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Chinese tourism, both inbound and outbound, has been growing steadily for over 10 years and has overcome many challenges. This year has been particularly hard for the travel trade even before the credit-crunch. In each of the last two years, WTM and ChinaContact had been bringing together the best experts to World Travel Market, to share case studies and practical advise on engaging with the Chinese tourism sector. The event is called ‘China – the Future of Travel’ and it is the only travel industry event outside China that has the credentials to educate the sector about China.
This year the focus of the forum will be on developing China’s capacity for diverse and new travel destinations and themes as more destinations in China’s vast space become accessible thanks to improved travel infrastructure and rising service standards. After the impressive way in which China hosted the 2008 Olympic Games, research has shown that over 51% of people who viewed the Games on television would like to visit the country. Not only does China have traditional and historical destinations virtually unknown to Western tourists, but it has added new ‘must see’ sights including the acclaimed Olympic venues of the Bird’s Nest stadium and the Water Cube.
At World Travel Market, China will be represented with a national pavillion showcasing its familiar tourist attractions. In addition, on 12 November representatives of China’s tourism boards will join with experts on China travel to discuss future of sustainable tourism in China. They will signal the opening of new destinations and itineraries in Western China including the re-opening of tourism in Sichuan province and Tibet. Communities in Western China rely heavily on tourism for their livelyhood, and Western visitors who visit with reputable tour operators contribute to the development of local facilities such as schools and clinics.
The forum’s afternoon sessions will be dedicated to the development of niche tourism products such as sports, adventure, culture, music, cuisine etc. Delegates will hear presentation and panel discussions by tourism officials from Beijing Tourism Board, Shanghai Tourism Board, Guilin Tourism Board and other senior officials.
Director of Sportsworld, the official ticketing agent for the Beijing Olympic Games, will be assessing the impact and contribution of the Olympic Games to China’s inbound tourism economy. China’s growing confidence in holding large scale events and attracting further international meetings, incentives, conferences and events business will be discussed.
China has a wealth of tourist resources beyond the usual. The forum will ask how China can accommodate 100 million tourists by 2020 without ovewhelming its traditional tourist attractions and harming the environment and culture that it relies on. Albert Ng, CEO of Wild China will give case studies of their work in China to develop tourism in rural areas which provides a memorable and confortable experience to tourists and benefits local communities.
The WTM-ChinaContact forum has already become a leader in setting out strategies and recommendations for tourism boards and travel companies wanting to engage China. In addition to discussing tourism development to China, the morning sessions are focused on the growing demand by Chinese travellers for exciting and unusual experiences abroad. As competition for these high-spending tourists grows, ChinaContact in partnership with the China Outbond Tourism Research Institute will launch a quality labelling program awarding excellence in hosting Chinese tourists. To read more about the forum and the quality label program for China Outbound Tourism, visit the website or call the organisers.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
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