A MEETING OF PLACES
A recent international travel fair in China shows how the country and the world are visiting each other, Xu Lin reports.
The China International Travel Mart 2018 kicked off in Shanghai on Friday, with such exhibitors as tourism bureaus, scenic areas and travel agencies from 107 countries and regions.
The three-day event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Civil Aviation Administration and Shanghai’s municipal government.
It has evolved into one of the largest trade fairs in the AsiaPacific and a globally important tourism industry platform since its founding 20 years ago.
Nearly 70 percent of this year’s 2,245 booths were domestic.
This year’s theme was the integration of culture and tourism.
Booths from China included red tourism, wellness tourism and specialties from different destinations.
“More Chinese are seeking in-depth outbound travel, and they like to travel on their own,” says Zhang Huan, who founded Beijing-based Voglia d’Italia Tour in 1998 to offer travel services in Italy.
“It’s essential to combine one’s travel in Italy with the local culture to enhance experiences. Italy is an ancient country but quite fashionable. It boasts the largest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites — 54 — and many luxury brands. That’s why Chinese tourists love the country so much.”
She says the travel agency recently unveiled a one-day tour that allows Chinese tourists to take a bus to visit small towns scattered among cities like Rome and Florence. Italians who speak fluent Chinese tell them about local life and culture in detail.
“Chinese previously preferred group tours,” she says.
“But such flexible products are increasingly popular as more independent travelers delve into local culture.”
Samoa Tourism Authority sales and marketing manager Leituala Joe Chan Ting believes the fair is important to the Polynesian island that’s visa-free for Chinese.
“It’s important to improve our air connectivity. So we’re
More Chinese are seeking in-depth outbound travel, and they like to travel on their own.”
Zhang Huan, travel agency founder in Beijing
trying to have more codeshare airlines and charted flights for Chinese customers,” he says.
“Chinese like our picturesque beaches and colorful activities, such as fishing and hiking.”
Samoa receives around
3,000 or 4,000 Chinese visitors a year. They often visit neighboring Fiji as part of their trips.
Shanghai, Beijing and Shaanxi jointly hosted an inbound-tourism event at the fair.
Traditional performances from Guizhou were also staged. The province is known for its magnificent Huangguoshu Waterfall and ethnic culture.
About 1.27 million overseas travelers visited Guizhou last year, a 15 percent increase over 2016.
The provincial capital, Guiyang, recently announced that it will award a 500,000 yuan ($72,080) bonus to such tourism operators as travel agencies and scenic areas that receive over 50,001 overnight stays by inbound travelers.
Inbound-tourism visits increased by 0.8 percent yearon-year to 139 million in 2017, the China Tourism Academy reports. The top markets included Myanmar, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
“Overseas visitors’ demands are diversifying. Young visitors pay attention not only to our ancient history and culture but also our development and modernization,” says Liu Huiyuan, deputy general manager of inbound travel of China International Travel Service’s head office.
“They seek novelty in travel, such as interactive tour products that allow them to experience the Chinese lifestyle. They enjoy customized travel with personalized itineraries. There’s a shortage of such products in the Chinese market.”
He believes it’s important to have various products such as leisure, wellness, ecology, cruise and island experiences.
The CITS has been conducting research about inbound visitors over the past three years to adapt to market segmentation and develop tours that cater to different groups, he says.
They found, for example, that Shandong province is popular with Koreans, and consequently worked with local tourism bureaus and scenic areas on promotion.
China’s most popular inbound destinations are Beijing, eastern China, Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, the Three Gorges, Chengdu and Chongqing, Liu says.
The most iconic Chinese elements for inbound visitors are the Great Wall, giant pandas and the Forbidden City.