June 10, 2024: China Market Update
Alina Xiang
President & CEO, East West Marketing ◆ Tourism Expert ◆ Trusted Marketing Partner to Travel and Hospitality Clients
Latest News
XI'AN, China, May 22, 2024 -- Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, joined by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China, hosted the 14th U.S.–China Tourism Leadership Summit in Xi'an, China, from May 21-23, 2024. The event brought together government and travel industry leaders from the United States and China to foster the return of Chinese visitors to the United States.
The summit laid the groundwork for enhanced relations between the United States and China within the travel industry, encouraging collaboration among key stakeholders and charting a path forward for the future of tourism between the world's two largest economies. This three-day event, occurring for the first time since 2019, facilitated deeper insights into conducting business within the Chinese tourism market while providing opportunities for forging new connections with influential decision-makers.
Source: PR Newswire
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry & Analysis, Grant T. Harris, participated in the 14th annual United States-China Tourism Leadership Summit in Xi’an, People’s Republic of China. Delivering on Secretary Raimondo’s travel to the People’s Republic of China in 2023, the Summit brought together key leaders from the respective governments and industry. During the event, participants highlighted the importance of working together to strengthen and expand travel and tourism and people-to-people exchanges, which will support increased jobs and economic growth in the United States.
Assistant Secretary Harris is the highest-ranking United States official ever to lead the American delegation to the Summit, underscoring the significance of this occasion, and commemorating the full reopening of travel between the United States and China that occurred in August 2023.
Source: Office of Public Affairs
President Xi Jinping sent a message to the 14th China-US Tourism Leadership Summit held in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province.
Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Xi said the foundation of China-US relations is laid by the people, the door of China-US relations is opened by the people, the stories of China-US relations are written by the people, and the future of China-US relations will be jointly created by the people of the two countries.
Xi said that tourism is an important bridge for exchanges and mutual understanding between the people of China and the United States. "We warmly welcome American tourists to travel to China, meet Chinese friends, experience Chinese culture, visit beautiful landscapes and experience the real China.”
It is hoped that all walks of life in the two countries will take this summit as an opportunity to have in-depth exchanges, build consensus, and take active actions to promote personnel exchanges through tourism cooperation, continue China-US friendship with cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and help the San Francisco vision turn into reality, Xi said.
The summit opened in Xi'an on the same day, with the theme of "Expanding China-US Travel and Tourism and People-to-people Exchanges." It is co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the People's Government of Shaanxi Province, the US Department of Commerce, and Brand USA.
Source: China Daily
Outbound Market & Industry News
Net revenue for the quarter was up by 29%.
From May 27 to May 29, ITB China 2024 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center showcases a remarkable assembly of over 600 exhibitors from over 80 countries and regions, attracting more than 1,000 selected buyers and 240 press members.
This year, the expo has expanded by 60% over the previous year and introduced 13 new destinations along with numerous first-time commercial exhibitors.
Source: TTW
Inbound and Domestic Market
Trip.com convened industry leaders and experts at the Trip.com Group Envision.2024 Global Conference Attractions & Tours Forum. Held in Shanghai on May 30, the event spotlighted evolving traveler preferences in the attractions and tours sector, the power of technology, as well as the expansion of Trip.com Attractions & Tours’ partnerships and offerings.
Themed on "Explore Infinite Journey, Passport to Attractions and Tours", Trip.com Group Envision.2024 Global Conference Attractions & Tours Forum has come to a successful close. In 2023, the Trip.com Group Attractions & Tours business has blossomed with numerous highlights and fruitful achievements, leading the growth trend in the tourism industry. In 2024, the Attractions & Tours business will continue to prosper by joining hands with more partners to “strive for progress” in a broader market.
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Source: Trip.com
The hotels are being supervised to improve their reception services.
Chinese authorities ordered hotels across the country on Friday not to refuse foreign guests, based on the excuse of the hotels' lacking relevant qualifications.
The hotels are being guided and supervised to improve their foreign guest reception services following some complaints from netizens from Nigeria, the UK, Pakistan, and other countries.
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is deploying nationwide public security agencies to further optimize the management services for foreign guest accommodation registration, facilitating the registration process for foreign guests and creating a first-class business environment, the government said.
Source: Global Times
?East/West Insights
Q+A with Echo CHU, UTour Group
Utour is a top wholesaler in the North China area for the American market. With the recovery of the China-US flight route, Utour has grabbed yearly seats from airlines.
Q: With recent positive developments in various aspects, what are your expectations for the outbound travel market to the United States in 2024? What is the expected recovery level/percentage of tourist numbers?
A: Utour‘s American market has already started to bounce back, and it’s happening really fast. For example, all the group flight reservation Utour booked from airlines to the U.S. for this summer are already sold out, with an average group tour price of 46,000 RMB per person.
Q: What is the overall demand of customers for American products at present??
A: Due to flight capacity constraints, our American products are currently focused on the West Coast. At the moment, our West Coast-only packages are selling better than the multi-destination ones.
Q: Apart from conventional products on the East and West Coasts, are there any plans to introduce more in-depth or new emerging destination products in the coming year?
A: Utour's main customers are still middle-aged and older tourists. Even though most come from smaller cities, their spending has gone up since before the pandemic. So, in the future, we'll focus more on small group tours and higher-end products, with an emphasis on personalized and VIP services.
Q: What are the main challenges you are facing in product development and marketing?
A: The main problem is the lack of flight. Right now, airlines only give one set of group tickets per flight, and the rest go to individual travelers. This makes it hard for wholesalers like Utour to sell large group tours, driving up prices and causing many potential customers to postpone their U.S. travel plans.
Q: In the process of product development and operation, what kind of assistance and support do you most need from the destination?
A: Since the pandemic, Chinese travelers have embraced technology and digital platforms more than ever before. This shift has not only heightened their expectations for innovative products and personalized experiences but also emphasized the importance of comprehensive travel information. Detailed and immersive content has become increasingly essential in capturing their attention and inspiring their travel decisions. Therefore, it's crucial for travel providers to effectively convey these enriching experiences to end consumers through engaging storytelling, vibrant visuals, and interactive channels.
Q: During product development and operations, what support do you need from the destination?
A: We'd like to know about popular local resources and current trendy spots. Popular locations on Instagram or other social media platforms would be useful for us to promote, as we can simultaneously create content around those spots.
Notable Key Aspects
Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s message to the 14th China-U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit fully demonstrated the importance he attaches to China-U.S. relations, conveyed his expectation to deepen China-U.S. tourism cooperation, and expounded on the significance of tourism cooperation in promoting stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, charting the course for the two countries to strengthen tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
Xi has repeatedly emphasized the significance of strengthening non-governmental friendship and people-to-people exchanges in developing bilateral relations between China and the United States. He has interacted with people from all walks of life in the U.S. for multiple times, aiming to foster a new chapter in non-governmental friendship between the two peoples.
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