The upcoming 2016 TravelDaily Conference is set to host an intriguing session, The Future of China's Outbound Travel amid Economic Slowdown and will be attended by over 1200 executives from across the globe, and is scheduled to take place on August 31 – September 1, 2016 in Shanghai.
The growth potential of China’s outbound tourism might be under scrutiny. But the fact that travel has evolved from a luxury for few to an essential buy for the general public, there is every reason to be bullish.
Foreign brands have diligently pursued ways to step up their stake in China’s outbound travel pie over the years. However, China’s economic slowdown is posing a challenge at this juncture, even as global suppliers and intermediaries promise to sustain their expansion plans in this market.
It must be underlined that the sentiments aren’t bearish yet. A couple of months ago Li Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, stated that the consumption pattern of Chinese urban and rural people has advanced rather rapidly, and travel has evolved from a luxury for few to an essential buy for the general public. Keqiang, who shared that 120 million Chinese people travelled abroad in 2015, also mentioned that tourism is a new force in fostering a new development engine and it is also a broad stage for mass entrepreneurship and innovation. In fact, home-grown organizations are growing bigger, embarking on initiatives to become global entities.
Even foreign brands are hopeful of registering strong growth here. For instance, till last year Priceline had 10 offices across the country, with over 500 employees in China including a new customer service facility investment for Booking.com in Shanghai with a team of 400 agents. “We don’t have an estimated number to share at current stage but we believe that our business in China market will grow fast this year,” Oliver Hua, Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Booking.com told TravelDaily China.
No doubt the current environment is far from being ideal, and international brands need to scrutinize the ever-changing shopping needs of Chinese travelers.
The upcoming 2016 TravelDaily Conference is set to host an intriguing session, The Future of China’s Outbound Travel amid Economic Slowdown, featuring senior executives from TripAdvisor, Amadeus, Accor, Booking.com, Emirates, etc. It will be moderated by Gene Quinn, CEO & Co-founder, Tnooz.
The two-day conference will be attended by over 1200 executives from across the globe, and is scheduled to take place on August 31 – September 1, 2016 in Shanghai.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
