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A very Happy Year of the Sheep from the ChinaContact team.
This year will be seeing some major trends emerging in the China outbound tourism market. The move by the U.S. to extend 10 year multi-entry visa to Chinese visitors proved extremely popular, leading to a steep increase in visa applications.
The beneficiaries will be more U.S. destinations as well as other American countries that offer quick visas to those with a valid U.S. visa in their passports.
European countries in the Schengen visa scheme are requiring biometric information, in line with what the United Kingdom has been doing.
Independent outbound travellers are becoming an important part of the market and we are very much focused on helping our clients connect to them. While not neglecting the travel trade, it is now important to engage directly to stimulate demand and allow those who wish to, to book direct with you.
So what does the Year of the Sheep have in store?
Our website will soon be overhauled with a new look and easier navigation.
Our weekly newsletter will be discontinued, while we focus on daily Twitter updates, weekly blog posts and the free monthly China outbound newsletter.
We will exhibit at ILTM Asia, held in the first week of June. Packages for representation and help with organising your own presence there, are available on our sister company website, ChinaEdge.co.uk
We are offering exciting new consumer engagement channels to reach high net worth Chinese, through exhibiting at luxury consumer shows run by China Rendezvous. Visit the website to learn more.
My new book, China – the Future of Travel, will be out next month. As a loyal newsletter reader, you are welcome to pre-order a copy at 30% discount. Just click here.
We now also offer on-demand concierge service to help hospitality providers better serve and welcome their Chinese guests.
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China, the Future of Travel
Introduction: Two Decades of Change
I entered into the Chinese tourism market by chance, thanks to a student job I took on while learning Mandarin in Taiwan in the 1990s, which in turn led to a job in London for Gulliver’s Travel Associates (GTA), a global wholesaler of ground handling and accommodation. It provided me with experience of working with Chinese tour groups at the early days of Chinese outbound tourism to Europe. But even then, I didn’t expect the industry to grow and evolve as quickly as it has. Not until I took an offer to work and live in China in 2002, and saw the changes up close as they happened, did I understand how dynamic the sector is and how strong is the desire of Chinese to travel abroad. If you consider Chinese citizens were not allowed to travel for leisure until the 90’s, this energy is very understandable. And while many Chinese are still relatively inexperienced travellers who can lack the confidence of tourists from other countries, they are catching up quickly. The fast pace of change continues to amaze and excite me. The industry is following a standard evolution process, but it is happening faster and at a larger scale than anywhere else in the world.
Read more
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Last Week’s Headlines
in the Tourism Sector
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Fed-up with Spring Festival
For centuries China’s most important holiday, Spring Festival has traditionally been a time of family reunion. This year, more than 2.8 billion trips are expected to be made over the Spring Festival period, which officially began on February 4, according to the Beijing Morning Post.
However, rather than returning to their hometowns to spend time with their old folks and extended family, more and more Chinese are now choosing to travel elsewhere over Spring Festival, treating it like any other holiday.
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Euro falls right on time for China’s biggest overseas shopping season
The recent drop of the Australian dollar, euro, Russian ruble and the Canadian dollar sharply against the renminbi has triggered anticipation for an upsurge in Chinese national shopping abroad during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, reports the International Business Daily.
The holiday, which begins on Feb. 19, is the season for loose pockets as Chinese tourists head around the world on vacation. Consumption overseas is expected to hit new highs, said the report.
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Chinese Tourists Spent USD 164.8 Billion Overseas In 2014: Travelers from China spent $113.6 billion more overseas than foreign tourists spent while visiting the country
China’s Foreign Ministry Urges Chinese Tourists to Behave: The Chinese Foreign Ministry is urging tourists to behave properly during holiday trips.
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Travel destinations for China Tourism :
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Italy Speeds Up Visas for Chinese Tourists Before World Expo: The Italian government is expecting an influx of Chinese tourists looking to attend the World Expo in Milan.
New Zealand to Issue Business Events Visitor Visa Applications within 3 Working Days: Chinese consumers recognize New Zealand as a leisure tourism destination. Now they plan to promote the country as a MICE destination.
Chinese tourists highly satisfied with Canada travel: Canada scored second highest in the Chinese outbound tourist-satisfaction survey in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Abu Dhabi rolls out welcome mat for Chinese tourists: Mandarin-speaking concierges and Chinese television channels will become regular fixtures at Abu Dhabi hotels and attractions as part of a certification programme overseen by China’s tourism ministry.
Alipay Rolls Out Chinese New Year Campaign For China’s Tourists In Singapore: Tourists from China visiting Singapore can now enjoy up to 50 per cent discount using Alipay FlashPay card during the upcoming Chinese New Year.
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Luxury Tourism and Retail :
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What’s Behind China’s Luxury Hotel Buying Spree?: Chinese companies are expected to spend more than $5 billion on overseas hotel investments this year.
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WeChat Partnership Shows Growing Influence of Chinese Outbound Tourists: WeChat announced the launch of the first connected hotel suite in America.
Internet giants wage Chinese New Year ‘red envelope’ war: Chinese internet companies are engaged in a battle over a free cash credit feature.
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If you have China related stories or questions to contribute, send them to us by email [email protected].
Make sure to get in touch if you are attending any of the industry events where I will be speaking or attending, as it is always good to have a face to face introduction or catch up. List of upcoming events is below.
Sincerely, from the ChinaContact Team
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Disclaimer: With the exception of articles published on the ChinaContact blog, articles mentioned and linked in this newsletter have been curated to bring you news and information about topics relating to Chinese outbound tourism. The opinions expressed in these articles are of the authors only and are not endorsed by ChinaContact. We make every attempt to verify the accuracy of news stories. We are not held liable for any inaccuracies or misrepresentations in these articles.
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Pioneering China market entry specialist for the Luxury Tourism and Retail sectors.
Working with destinations, operators, brands, hospitality providers, media and events.
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ChinaContact
Market Entry Package
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ChinaContact offers the opportunity for brands to enter Tmall International.
Contact us for further details.
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On-demand Concierge Service
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China Edge delivers strategy, training, social media marketing and consumer engagement in the UK for luxury retail and hospitality.
Follow China Edge on Twitter
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ILTM Asia is by far the most professionally organized B2B trade show in China.
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China Kick-Start Programme
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China Edge launched a modular programme that overcomes the difficult challenge of understanding Chinese consumer
behaviour, digital marketing, culture and language by providing a complete toolkit with accompanying hands on guidance from start to finish.
Read more
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China Rendez-Vous High-End Lifestyle Events
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Our sister company, China Edge, offers exhibitor and sponsor packages for China Rendez-Vous events as their exclusive UK representative.
Download our package here!
- SO! DALIAN, 18-21 June, Dalian.
- Bund Clasic, 16-18 October, Shanghai.
- SKI & STYLE, November (dates to be confirmed), Beijing.
- SO! HAINAN, 3-6 December, Hainan.
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Plan-Ahead
China Focused or Related Events
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- ITB Berlin , 4-8 March 2015, Berlin.
- Guangzhou International Travel Fair, GITF, 6-8 March 2015, Guangzhou.
- China Outbound Travel & Tourism Market, COTTM, 14-16 April 2015, Beijing.
- World Travel Fair, WTF 2015, 7-8 May 2015, Shanghai
- TDS Asia 2015, 20-21 May 2015, Singapore
- International Luxury Travel Market Asia, ILTM 2015, 1-4 June 2015, Shanghai.
- China Incentive Business Travel & Meeting exhibition, CIBTM 2015 :
2-7 August 2015 , Beijing.
- ITB Asia 2015, 21 – 23 October 2015, Singapore
- 2014 World Travel Market, WTM, 2-5 November (dates to be confirmed), ExCeL, London.
Follow all the China related trade events by
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