Experts at the WTE China in Haikou Discuss the Future of China’s Inbound Tourism Market

Haikou, Hainan (China) – October 27, 2019 (travelindex.com) – During the General Session of the World Tourism Exchange China (Haikou) 2019, many industry experts were invited to solve the actual needs of buyers and sellers. Feel the pulse of the new trends in China’s tourism industry to understand the policies and industry trends; talk directly with industry leaders and share with outstanding peers to look forward to the future of China’s inbound tourism market. Fu Caixiang, Vice Governor of Haikou Provincial People’s Government, Sun Ying, Director of Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, Long Weidong, Deputy Mayor of Haikou Municipal People’s Government and other leaders attended the session and made speeches.

The general session was held in the multi-function hall of the Hainan International Convention & Exhibition Center. More than 130 travel agencies, travel agents and tour operators from the United States and Europe conducted in-depth communication and exchanges with more than 230 enterprises related to China destination and tourism. They also witnessed the opening of the World Tourism Exchange China (Haikou) 2019. WTE China launched a new business model for the growth of China’s inbound tourism, and also initiated the product and marketing cooperation between China and the international market, as well as new cooperation between different destinations in China for marketing, with much greater efforts and product selling points than ever before.

In the keynote speech of WTE China, several distinguished guests delivered speeches and analyzed the hot spots and trends of inbound tourism. Dr Mario Hardy, CEO of PATA, turned his attention to the role transition of travel agents and wholesale channels. The American senior travel expert Paul Cohen focused on how Chinese Tourism Organizations are reinventing themselves to meet the diverse needs of the international traveler. The speech of Paul Cohen was right on time, which not only directed the development of inbound tourism, but also provided a new perspective and an important opportunity for the development of inbound tourism products.

Ms. Isabella Hou, Chairperson of the WTE China Committee, China Chapter President of American Society of Travel Advisors, and CEO of Beyond Summits Ltd, gave emphasis to sharing the precise marketing of destinations and new business model to drive the performance of inbound tourism: How do the collaboration between China destination and international buyers in the fields of marketing and sales bring more international visitors to China? The construction of tourist destinations has gone beyond pursuing beautiful scenery and started moving towards experiencing a better life. Therefore, the most attractive tourism product of China is to experience local people’s life.

Professor Jia Yunfeng, an expert from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), shared the core password of China’s tourism products — The colorful life of the Chinese people! With the improvement of material life, people will pay more attention to the quality of life and physical and mental health. In this situation, health preservation and leisure will become a hot spot and trend. The well-known award-winning travel journalist and author, Mr. Bruce Northam, shared his personal travel experience and unveiled a new tourism product for the guests – tapping the potential of ancient Chinese way to wellness.

China is so beautiful and colorful; the tourism resources and scenes of six destinations of Haikou, Guiyang, Zhangjiajie, Changsha, Chengdu and Shanghai were shown to the guests via videos. Building a beautiful China has become the goal that the Chinese people yearn for. In the future, the sky in China will be bluer, the mountains greener, the water cleaner and the environment better.

At the General Session, Beyond Summits Ltd, the exclusive agent of ASTA in China, invited Sven Meyer, Managing Director of ONE BILLION VOICES and Dr. Zhou Zongqing, Professor of Niagara University and President of the International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE) to release reports on the US and European outbound travel to the world. The United States and Europe are the main origin markets for China’s inbound tourism. Through the perception tourists in the United States and Europe, the tourism resources of China, especially China’s long history, rich and colorful culture, economic development achievements and people’s lifestyle, etc. greatly appeal to the outbound tourism markets in the United States and Europe.

At the end of the General Session, eight international guests respectively signed cooperation framework agreements with 16 local travel enterprises in Haikou. The agreement signing reveals strong cooperation willing of buyers and sellers to attracting more foreign tourists to Haikou and enjoy their experiences in Haikou… It is believed that a win-win situation will be achieved through the harmonious combination of beautiful scenery and good networking.

In response to the current situation of tourism market in China, World Tourism Exchange China (Haikou) 2019 (WTE China) combines the policies of “bringing in” with “going out” to invite international buyers (mainly in the US and Europe) and domestic sellers. It involves a variety of trade promotion exchange activities such as tourism forums (conferences), tour product transactions, and FAM trips focusing on the customization, incubation and marketing of inbound tourism products of China, aiming to create a platform for the exploration of all-round innovative tourism industry development of “summit forum + product trading + event marketing” and tour product incubation. Among all the global tourism industry conferences implemented in China, WTE China aims to become one of the most influential and effective inbound tourism conferences.