where-the-chinese-tourism-industry-heading-2009 (PDF version)

Where is the Chinese tourism industry heading in 2009?
London / 1 October 2008
Without argument, 2008 had been the year China featured most prominently in the media all over the world. Much of this was not complimentary it has to be said, as the year started with riots in Tibet and a largely embarrassing global torch relay. With a tragic twist of fate, the huge earthquake, which hit Sichuan province in May, provided a counter measure to the hostile media in the West. A terrible natural disaster in terms of lives lost and damage to infrastructure and property, it also proved extremely damaging to the tourism industry in the short term.

Being a popular tourist destination, Sichuan lost the tourism revenue many people rely on. The government restricted official and business travel while the focus was on relief and rebuilding, as a way of saving costs and avoiding the excess that sometimes accompanies official trips abroad.

When it came time for the Olympic Games opening ceremony, the eyes of billions of people around the world were on China and tens of thousands of reporters descended on the capital Beijing. The execution of the Games and the media coverage of these 2 weeks in August have had long ranging effects on tourism development in China. This article looks at international tourism in the Chinese context (China’s inbound and outbound travel sectors) with a review of the past year and a look at what can be expected in 2009.

An expert analysis of China’s tourism industry will take place towards the end of the year during Europe’s leading international travel trade fair, World Travel Market. Bringing together China tourism experts from academia, government and private sector is the 4th annual WTM-ChinaContact forum. It combines the varying view points of its speakers and panelists to consider the future growth of the industry and the business opportunities that it offers. Beyond being a trade forum, it is designed to generate discussion and provide practical advice to delegates on access to the huge China market. In previous years, delegates came from all continents and included national and regional tourism boards, hotel group representatives and independent hoteliers, specialist tour operators, travel agents, tour attractions, transportation suppliers, airline professionals, travel technology companies and tourism marketing specialists.

China’s Outbound travel market

For the past 8 years travel industry watchers have seen a fast paced opening up of China’s tourism sector with a succession of worldwide destinations approved for Chinese to visit as tourists. Growth averaged over 12% and even SARS could not slow that down. The Chinese government this year promised to continue liberalizing the sector and begin licensing foreign travel companies to sell outbound tourism in China (so far only Chinese owned companies are allowed to sell outbound tour packages and travel services). Since 2004, non-Chinese companies have been able to apply for an in-bound tourism license and this is the logical next step.

When we look at long haul destinations more closely, we can see that some differences in approach and experience emerge.

Europe
Things were looking good in 2007 though Europe was going through a rethink of the type of tourism they were attracting from China. Strong marketing and promotion activities by European tourism boards led to a surge in European group travel sales and increase competition. Unfortunately those in place to supply services were often small operators with personal connections who offered identical products and competed with each other on price alone. With a lack of understanding of the intricacies of the Chinese market and few established operators in Europe really properly engaged with China, the result of price competition was poor quality, complaints and bad experience for many European hotels and service providers. Following a series of disappearances by some tour groups in Europe, the EU looked again at the Approved Destination Status agreement signed with China and the entry visa procedures. Visas to Europe and UK have since become more difficult and require more personal interviews, leading to a slowdown in the growth of tourism to the region in 2008.

At the 2007 WTM-ChinaContact forum held in November, tourism experts concluded that Europe should be focusing on up-market tourism from China including luxury travel, cultural experience tourism and corporate travel. They recommended a unified approach that connects Europe along its themed culture and heritage. This recommendation was passed to European governments and tourism promotion bodies by ChinaContact in the UK and the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute based in Germany. However a lack of coordination among European governments on tourism marketing means that each country develops its own separate marketing strategy while Chinese generally still see Europe as a single destination.

For 2009, growth could slow down further if decisive action is not taken to counter the competitive threat of the USA and ease the visa restrictions. A Coordinated approach to marketing Europe is still very much called-for. The trend towards theme tours and cultural experience will grow as tourism numbers may decrease but quality and length of stay increase.

Australia/New Zealand
Australia, an early pioneer of long-haul travel from China has been extremely active in the market with both trade and consumer marketing that proved very successful. As in Europe later, Australia witnessed a drop in quality, increased price competition and increasingly poor experience by visitors from China. The same problems of business communication and cultural differences at all levels led to a proliferation of unscrupulous operators squeezing margins and pushing for shopping commissions. The concept of zero commission tours where land operators make their money solely from shopping kickbacks started in China and Hong Kong, followed by Thailand and then Australia.

The Australian authorities went back to the China National Tourism Administration last year to renegotiate the ADS agreement and draw a new list of approved tour operators to tackle this problem. Prices of tour packages were fixed and communicated to the trade to ensure visitors receive a quality experience. Hard lessons were learned which should make life for the travel industry easier, just as competition with other destinations makes getting the tourists over even harder.

USA
In late 2007, the United States finally inked pen to paper on the bilateral tourism agreement with China that allows Chinese citizens to travel to the US as tourists. While the US was receiving about half a million Chinese visitors annually, they were arriving on business or student visas. The new agreement which took effect in July of this year means Chinese can apply for group tourists visas and do not need to arrange a business meeting or book an English language course. The US has put quotas in place to very gradually grow the number of Chinese tourists over the next few years. The emergence of USA as the latest major tourist destination (Israel and Tahiti also joined the ADS system this year) means tougher competition for existing popular destinations such as Australia, France, Germany, Italy or UK. It is also a wake up call for the US receptive tourism industry to start developing a China market strategy and look for opportunities in the market. This will be led by the various state tourism and convention bureaus who are now beginning to investigate the market and look for representation solutions via marketing agencies or directly managed representative offices. What the best solution is for each state depends on their previous involvement in China, existing contacts, budget and relevance of the destination to Chinese.

In 2009, we can expect more state tourism boards to appoint a representative for China and begin localizing their information for this market. Marketing needs to be matched by a preparation of the hospitality sector including training of hotels, guides, attractions and restaurants.

China inbound tourism

In 2007 there was widespread excitement at the prospect of a huge surge in tourism to China on the back of a global Olympic marketing campaign and China’s growing importance on a global platform. UN World Tourism Organization predicts that China will be the largest tourism destination before 2020, possibly as early as 2015. Milestones such as the Olympic this year and the World Expo in 2010 in Shanghai are contributing factors, as is the integration of China into the world economy which attracts business travel and encourages a meetings and incentive sector to emerge.

Unfortunately, China has been featured in negative reporting in 2008 with stories on the riots in Tibet and interruptions of the Olympic Torch Relay starting the year. The Sichuan earthquake in May closed off one of China’s most popular tourist destinations for the rest of the year and security restrictions ahead of the Olympic Games limited access to entry visas for normal tourists and business people.

Now just as there are signs that things are returning to normal – easing of visa restrictions and opening up of Tibet and Sichuan to tourism – a new health crisis has again given China a very negative image. The tainted milk scandal is giving the impression to outsiders that food is unsafe in China. For first time visitors hygiene and food safety are major concerns and China must act in a fast and decisive way to bring back confidence. This was done well after the SARS outbreak and involves allowing free access to media, both local and foreign. A transparent campaign to clean up the dairy industry and give more power to consumer advocates coupled with a global campaign to reassure people is urgently needed.

As a general course, the tourism ministry CNTA should have a crisis management plan that takes effect during such incidences (which in a developing county do happen from time to time). Though short term China can expect to lose visitors over such issues, if the marketing and promotion is handled in a professional and forward looking way then China will get back those visitors that have put their visit plans on hold.

Promoting lesser known destinations

While well known tourist attractions continue to be popular with visitors from China and abroad (sites such as the Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors) China possess a wealth of sites of cultural and natural beauty that are known only to domestic tourists or intrepid backpackers. It is an imperative of the industry that tourism revenue is spread across communities geographically and benefits all sections of society. It also servers to ease pressure off popular attractions that struggle to contain the masses of visitors while maintaining the integrity of the site and conserving its heritage.
These topics and more will be explored at the China Inbound session of the WTM-ChinaContact forum. The way in which Chinese domestic tourists travel defers from what Western tourists are looking to experience, so a different visitor experience should be prepared for different types of tourists. For example sections of the Great Wall that have not been renovated are attractive to Western tourists for their authenticity but cannot receive masses of visitors. Managing the flows of visitors to the Great Wall and opening new sections to visits can help, as well as promoting different areas in different tourist markets.

In rural areas close to major cities, day and weekend trips by city dwellers to villages are now popular and include home-stays and meals with local village families. Such a simple and authentic experience can also be prepared for Western visitors including business people looking to relax on the weekend. The tourism authorities will need to provide information aimed at independent Western travelers who shun group tours and want to make their own arrangements.

Eco-tourism is not well developed in China compared with other countries of SE Asia or South America. There is no standard definition or set of guidelines to authenticate eco-tours in China and this is badly needed. Such tours attract high profits that often benefit local communities more than standard tours and have a smaller impact on local habitats.

Theme tours are now beginning to become more popular – culinary tours, musical journeys, minority cultures, martial arts… the possibilities in China are endless and resourceful tour operators who are able to find reliable and trusted local suppliers in China can sell unique, exciting tour products to a willing audience.

Joined-up marketing

One of the difficulties in marketing a destination as large and diverse as China is that it requires the cooperation of national and provincial governments and different government departments with private business. In this China can learn from the experience of more mature popular tourist destinations, especially those in Europe. However China has a unique proposition and its marketing strategy must match that. Using the opportunity of the WTM-ChinaContact forum, Chinese destination marketing officials and companies have an opportunity to explore new ways of marketing China and learn from the experience of others while meeting travel companies face to face to learn about their customers’ needs and expectations.

The WTM-ChinaContact forum is in its 3rd year and has been hailed as the most professional and authoritative trade forum on China’s tourism industry anywhere outside China. Delegates not only raise their understanding of how to engage China’s tourism sector but come out with new inspiration for their business and useful contacts for the future.

Registration is open online and early bird rates are valid until 12 October 2008. Seats are limited and registration at standard rates will be open until the day of the forum, subject to availability.
To learn more or register, visit www.future-of-travel.org or call +44 20 32399688

where-the-chinese-tourism-industry-heading-2009 (PDF version)

In 2006 and 2007, the WTM-ChinaContact forum hosted delegates from Europe, North Africa, North America, Middle East and Australia who came to learn how to access the Chinese market and attract more Chinese to visit their destination, hotel, attraction or service.  Travel agents have attended to discover what China offers visitors (both leisure and business) beyond the now famous attractions of Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. This year delegates will be able to hear case studies of successful recent entrants into the Chinese market and listen to panelists discuss the opportunities and pitfalls of doing business in China. They will have an opportunity to address their own concerns and questions with expert speakers from Europe and China. In order to get a better understanding of what China represents in terms of tourism potential, a well-rounded view of its inbound and outbound industries is highly recommended. The full day forum dedicates the morning 2 sessions to China outbound tourism and the afternoon sessions to China inbound tourism.

Those interested in China Outbound tourism (From China to the rest of the world) will:

• Hear eminent tourism expert Professor Wolfgang Arlt discuss the impact of the Olympics and the Sichuan earthquake on China’s tourism sector in the coming year.

• Listen to Rosita Yiu, VP of Asia Sales, Accor Hotels share her experience of marketing accommodation to Chinese visitors over many year and preparing her properties to Chinese guests.

• Learn from case studies of different tourism promotion organizations and travel companies who entered the China market in recent year, presented by Roy Graff, Managing Director of ChinaContact.

• Find out how the Olympic Games held in Beijing this summer prompted further diversification of the Chinese tourism market into exciting niche markets.

• Receive an expert view into the luxury travel segment of China outbound travel from Frank Zheng, Managing Director of China Luxurious Travel Club.

• Network with Chinese outbound travel agents and travel trade media and have the opportunity to ask the experts about their own business’ potential in China.

Those who are interested in China Inbound tourism (from the West to China) will spend an afternoon dedicated to:

• Presentations and panel discussions by tourism officials from China. They will be asked to answer questions about the growth in special interest tourism in Western China and the need to embrace sustainable tourism practices.

• Assessing the impact and contribution of the Olympic Games to China’s inbound tourism economy. Sportsworld was the official ticketing agent for the Beijing Olympic Games and carried on a large operation in Beijing during the Games. Their China General Manager will talk about their experiences of operating a large scale inbound tourism operation at such a critical time.

• China’s growing confidence in holding large scale events and attracting further international meetings, incentives, conferences and events business.

• China’s wealth of tourist resources beyond the usual - how China can accommodate 100 million tourists by 2020 without overwhelming its traditional tourist attractions - discussed by Albert Ng, CEO of Wild China.

Further speakers and case studies will be announced closer to the forum date. To review the full agenda visit http://www.future-of-travel.org

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I am writing only from my perspective and focusing on the tourism implications of the Games, both for inbound and outbound tourism. When a national government spends more than 40 billion dollars on a single event and mobilizes an entire country’s energies for the sake of 2 weeks of sports, it is bound to raise many questions on the effects this will have for the future. For example:
Are Chinese feeling more cosmopolitan now?
have they more confidence to travel abroad knowing how well their country’s athletes performed on the international stage?
Did the Olympics stimulate more demand for sports themed tours and holidays both at home and abroad?
Does the rest of the world have a better understanding of China now and is more likely to visit?
Will the Olympic Village become the latest Disney theme park? Will someone have to pay back all the expense?

I wish to reflect on some of these issues while much more will be tackled during panel discussions at the WTM-ChinaContact forum on November 12 in London. Several experts including tourism officials, academics and private sector professionals with long experience in China will look at the events of the past year and their effects on tourism to and from China in the short and long term.

What did it feel like to see the city I first visited in 1996 host the greatest event on earth in 2008?

On my first visit to Beijing I remember it as very grey. People wore grey; the buildings were grey; their mood was pretty grey too. In restaurants there were stones in the rice, more oil than food in most dishes and no service to speak of. A Chinese woman who went out with a foreigner was thought of as a prostitute and police would bust into hotel rooms if they heard there was a mixed couple in there. Tourists could only buy things at the Friendship Store and the foreign exchange certificates had just been abolished.

Since that time I have come to regard Beijing as familiar ground and lived there in 2004. It still felt less modern and more ‘Chinese’ compared to Shanghai. Then came the winning bid to host the Olympics and the entire city’s energy was harnessed to prepare for the games. When I arrived in early 2008 after a 6 month absence there were entire city areas that I could not recognize. Over the last 3 months the experience of living in Beijing was drastically different. I cannot give an emphatic endorsement to all the changes but some things have improved for sure (whether all improvements will last is anyone’s guess).

What’s changed in the city because of the Olympics?

• There are many more shopping outlets and various restaurants. They are also more expensive.
• The transportation system has improved but still requires a lot more development.

• The modernity of the city threatens to turn it into another Shanghai or HKG and lose its authentic feel. This is especially noticeable around Houhai and the newly re-opened Qianmen.
• Fewer people re spitting or throwing littler in the streets.
• Taxi drivers have all been made to wear identical uniforms and neckties.
• The architecture is diverse and interesting. There is more use of colour everywhere.
• The city has been greened – trees and flowers everywhere. Not all of it will last past the Olympics since Beijing is a dry place and water is at a premium. Much of the greenery is potted flowers and plants hung up at weird unnatural angles and clearly will not survive for very long.
• There is a brand new park in the north, but it will not be accessible to ordinary folks until 2009.
• Chinese people are displaying great enthusiasm for the Games and sports in general.
• The air quality has improved eventually, and noticeably. It is pleasant to sit at an outdoor café which is a very new experience for me in Beijing. But how long will this last, once the Paralympics are over and industry tries to catch up with a backlog of orders to put the economy back on the same fast pace as 2007?

The international media seems to admire China’s logistical performance in staging the Games but to criticize some of the measures that were taken to ensure a smooth run. These measures include clearing the city of potential trouble makers (minorities mostly), taking half the cars off the road, not allowing any protests (3 parks were set aside for officially sanctioned protests but no permits were given out), going nuts with security measures like baggage x-ray machines at underground stations. Terrorism is a real threat these days and many of these precautions are sadly needed. London is even more of a target and will have to grapple with getting the balance right between security and warm welcome.

After the competitions we can look back at a successful and memorable Olympics for the sporting accomplishments and the management of the event. But what about the tourism benefits that the Olympics are supposed to bring to the host? Arguably China can most benefit from hosting the Games in the area of inbound tourism. In this aspect it seems a missed opportunity since the experience of visitors to the Olympics contained very little of China’s rich culture and tourism treasures. I am certain everyone who visited Beijing went to see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, and maybe watched Chinese acrobatics show. But were they exposed enough to China’s vast wealth of tourist destinations to make them want to make a repeat visit? Did they get a feel of the fantastic food and hospitality China has to offer? Not really. The food inside the Olympic venues was truly awful - the worst representation of junk food pushed by the sponsors. No healthy food choices, nothing that any athletes will really want to eat. Overall this was a sanitized, efficient operation that lacked fun and pleasant surprise.

What we can say for certain is that people around the world watched the coverage of the Olympics on a massive scale, including great ratings for NBC’s Olympic broadcasts in the USA. They have seen a different side to China that could induce them to consider it as a destination in future if sufficient marketing efforts follow.

Let’s look more closely at the opportunities for tourism promotion China could have seized and what London could learn from that in 2012:

• Food: China’s 23 provinces each comes with its own culture and culinary tradition. Beijing normally provides for all of these traditions with outlets from high-end restaurants to open market stalls. During the Olympics, many food outlets owned and operated by minorities from Xinjiang and Tibet were closed down as their owners and staff were required to leave the city. Open air food streets were closed for hygiene reasons. Most spectators on package tours ate western food most of the time. The catering at Olympic venues was dismal – consisting of dry packed goods and soft drinks from the sponsor. Where hot food was available it again was provided by the sponsor – a certain junk food producing global company; and that sold out even before the events started.
• Travel: The heavy security measures at airports and transport terminals made touring around the country difficult and less pleasant. Visa application prior to the Olympics was made harder and put off prospective tourists not heading to the Olympics.
• Culture: China often makes a case for its diversity pointing to its many ethnic minority groups and their distinct culture and heritage. Aside from dressing children in colourful clothes during the opening ceremony, nothing was made of this and instead there was a focus on uniformity and unity. Needless to say that this was probably a decision made based on the dissent shown in Tibet earlier in the year but it was a shame for the world not to see the rich diversity of people in China.

Britain does not have the limitless resources of China or indeed the enthusiastic and unquestioning support of its population. But it has an interesting and diverse culture, which I hope will be showcased in a meaningful way. It also has a multi-ethnic population that can contribute to greater connection with the visitors from around the world if they are engaged and asked to participate.

A few Chinese friends said to me it seemed strange to see an enthic Indian girl coming out to receive the football from the Chinese child during the handover ceremony, representing the UK. This shows the amount of work left to do to explain modern Britain to the rest of the world, and the Olympics present the perfect opportunity - let’s’ not waste it.

Roy Graff is Managing Director of ChinaContact and a fluent Chinese speaker who has lived in China and the UK working in tourism. He is the director of the WTM-ChinaContact forum at World Travel Market, 12 November 2008 in Excel, London and consults destination tourism boards, hotel groups and travel companies on access to the Chinese market. ChinaContact offer Western organizations tourism and hospitality representation services in China incorporating marketing, PR and sales and offer Chinese tourism destination assistance with international marketing.

Roy co-wrote and updated the China Outbound Travel Handbook, now available in a free downloadable PDF format from the ChinaContact Tourism Network.
For further information: www.chinacontact.co.uk

WTM-ChinaContact forum 'China - the future of Travel'

19 August, 2008: ChinaContact and Newland UK held trade and press briefing in Beijing for the WTM-ChinaContact forum on China’s travel industry development.

As the Olympic Games are nearing their exciting finale on 24th August it is already evident that they will feature heavily in China’s tourism industry short and long term development. The 3rd annual WTM-ChinaContact forum held in London November 12th will address the growing interest in sports tourism within China and the legacy of the Olympic Games for the tourism industry. ChinaContact, the founder of the WTM-ChinaContact forum recently held a successful launch event in Beijing in partnership with the forum co-organiser Newland UK in the presence of Beijing’s travel trade community and travel media journalists.

The launch event presented the program and aims of the WTM-ChinaContact forum including the strong support it has received from the China National Tourism Administration, VisitBritain, Switzerland Tourism Board, PATA, CBBC, Visit London, Visit Scotland, UKinbound, the 48 Group Club and the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute.

Invited guests to the event included travel trade media, travel suppliers and outbound travel agencies. They heard from Managing Director of ChinaContact Roy Graff about the World Travel Market exhibition and the China forum, the only industry forum outside China to focus on the development of China’s tourism industry. Andrew Methven, Director of Communications at Newland UK presented a special educational tour program for travel agents to visit Switzerland and Britain prior to the forum in London. The educational tour will show a different side of these countries and focus on cultural experience and meetings with new suppliers and destinations. The tour guests will enjoy VIP treatment and attend WTM as guests of the organizers.

The WTM-ChinaContact forum and World Travel Market extend their warm welcome to tourism professionals from around the world and from China. WTM is an ideal platform to promote China’s rich tourism resources and the forum is the place to network with buyers and sellers of international travel to and from China. The forum sessions will address the most urgent issues facing China’s travel industry now including the legacy of the Olympic Games, the impact of the Sichuan earthquake and the growing consumer power of the Chinese traveling abroad.

For further reading download the presentation (Chinese only) from the press conference or visit the website for more information.
Presentation: http://www.future-of-travel.org/download/180808.ppt
Website: http://www.future-of-travel.org

About ChinaContact:

China market entry specialist for tourism and hospitality organisations involved in developing the China outbound market on behalf of its clients through full representation services in China and direct sales/marketing activities. ChinaContact also assists Chinese destinations and companies to market themselves effectively in Europe and North America.

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PDF version

Beijing, China 8/8/08: As China is about to show the world all that it has learned and accomplished since the open door policy begun with the staging of the summer Olympics, the world’s business community is eagerly awaiting to see greater opening up and to seize opportunities to sell more to China’s growing middle and wealthy classes.

This is also the day, considered auspicious in Chinese custom (the number eight is pronounced ‘ba’ which sounds like ‘fa’ for wealth), that the 2008 updated edition of China Outbound Travel Handbook is published electronically as a free resource for practitioners and academics in tourism. The book is available without cost or subscription fee through the ChinaContact Tourism Advice Network to anyone interested in China’s outbound tourism market.

This day possibly marks the true beginning of what Professor Wolfgang Arlt of COTRI called ‘the third phase’ of China’s tourism sector development. China’s travelers are now as discerning and sophisticated as their counterparts in other countries and demand more choice, better quality and more control over their travel. This Handbook will be the first step to reach these customers. Now any travel professionals or student can obtain it free of charge!

The Handbook is available free from the ChinaContact Tourism Network only or can be purchased from the ChinaContact web shop.
Roy Graff, Beijing 8-8-2008

WTM-ChinaContact forum on China’s travel industry development.

As the Olympic Games feature heavily in China’s tourism industry present and future development the 3rd annual WTM-ChinaContact forum held in London November 12th will address the growing interest in sports tourism within China. The internationally important sector of Sports tourism and hospitality truly arrives in China with the advent of the Olympics. Chinese athletes now compete successfully in major sports events all over the world and with this comes a wave of sports enthusiasm from fans in China. This opens the way for China to promote itself as a destination for sports tourism and at the same time provides Chinese outbound travelers with new experiences abroad.

ChinaContact, the organizer of the WTM-ChinaContact forum and a leading China market entry specialist for the tourism industry is proud to announce the sponsorship of Sportsworld Group for the 3rd annual forum. Sportsworld Group is a major provider of sports hospitality during the Beijing Olympics and most major international sports events such as Wimbledon, Formula 1, Soccer World Cup etc.

During the exciting Olympic Games period ChinaContact and its forum co-organiser Newland-UK will host a press briefing in Beijing sponsored by Sportsworld Group with support from China National Tourism Administration, Visit Britain, Switzerland Tourism Board, PATA, CBBC and Visit London. The WTM-ChinaContact forum is further supported by Visit Scotland, UKinbound, the 48 Group Club, China Outbound Tourism Research Institute and the China Business Network.

Invited guests to the event include domestic and international tourism boards, travel trade media, travel suppliers and outbound travel agencies. The guests will hear from representatives of CNTA, Visit Britain, Switzerland Tourism Board, Newland-UK and ChinaContact about the World Travel Market exhibition and the China forum, the only industry forum outside China to focus on the development of China’s tourism industry. A special educational tour for travel agents to visit Switzerland and Britain will take place together with the forum in November, showing a different side of these countries and focusing on cultural experience. The tour guests will enjoy VIP treatment and attend WTM as guests of the organizers.

Number of invited guests: 80 people including media, travel officials and travel agents

Date: 18 August 2008
Time: 12:00-14:00
Location: Opera room, 7th floor, Sofitel Wanda hotel, Beijing

Program:

11:30 – Registration, Welcome drinks
12:00 - Cold dishes served
12:30 – opening speech by CEO of sponsor Sportsworld
12:40 – Speeches by supporting organizations
12:50 – presentation of World Travel Market and the China Travel Industry Development Forum
13:05 – presentation of the WTM educational tour to Switzerland and UK
13:15 – serving hot dishes and drinks
13:35 – serving dessert, tea and coffee
14:00 – end

Invited guests:
Senior officials of CNTA and BTA
Senior executives of outbound travel agencies in Beijing
Reporters of key travel trade media in print and online
Television travel programs

Sponsor:
Sportsworld Group is sponsoring the event using their Olympic hospitality suite at Sofitel Wanda hotel and providing a cocktail lunch reception. Paul Lemon, Sportsworld Beijing General Manager will be one of the speakers at the forum in London. Sportsworld Group is a leading sports tourism hospitality company offering exclusive sports event hospitality for corporate and leisure clients, event sponsors and event organisers. Some of their appointments include the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Football World Cup, British formula1 Racing and more

Contact Details:

Newland UK London: info@future-of-travel.org +44 (0)20 8783 9588
Newland UK Beijing: china@future-of-travel.org +86 (0)10-59081882-8091
ChinaContact London: info@ccontact.com +44 (0)20 3239 9688
ChinaContact Beijing: china@ccontact.com

Website: www.future-of-travel.org

Download English version PDF Download Chinese version PDF

London, UK 01 July 2008: With the strong support of VisitBritain, China National Tourism Administration, Visit London, Kunming Municipal Tourism Board and the Pacific Asia Travel Association, top experts from tourism bodies and travel companies intimately involved in China are meeting at World Travel Market in London on the 12th of November. For a full day, these experts are sharing their case studies with delegates from China, Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East at Europe’s premier travel trade exhibition.
Since 1999, China has embarked on an unprecedented rate of travel industry growth domestically and internationally. This rate is expected to remain stable at over 10% for the next 12 years, on course to make China the top tourist destination and tourism source market before 2020. While the size of the market for travel products and services is potentially huge, generating real profits has remained an elusive goal for many reasons. Most important of these is the communication and cultural gap, followed closely by restrictive legal and financial policies still in place in China.

2008 has been a turbulent year so far – the euphoria of Beijing holding the Olympic games and the tragic earthquake in Western China. These events and other developments are having serious impacts on the state of the tourism industry in China. The WTM-ChinaContact forum is the only event outside China that can discuss these developments with authority. Through forums and interactive panel discussions delegates deepen their insight of China as a tourism market and destination.

This landmark event held at the premier international travel trade exhibition, World Travel Market, is now in its third year. Support is given from international organisations and industry leaders as well as global travel trade media partners. Following on from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, unprecedented media attention falls on China. No travel organisation can afford to miss this rare opportunity for real knowledge and networking with Chinese travel professionals. A delegation of Chinese tourism officials and travel agents as well as travel trade media will be visiting during WTM. Networking opportunities will be available to maximise the benefits to forum delegates.
Focusing on the need for bi-lateral tourism development, the forum returns to the themes of it’s inaugural year as China tries to embrace it’s new status as a mainstream destination and sought after source market. With the US added to the list of approved tourist destinations there is almost no limit to where Chinese can travel.
The forum will open with welcome speeches from representatives of Visit Britain, China National Tourism Administration and PATA.

Highlights of the forum:
China Outbound tourism
• Eminent China tourism expert Professor Wolfgang Arlt will discuss the impact of various events on China’s tourism sector in the coming year.
• Rosita Yiu heads Accor Hotels’ Asian sales. She shares her experience of marketing accommodation to Chinese visitors.
• Insights into the experience of different foreign tourism organisations and companies in China will be given by Roy Graff, Managing Director of ChinaContact.
• A full speaker list is available from the forum website

China Inbound tourism
• The Chairman of Kunming Tourism Board talks about the growth in special interest tourism in Western China.
• Sportsworld is an official ticketing agent for the Beijing Olympic Games and official China agent for the Wimbledon tennis championships. Paul Lemon, General Manager of Sportsworld Beijing talks about their experiences of operating in this emerging market for sports tourism services.
To learn more visit http://www.future-of-travel.org
Until 12 October, the early bird delegate rate is only £288.00 (USD 568 / EUR 368) for full day event and £148.00 (USD 288 / EUR 188) for half day. Tickets include access to an exclusive online network and all forum presentations. From 12 October and during WTM, the rate is £330.00 (USD 648 /EUR 418) full day and £168.00 half day (USD 328 / EUR 218).

Contact details:

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

download the WTM-ChinaContact press release

Thursday 29 may 2008
19:00-22:00

The Beijing Olympics – hype and reality

A China Insider talk, networking reception and fundraiser

With the recent media attention on China being largely hostile (or viewed as such from China), how do Chinese feel the Games will affect China’s business environment and relations with other countries? In a wider perspective, what benefits, challenges and opportunities do the Olympic Games bring to China? Has the Chinese government learned lessons of other Olympic host cities and will London learn from Beijing?
The evening will provide a diverting program and fantastic networking opportunity which will include:

• Talk and discussion hosted by Roy Graff, Managing Director of ChinaContact on what comes after the Beijing Olympics
• A visual journey through the natural and cultural heritage of Sichuan province from the areas hit by the recent earthquake
• Formal launch of the China Advisers Network
• Networking reception for members of the IOD China Interest Group
• Chinese Dim Sum and open bar

If your organization would like to become a sponsor of this event please contact Roy Graff before 27 May for more details on roy@greateasternstudio.co.uk.

Supported by

IoD City China Interest Group
China Advisers Network
ChinaContact
Orient Business Consulting

50% of profits from this event will be given to charity to help with long-term relief to victims of the earthquake in Western China. Information about the charity’s work will be given during the event. Additional donations are accepted through the registration form or on the night by cash or cheque.
Tickets cost £35.00 per person and additional donations can be made online.

Sponsor
China Business Services

Contact Details
Online registration: http://greateasternstudio-olympics.eventbrite.com/
Registration by email: events@greateasternstudio.co.uk
Telephone inquiries: 020 8180 5790 or 07821 093199
Address: 58 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3QR
www.greateasternstudio.co.uk

PDF invitation

ChinaContact, a leading market entry specialist consultancy for China tourism and hospitality, will be assisting the Ghana Tourist Board and a significant delegation  of tour operators from Ghana to exhibit at the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market in Beijing, April 14-16.

Following on ChinaContact’s previous work on behalf of VisitBritain, UKinbound and Visit London among other clients, this year at COTTM the company is working on behalf of Visit London, several UK-based tour operators and the Ghana delegation.  COTTM is held at China World exhibition centre in East Beijing.
Roy Graff, ChinaContact’s Managing Director, will attend the exhibition on 14 and 15 April. On the 16th of April he will be among the delegates at the International Forum on China’s Outbound Tourism which  is held at the new Sofitel Wanda hotel. ChinaContact is IFCOT’s official European partner and registration agent.

ChinaContact is a full service market entry consultancy serving the travel and hospitality sectors. They offer a variety of services from localisation and event production to full representation in China. For an appointment with Roy during his visit to China, email ChinaContact with your requirements or questions.

Contact: info(at)ccontact.com

Tel: +44 20 32399688

Telephone in China: +86 13511013224

More details can be found on the website: www.chinacontact.co.uk

ChinaContact Recruitment Notice

21 February 2008

Vacancy:

Email: info@ccontact.com
Contact: Roy Graff, ChinaContact
http://www.chinacontact.org