8 NEWS The Benchmark of
8 NEWS The Benchmark of adventure travel Themed travel: How product design makes the difference Today at 2:25pm, delegates to ITB China will have the chance to join a roundtable entitled Themed travel: how product design makes the difference. One of the speakers, Xavier de Rohan Chabot, CEO and Founder, Xavier Adventure, is known for among other things having founded the famous brand Quechua. He is also the global vice president of Andaska and the global CEO of HUWANS in France. We asked him how he is working in the Chinese market today. Outdoor travel has been booming in China for the past few years, and the needs of Chinese travellers are changing. Chinese educated families are increasingly looking for different travel with local experiences, close to nature. The need of nature and authenticity is getting stronger and outdoor sport is more and more popular. Xavier Adventure is one of the pioneers of adventure travel in China which offers the ability to discover the best outdoor spots by fair means (hiking, cycling, hiking, kayaking, or horseback riding). This proposal is only possible thanks to our outdoor guide network, who manage and guide the trip safely Our travels are more and more successful in China especially in the French Alps to make the famous TMB, in the Dolomites in Italy, but also in Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand. We can now count on a solid network of BtoB partners in China Xavier de Rohan Chabot CEO and Founder, Xavier Adventure who sell our travels. There are located in the main cities in China as Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, or Guangzhou. How and why is ITB China important as a platform to discuss these questions? ITB is a world reference in terms of travel shows, and ITB China is now a “not to be missed” appointment for professionals. All major travel stakeholders are present in the travel agents as well as the tourist offices and the DMCs. We have many appointments on our booth with clients and prospects and we can present our offers and discuss market trends. The show also gives us very important visibility because the attendance is important and the public qualified STAND D016 Also in today’s roundtable, Tina Wang, associate at Benchmark Adventure, has 10 years’ experience in the outdoor travel industry, and 15 years of trekking and mountaineering experience. As a way of maintaining a leading position in the outdoor travel industry in China, she has travelled to more than 70 countries around the world, and was formerly GM at Sanfo Adventure travel. We asked what she will be bringing to the fore at the roundtable. From the perspective of design, travel is generally considered in several parts: accommodation, transportation, itinerary design, purchasing and entertainment. Market segmentation has resulted in many differentiated products. Please tell us more about your company, and your work in this field. BENCHMARK is a world adventure receptive platform, established only for Chinese B2B market. It helps DMC around the world provide Chinese travel agency partners with allin-one outbound adventure tourism products and all- in-one adventure tourism business solution, with best products, minimum cost and maximum efficiency. Benchmark want to be a bridge between world adventure products and the big Chinese market, as an representative office for DMC in China, instead of a platform only for taking the spread as their fee. How important is design in this respect? I am in charge of product design for Benchmark Adventure. Based on more than seven years of solely working in the field of adventure in China, we are good at it, and know what Chinese travellers want. China has experienced a quick consumption upgrade and China is becoming the largest consuming power in the world. China tourism is on the threshold between sightseeing tourism and experience. Adventure is one of the most important Tina Wang Associate at Benchmark Adventure categories for experience or themed tourism. Many receptive partners have become interested in entering the Chinese market but felt it was difficult. We are thus trying to establish a set of benchmarks to help products become more Chinese, to solve cultural differences, language differences, activity differences, and food and beverage differences. Only more standardised products can be accepted on the broader market STAND D005 ITB CHINA NEWS NEWS • Wednesday 15 th May 2019 www.itb-china-news.com
NEWS 9 EURAIL BRINGS NEW PASSES TO ITB CHINA The range of Eurail Passes has been streamlined, making it easier for agents around the world to choose the right one for their clients. Three Pass types simplify travel across Europe, with the Eurail Global Pass granting travellers flexibility to access up to 31 different countries, the Eurail One Country Pass allowing unlimited travel for single-country itineraries, and the Greek Islands Pass enabling travellers to explore up to 53 different Greek Islands. As a result, and due to price reductions of the Eurail Global Pass, Select Passes will be discontinued in 2019. Global Passes issued from 1 January 2019 enable Eurail and Interrail Pass holders to travel to and across 31 countries, including Great Britain, FYR Macedonia, and Lithuania. Eurail and Interrail have expanded the list of countries accessible via the Global Pass up from 28 to 31. Eurail Group is based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and is wholly owned by more than 35 European railway and shipping companies STAND A147 © Park Jayoung The Bahamas official island travel partner The Bahamas are present at ITB China 2019 as the Official Island Travel Partner of the event. For the very first time, the archipelagic nation has joined China’s B2B travel trade show with a dedicated Bahamas pavilion to explore all of their islands and do business with Chinese buyers. Under the heading “The Islands of The Bahamas - The Perfect Island Travel Destination” visitors can find out more about the ecological oasis in a dedicated keynote speech which is held on 16 May 2019 (ITB China Day 2) from 1 to 1.20 pm in the presentation hub in the conference area of hall 1. Island travel is on the growth path. Chinese travellers continue to hone their conception of leisure due to rapid urbanization in the country as the ITB China Travel Trends Report revealed. Among the chosen foreign holiday options, island travel products remain in high demand, as has been the case for years. The market size of island trips exceeds RMB100 billion (approximately USD 14.6 bn) and travel companies are reporting an expected compound annual growth rate of 35% in the next three years STAND B045 ADVERTORIAL BIG DATA MEANS BIG BUSINESS Flight Master is renowned in China as a leading travel platform for air and highspeed rail travel services… but this year at ITB China, visitors will have the chance to discover their extraordinary capacity to gather “big data”. Indeed, China’s fast evolving air transport market holds no secrets for Flight Master, who keep close track of the flight habits and behavioural preferences of Chinese travellers. As a leading intelligent travel platform in China, Flight Master provides big data solutions of traffic information for related enterprises and empowers business scenarios by its massive flight & high-speed railway traffic information solutions. JiangYue Vice President, Flight Master artificial intelligence bring to flight, high-speed railway and superior taxi service?”, at 10:50 am on 17 May, Conference room B, JiangYue, vice president of Flight Master will reveal details of recent studies done by Flight Master in the field Chinese sports travel market booming The ITB China Travel Trends Report has revealed that sports travel is set to grow by 25-30% over the coming three years. According to the market survey result from 300 Chinese outbound travel agents, sports travel is expected to reach RMB 1.5 trillion by 2020. Despite the growing interest and an increasing purchase power, the difficulty involved in securing tickets to events poses significant barriers for travellers – making ticket arrangements a field in which travel agencies and © FIFA package providers have a critical role. Sports trips are typically built around big sports events, with the most popular events including NBA basketball and FIFA World Cup football. European football leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain are also most popular. Apart from these, the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship are expected to be the top events among Chinese sports travellers over the next couple of years In her keynote, “What new changes will big data and STAND E042 ITB CHINA NEWS • Wednesday 15 th May 2019
