The future of GBTA education in China

In July of 2014, the GBTA Foundation announced the “Gift of Knowledge” initiative in China to bring industry-leading education to this rapidly growing market. As the world’s largest business travel market, there was a clear need for innovative, comprehensive education for business travel professionals in China. Through a collaborative partnership with a leading Chinese educational institution and visionary leadership from our Gift of Knowledge sponsors, the Foundation worked to deliver on its mission.

  

In the past twelve months, GBTA Foundation have conducted nine workshops with an average of 55 attendees per session in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Chengdu. It has been a highly successful program and one that they were committed to continue. However, forces outside of their control are causing them to put an immediate hold on the future business activities, including the “Gift of Knowledge” initiative in China.

 

In April, the Chinese government announced it had passed new regulations slated to take effect on January 1, 2017, causing uncertainty for many foreign non-profit organizations operating in the region. They are currently awaiting further guidance on how to meet these requirements along with other organizations who will be impacted.

 

There is no grace period allowed for meeting the new requirements, which include needing to rent local office space, receiving pre-approval for business activities and formally partnering with a Chinese organization.

 

Until the new operating requirements are fully understood, they are unable to make commitments for their future education programs in China. They hope to be able to continue in the future, but until they receive further guidance on how to operate within the new regulations, they will delay further efforts. 

 

They look forward to the Chinese government providing guidance concerning these new regulations as soon as possible, so that they can resume operations in China. They will keep working toward this effort in hopes that they will find a resolution and can continue producing quality education programming to continue to elevate the business travel profession in China.