ITB China News 2018 - Review Edition

TRADE TALK
9
THE BELT AND
ROAD INITIATIVE
ENCOMPASSES A
COMPREHENSIVE
NETWORK OF
INFRASTRUCTURE
GRIDS AND ECONOMIC
TIES CONNECTING
CHINA TO ASIA,
EUROPE, AFRICA AND
THE WIDER WORLD.
Travel Globalisation
behind the B&R project
the Belt and Road Initiative, which
will not only rejuvenate ancient
trade routes, but also further
open up markets and accelerate
economic integration on a
transparent, equal and innovative
playing ground. It is a signal that
China is on the way to become an
important economic entity in the
world.
You are responsible for setting the
strategic direction of CITS GBT
and overseeing the execution
of this strategy. What does your
strategic roadmap look like for the
coming years?
Our focus at CITS American
Express Business Travel has
always been to help our customers
to drive improvements in their
travel programs, and to advance
the business travel sector overall
in China, through technology,
local expertise and global best
practice. We are very proud of the
contributions we have made thus
far to advancing corporate travel
in China and look forward to
shaping the concept of intelligent
business travel in this rapidly
changing environment.
We have a well-established
foundation with the help of the
two mother companies and
have built a strong reputation
in China since 2002. Through
this strong partnership, we are
well positioned to understand
local needs, leverage our global
network and provide the most
appropriate services accordingly.
We are noticing that Chinese
companies – both state owned and
privately owned - are revisiting and
refining their policies regarding
business travel to modernize
and streamline the underlying
processes (procurement, RFP,
vendor selection, etc.). The
objective of this isto increase
transparency, improve efficiency,
and strengthen collaboration and
integration with their vendors.
This is a symbol that the Chinese
economy is upgrading and, in this
process, China will consolidate its
position as the world’s number one
business travel market for years to
come. CITS GBT is determined to
facilitate this process with all our
experience, insight and resources.
Back to the basics, we believe in
aligning our customers’ company
objectives with the business
travel solution we can design
and offer. We work with each
individual customer and develop
bespoke, practical, scalable and
smart solutions based on their
unique company situations
and objectives, whether that be
focused on cost-containment, data
and insight, traveller servicing and
preferences, or a combination of
all these elements.
CITS GBT’s goal is to create a
seamless customer experience
across offline, online and mobile
channels. At the centre of this kind
of experience is the respect and
care for the travellers– for whom
we are constantly redesigning
products and services. For
example, we launched the first
AI robot in the business travel
industry in China, aiming to
improve user experience, support
companies to increase travel
policy compliance rate.
How important will the Belt and
Road initiative become in coming
years and who stands to benefit the
most from it?
The Belt and Road Initiative
represents a cooperation model. The
B&R Initiative will further open up
markets and accelerate economic
integration on a transparent, equal
and innovative ground. It will
contribute driving economic growth
and efficiency, social welfare and
customer satisfaction in all the
members involved.
The Belt and Road Initiative
is amongst the most aspiring
geo-economic vision in world
history. China is outreaching to
the world in a massive scale, by
strengthening hard infrastructure
with new roads, railways and
ports, soft infrastructure with
trade agreements, and cultural ties
with scholarships and personnel
exchange programs.
To my understanding, it is great
proposition with a theme of
“connect, create and collaborate”. It
is not only for the benefit of China,
but also a response to the needs
for investment and development
of the members enrolled. That’s
why the Initiative quickly spans
some 70 countries and regions and
covers more than two-thirds of the
world’s population in only 5 years.
It is certainly a blessing to China as
well as the world. With our global
footprint, leading technologies
and solutions, a comprehensive
portfolio and strong foundation in
China, CITS GBT is well-positioned
to cooperate with our clients and
partners adapt to Belt and Road
regions in innumerable business
fields and contribute to making the
BRI a success for all involved.
What are your thoughts about ITB
China, now in its second year?
What makes this show different?
ITB China is a unique B2B travel
event focused on the Chinese Travel
Market. In this event we have the
chance to share our experience and
the most extensive business travel
insights in China with experts and
customers. ITB also provides the
best quality conference program,
outstanding exhibitors, various
networking events and a unique
state of the art matchmaking
system, in order to help industry
players network and catch up the
trends of the industry
ITB CHINA NEWS • Monday 28 th May 2018