Spain, Argentina, Chile and Portugal represented by new members.
China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), the leading independent research institute for Chinese Outbound Tourism, continues to build up a ground-breaking model: the COTRI Country Partners (CCPs) network. This has grown up to 18 companies and organizations covering over 35 countries around the world, combining the experience and research abilities of COTRI’s offices in Europe and China with the Country Partners’ local knowledge and networks for the provision of customized services.
China became in 2013 the most important international tourism source market and Chinese travelers increasing levels of segmentation and sophistication have triggered numerous effects on the global tourism industry. The latest has been rapidly moving forward to take this big opportunity. In this context, joint models –such as the CCP network- combining efforts and knowledge from researchers, retailers, consulting companies and tour operators among others are proving to be effective solutions to cater to “the new” Chinese tourists’ demands.
In 2014 three new companies have joined the COTRI Country Partner’s network: Insetur, Innova TaxFree and Edeluc representing Spain, Argentina & Chile and Portugal respectively and showcasing the increasing interest from different “Iberian” countries but with a common focus on the Chinese Outbound Market.
Insetur is a research center specializing in tourism at the University of Girona (Spain), dedicated to fundamental and applied research in tourism. Insetur examines tourism from a trans-disciplinary perspective. The Institute of Tourism Studies’ mission is to improve the knowledge and to facilitate the transfer of Catalan tourism sector, but also to become a key member of a network of international tourism knowledge. Several members have strong links with the No.1 source market China.
Innova Taxfree Group is a financial, tourism and communication services company specialized in the Value Added Tax (VAT) refund to foreign tourists and in services for shops and commercial establishments. With an international focus in the activity of “Taxfree Shopping”, it has considerable experience in working with Chinese customers.
Edeluc as a Business Consultancy focuses on facilitating and establishing new businesses between Europe and China, assisting European investments in China and Chinese investments in Europe. Edeluc offers extensive know-how and experience of the Chinese market, delivering innovative and personalized solutions that ensure correct, safe and economically viable business solutions to take advantage of China’s numerous opportunities. Edeluc is incorporated in Portugal and China.
COTRI is very glad to welcome these three new Country Partners to its network which is already present on all continents, from Australia to USA, from Thailand to Kenya, from Mauritius to Peru, as well as in most European countries. The new partners will bring further practical support in their respective regions and offer a grassroots level perspective to the overall analysis in order to provide the tourism industry with the most appropriate tools to reach the Chinese market in an effective and sustainable way.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
