EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Conor Yang Chief Financial Officer, Tuniu Corporation EVOLUTION IN CHINESE OUTBOUND TOURISM Exclusive interview with the CFO of Tuniu – instrumental in package tour growth Founded in 2006, today, Tuniu has become the number one player in China’s online leisure travel market. In this exclusive interview, we first asked Conor Yang, Chief Financial Officer of Tuniu Corporation, how the Chinese outbound tourism is evolving… The Chinese outbound market has grown rapidly in the recent years. We expect the market to maintain its fast growth in the near future mainly due to a few reasons. First, the consumption power here in China as measured on a GDP per capita basis has reached a critical point. Chinese people now have enough disposable income to spend on new experiences such as travelling abroad. Secondly, the application process for a visa to a foreign country is becoming easier for Chinese citizens. This allows more Chinese people to have the ability to visit new countries where previous restrictions limited them. When you combine these two factors, we can expect the growth momentum of Chinese outbound tourism to remain very strong. How is luxury travel developing for Chinese tourists? Although luxury travel remains in a developmental phase here in China, it is growing at an accelerating pace. This is due to the fact that China has one of the largest populations of high-net-worth individuals in the world and one of the most favourable environments for luxury travel. If you couple the Chinese demographic with the increasing crave for a luxury experience, you’ll get a very fast growing market for luxury travel in China. How could you best describe Tuniu’s mid-term roadmap? Given our established position in packaged tours, we will put increased emphasis in self-guided tours. To do ALTHOUGH LUXURY TRAVEL REMAINS IN A DEVELOPMENTAL PHASE HERE IN CHINA, IT IS GROWING AT AN ACCELERATING PACE that, we will strengthen our offerings in air ticketing and hotel booking while also expanding our coverage of destination-based products. We are confident that we can leverage our experience in packaged tour and understanding of Chinese travellers to rapidly strengthen our presence in self-guided tours, and to continue increasing our market share in China’s attractive online leisure travel market.
EVENTS Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #31 2016 Autumn Edition 9 2017 – A CHANGE TO THE FACE OF TOURISM Planning for the “Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development” well under way The UNWTO is hard at work in the planning phases of next year’s “big” theme – towards more sustainable tourism development. The International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development was announced at the United Nations 70 th General Assembly in September 2015. United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon underlined the importance of the announcement, stating, “With more than one billion international tourists now travelling the world each year, tourism has become a powerful and transformative force that is making a genuine difference in the lives of millions of people. The potential of tourism for sustainable development is considerable. As one of the world’s leading employment sectors, tourism provides important livelihood opportunities, helping to alleviate poverty and drive inclusive development.” The International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the contribution of sustainable tourism to development among public and private sector decision-makers and the public, while mobilizing all stakeholders to work together in making tourism a catalyst for positive change. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations Specialized Agency for Tourism, has been mandated to facilitate the organization and implementation of the International Year, in collaboration with Governments, relevant organizations of the United Nations system, international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders. In the context of the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the International Year aims to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behaviour towards a more sustainable tourism sector than can contribute to the SDGs. The #IYSTD2017 will promote tourism’s role in the following five key areas: Inclusive and sustainable economic growth Social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction Resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change Cultural values, diversity and heritage Mutual understanding, peace and security. According to UNWTO Secretary- General Taleb Rifai, “To advance on the Sustainable Development Goals is highly related to engagement and commitment. We believe that these type of events help to create awareness but also to advocate tourism for development as a policy strategy for countries.” Ban Ki-moon United Nations Secretary-General © World Economic Forum
