese invested heavily in infrastructure while entrepreneurs built countless hotels, resorts and other services for travellers. This has indeed led to increased cost of travel but at the same time opened up more destinations and made travel in China more accessible.

The fast pace of development has created problems, ranging from overcrowding to corruption and environmental damage. There are ways to manage this growth in a sustainable way and China can and indeed often does learn from other experienced and mature tourist destinations to figure out the best way forward.

Since 2006, I have directed the WTM-ChinaContact forum each year in November as a way of raising awareness in the West of what China means in the tourism world and how more Western organisations and companies can benefit from the emergence of a dynamic travel market in China. It has been a cornerstone of the forum from the beginning that tourism development with China must be a bi-lateral and bi-directional collaboration as this is the preferred way of doing business in China in any sector.

My vision is to motivate more companies to formulate a sound strategy for China engagement and bring the two sides together to exchange ideas and information. The support we’ve received from the national tourism boards of both the United Kingdom and China is proof that they recognize the importance of the effort. For the past two years our expert speakers and panellists have provided an insight into the operation of successful West/China business cooperation and shared practical advise with delegates. I was pleased to see in the forum delegates not only from the UK and Western Europe but from the US, North Africa, Middle East and Australia.

In 2008, we will continue bringing more examples of successful business relationships between Chinese and Western tourism organizations and give advice and help to companies on things like product development, relationship building, cultural awareness, sales and marketing.

One area that needs to be carefully studied is the use of online media in China, since it is so different from the West. Understanding the differences and harnessing the power of this new media is crucial to success in China. Conversely, Chinese destinations wishing to market themselves in the West need assistance and guidance on working with media channels in the West.

This year, China has been featuring prominently in the headlines so it is unavoidable that more people are taking an interest. The Olympics Games provided a window into China that can now be used to develop more tourism business. At the same time, the experience of these Olympic Games gives us several important lessons when it comes to targeting consumers in China or thinking of sending our clients there – be it leisure, business or incentives.

I selected a range of speakers that can bring their experience to bear on these topics. They are not simply representatives of companies engaged in tourism with China, they are individuals who themselves made in-roads into this market and proved that the Chinese tourism industry is healthy and profitable.

The WTM-ChinaContact forum is a chance for those involved in tourism to find out the real situation of China’s tourism industry and understand how the opportunities in the market can be applied to their business. Destinations will learn the best marketing methods; tour operators will hear examples of successful market penetration and learn how to forge close links with partners in China; travel agents will discover exciting opportunities for new travel products in China. This event comes only once a year. In 2008, as economic uncertainty surrounds us, we must look ahead and go where the market can bring us the best return on investment. For those that know how to play the game, this place is increasingly called ‘China’.
—————————————————————————————–
Roy Graff is Managing Director of ChinaContact and a recognized expert on China’s tourism industry. He counsels tourism destinations and travel/hospitality companies on market access, marketing and sales strategy. Roy spent three years in China in senior business development roles for a leading multinational tour operator. He launched ChinaContact in 2005.

To learn more about the WTM-ChinaContact forum visit http://www.future-of-travel.org or call +44 20 32399688