China Steps Up Efforts To Lure More Travelers
March 30, 2011
China has teamed up with the World Travel and Tourism Council and more than a dozen private-sector tourism giants to form the China Destination Marketing Council. The new group, which should be formally announced next week, will promote tourism in China, partly by removing obstacles that deter travelers. ``There's enormous potential for tourism in China, but we need to find ways to harness that energy to make it happen,'' said WTTC President Georgeann Kean, whose London-based industry group proposed the council two years ago. The first preliminary meeting was held earlier this week in Sanya on China's Hainan Island. Chinese authorities report that the number of international visitors rose nearly 14% last year to 5.9 million people, excluding a relatively small number of arrivals from Taiwan. That's far below the level of Singapore and Hong Kong, which wooed about 7.1 million visitors and 10.2 million foreign visitors last year. Regional tourism operators point to a number of factors -- including limited air access, poor infrastructure, visa hassles and difficulties in changing tickets or getting cash -- that keep travelers away from China. ``One thing this council will certainly do is identify some barriers and help to lift them,'' said Ike Wong, a senior vice president at American Express International, a member of the new council. The council also offers participants a rare chance to sit down with senior mainland officials. The initial meeting included representatives of the China National Tourism Administration, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China International Travel Service. The founders plan to appoint a full-time council coordinator in Beijing, bring in more members and meet again by early next year. Chinese and foreign participants at the first meeting of the China Destination Marketing Council, other than those mentioned above, were: American Express Co.; Avis Inc.; BAA Pacific Ltd.; Boeing Co.; Carey International; Cathay Pacific Airways; China Travel Service; China Youth Travel Service; Dain Simpson & Associates; Four Seasons-Regent Hotels & Resorts; Hainan Provincial Tourism Bureau; Hertz Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.; and Holiday Inn Worldwide. Also: Hong Kong Tourist Association; Inter-Continental Hotels; ITT Sheraton (Beijing); KLM Royal Dutch Airlines; Marriott Corp.; Pacific Asia Travel Association; Sanya, Hainan Province (Mayor's Office); Shanghai Jin Jiang Hotel Group; Singapore Airlines; South China Hotel; Thomas Cook Group; and the WTTC.
