PREFACE 新 闻 Richard
PREFACE 新 闻 Richard Barnes Chief analyst Staying on the ball in a fast-evolving market With China increasingly becoming the driving force for the growth of the global travel industry, ITB China has today established itself as the mustattend event for anyone looking to build a strong presence in China. The show covers the entire bandwidth of the Chinese travel industry, notably leisure, corporate, MICE and Travel Technology on a national level. At ITB China in Shanghai, the organisers, Messe Berlin Shanghai, have brought together more than 850 top and hand selected buyers from Greater China with industry professional from all over the world. Running parallel, the ITB China Conference enables unprecedented knowledge transfer throughout the show. Numerous networking events are provided, as well as a unique state of the art matchmaking system in order to enhance networking and to maximise business opportunities at the show. As such, ITB China is and remains a truly matchless event in China. As outlined recently by ITB China’s general manager, David Axiotis (see also his interview in the following pages), in addition to the overall market ITB CHINA NEWS is a CLEVERDIS Publication. 65 av. Jules Cantini - Tour Méditerranée, 13006 Marseille, France • Tel: + 33 442 77 46 00 • SARL capitalised at €155,750 • VAT FR 95413604471 • RCS Marseille 413 604 471 • info@cleverdis.com • www.cleverdis.com. • info@itb-china-news.com • www.itb-china-news.com perspective, it is important to consider the behavioural developments of the different types of Chinese travellers today. Whereas first-time travellers from rising source-regions will tend to follow the pattern of guided group travels and thus enjoy an organised framework that they can hold on to while being inexperienced, things are changing fast when it comes to repeat travellers. For them, it is more about diving deeper into regions, cultures or specific topics and experiencing more of the local lifestyle or focus on themes such as adventure and culture when traveling abroad. There is a much stronger focus on the quest for unique and personal experiences. That is a fact, explains Axiotis, to which the industry players, both Chinese and international, will have to adapt their marketing approaches, supply-chains and generally offerings. Assisting them with these exchanges is also the main reason ITB China is introducing customised and themed travel as their overarching trend topic for the show this year. Welcome to day one of ITB China… THE show that will put you in touch with the most important market trends. • Publisher: Gérard Lefebvre • Managing Director: Jean-François Pieri • Publishing Director: Jean-Guy Bienfait • Project Manager: Wenchao Wang • Chief Analyst: Richard Barnes • Analysts: Jack Wang, Jingnan Zhao • Head of Editorial Team: John Falchetto • Editorial coordination: Kira Behr • Marketing Manager: Nathalie Meissner • Art Director: Hélène Beunat • Design & Page Setting: Guillaume Kaercher • With the participation of: Bettina Badon, Benjamin Klene, Siyu Geng, Jasdeep Singh >To contact them : first name.last name@itb-china-news.com • Printing: Shanghai HongMo YingXiaoCeHua, Shanghai, China • Cover: © ENIT Registration of Copyright May 2019 Information presented in this publication is purely indicative in order to illustrate subjects contained therein. No guarantee can be given as to the accuracy of data or content at time of printing and thus the latter should not be used for professional or commercial ends. While all efforts have been made as to accuracy and pertinence of content and data contained in this publication, CLEVERDIS may in no case be held responsible for the consequences, whatever their nature may be, that may result from the interpretation of this data or content, or any eventual errors therein. Any reproduction of the content of this publication, even partial, by any means whatsoever, is strictly prohibited without the prior autorisation of the publisher. Any copy, whether by photography, photography film, magnetic tape, disc or other means constitutes a forgery, liable to punishment under French law according to the legislation of 11 th March 1957 covering copyright. All brands cited in this publication are registered trade marks and/or belong to companies which are their respective proprietors. The publishers and editorial staff decline all responsibility as to opinions formulated in this publication by those interviewed or cited therein. Their opinions are entirely their own, and are included with the understanding that they contain, to our knowledge, no malicious intent. The inclusion of all texts, photographs and other documents supplied by those included in this publication imply the acceptance by their authors of their free publication therein. Documents and photographs will not be returned. It should be understood that this publication contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include assumptions relating to the timing of the recorded date. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialises or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the expectations outlined in these statements. Cleverdis assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements during the period of publication. Photo Credits and Copyright: All Rights Reserved. ITB 母 公 司 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 正 式 加 入 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 ITB China 是 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 在 中 国 运 营 的 专 注 于 中 国 旅 游 市 场 的 国 际 旅 游 交 易 会 , 第 三 届 ITB China 于 2019 年 5 月 15 日 -17 日 在 上 海 世 博 展 览 馆 举 行 。 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 正 式 成 为 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 的 成 员 。 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 秘 书 长 刘 士 军 在 ITB Berlin 2019 展 会 期 间 会 见 了 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 管 理 层 , 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 与 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 的 合 作 伙 伴 关 系 有 助 于 加 强 中 国 与 其 他 国 家 在 旅 游 行 业 上 的 交 流 。 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 的 支 持 也 将 有 效 推 动 中 国 旅 游 业 的 可 持 续 增 长 。 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 高 级 副 总 裁 Martin Buck 博 士 表 示 ,“ 当 今 国 际 社 会 呈 现 多 层 次 的 复 杂 性 , 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 是 促 进 全 球 旅 游 业 合 作 与 发 展 的 统 一 平 台 。 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 所 倡 导 的 在 各 层 面 包 容 与 合 作 交 流 的 理 念 得 到 了 全 球 众 多 业 界 领 袖 、 组 织 机 构 、 目 的 地 认 可 。 作 为 全 球 领 先 的 旅 游 行 业 展 会 , 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 与 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 有 着 同 样 的 愿 景 。 ” 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 秘 书 长 刘 士 军 参 与 了 ITB Berlin 的 多 个 环 节 活 动 , 并 与 ITB China 总 经 理 David Axiotis 和 Martin Buck 博 士 会 面 , 讨 论 了 未 来 更 多 合 作 的 倡 议 和 项 目 。 刘 士 军 表 示 ,“ 我 们 非 常 荣 幸 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 加 入 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 , 相 信 凭 借 其 专 业 经 验 我 们 可 以 使 旅 游 业 更 具 竞 争 力 和 责 任 感 , 造 福 所 有 人 。” 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 于 2017 年 9 月 12 日 在 中 国 成 立 , 是 全 球 首 个 非 政 府 、 非 营 利 性 旅 游 组 织 。 以 “ 旅 游 让 世 界 和 生 活 更 美 好 ” 为 宗 旨 , 以 “ 旅 游 促 进 和 平 、 旅 游 促 进 发 展 、 旅 游 促 进 减 贫 ” 为 使 命 , 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 致 力 于 与 全 球 旅 游 行 业 合 作 , 推 动 全 球 旅 游 各 层 次 交 流 与 合 作 。 截 至 2019 年 3 月 , 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 共 有 182 名 会 员 , 来 自 五 大 洲 38 个 国 家 和 地 区 , 其 成 员 涵 盖 国 家 级 旅 游 协 会 、 富 有 影 响 力 的 旅 游 企 业 、 学 术 机 构 及 其 他 机 构 。 作 为 全 球 排 名 前 十 之 内 的 行 业 博 览 会 及 会 议 组 织 方 , 柏 林 国 际 展 览 公 司 (Messe Berlin) 目 前 已 正 式 成 为 了 世 界 旅 游 联 盟 的 成 员 。 ITB CHINA NEWS NEWS • Wednesday 15 th May 2019 www.itb-china-news.com
NEWS 5 ITB CHINA HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF WITHIN ONLY THREE EDITIONS AS THE LARGEST B2B-EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL TRADE SHOW IN CHINA David Axiotis Director and General Manager, ITB China True to concept ITB China more than ever “connects people” David Axiotis, General Manager ITB China says he is “extremely happy” with how ITB China is progressing from year to year. We asked him how demand has been this year. Exhibitor demand for our third edition has been undiminished. The rising demand for exhibition space by European destinations reflects the trend of Europe remaining the number one longhaul destination for Chinese tourists. Being the largest regional pavilion exhibitor, the presence of the European Travel Commission (ETC) underlines this fact. Our European highlight this year is our partner destination Italy, debuting with the largest national presence at ITB China 2019. In general, we expect an attendee figure of far more than 15,000, approximately 800 exhibitors from 84 countries and around 850 buyers which clearly shows the industry acceptance of the show concept. Staying true to ITB China’s concept, we are dedicating ourselves even more to connecting people. We have put a lot of efforts into increasing our networking event schedule. We are continuing the series of our established and very well accepted Networking Events, such as the Grand Opening Gala Dinner one day prior to the show attracting more than 600 guests, the It’s my World Travel Award Lunch in partnership with Qyer.com gathering bloggers and KOLs from all over China or the ITB China Cruise Night powered by Ctrip. In addition, we are launching a whole series of topic-based networking lunches during the trade show, providing dedicated exchange platforms covering topics such as customised travel, travel technology as well as MICE and corporate travel. What are the “KPI’s”? ITB China is specifically designed as a pure B2B show focusing solely on business without any B2C involvement. And as such, ITB China has established itself within only three editions as the largest B2B-exclusive travel trade show in China. Our mission thus is to be the nationwide platform connecting the Chinese with the international travel industry while covering the whole bandwidth of the sector. As such we focus upon the major segments that are driving the business today in China and provide an overall market platform thus connecting players from the leisure, corporate, mice and digital travel scene at our show. Furthermore, we put a strong focus on content, because we strongly believe that knowledge and the permanent identification of trends is the key to sustainable success for all market participants. ITB China Conference is a leader when it comes to innovation and information about current happenings in the Chinese marketplace. Experts set forth their visions for the travel industry’s future during the conference, illustrate current examples of best practices and discuss the challenges now facing us. Over the last 53 years we have built up ITB as a strong and truly global brand. Our aim is to further expand and secure ITBs market position in the Chinese travel market. What are the main elements that will be new at this year’s show? This year, we bring a range of highvaluable innovations: In cooperation with Kairos Future and exclusively based on insights and data from our Chinese buyers’ community we determine Chinese travel trends in our newly launched ITB China Travel Trends Report. It is a yearly publication illustrating upcoming trends and the needs of Chinese travellers. The 2019 report takes on of-the-moment topics that will significantly impact the Chinese travel and tourism industry: Customized and Themed Travel, with special focus on Island Travel, Adventure Travel, Sports Travel and Culture Travel. We have also launched the ITB China Buyers Circle – a nationwide buyers’ community for all professional Chinese travel buyers. It expands the presence and activities of ITB China far beyond the exhibition itself. Underlining the strong support of the Chinese travel industry for this initiative: More than 30 of China’s leading travel agencies have become official partners of the ITB China Buyers Circle and travel agents from more than 400 different agencies have joined the circle by becoming Founding and Segment Partners. The ITB China Buyers Circle will also be identifying the trends and developments of the Chinese source-market in the form of our yearly report ITB CHINA NEWS • Wednesday 15 th May 2019
