The signing of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and China will bring Chinese leisure travelers to the United States and permit U.S. destinations to market themselves in China according to estimations in United States….
The signing of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and China will bring Chinese leisure travelers to the United States and permit U.S. destinations to market themselves in China according to estimations in United States.
As part of the agreement, U.S. companies can now do business with Chinese travel companies to organize and market travel packages for group leisure travel to the United States. The National Tour Association has submitted a proposal to the Department of Commerce that would create a program to ensure that U.S. tour operators provide quality experiences for Chinese group visitors.
“NTA is well positioned to assist U.S. travel companies in arranging Chinese leisure group travel and is ready to work with industry professionals in both countries,” said NTA Chairman and CEO Bob Hoelscher, CTP. “NTA’s Immediate Past Chair Randy Julian and Director of Government and Industry Relations Matt Grayson began working with Commerce last year. This is certainly an exciting time for the travel industry and potentially for NTA members interested in marketing to the inbound Chinese traveler.”
Previously, Chinese regulations prevented companies from organizing and marketing packaged tours for leisure purposes to countries that did not have Approved Destination Status agreements.
“According to the UN World Tourism Organization, China is the fastest growing travel market in the world. This agreement will enable the United States to be competitive in the global marketplace and welcome new visitors to our great country,” said NTA President Lisa Simon, CTP.
The Department of Commerce predicts 579,000 Chinese travelers will come to the United States by 2011.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
