ITB China News 2019 - Day 2 Edition

16
REGION
EUROPE
Europe sees strong growth in
Chinese visitors
Underpinned by a renewed
partnership with European Travel
Commission, Europe is the largest
exhibitor at ITB China this year. The
rising demand for exhibition space
by European destinations reflects
the trend of Europe remaining the
number one long-haul destination
for Chinese tourists. Being the
largest regional pavilion exhibitor,
the European Travel Commission
(ETC) has a stronger exhibition
presence at the show.
The ETC is presenting transnational
cultural and natural experiences in
the European pavilion along with
other European countries having
additional individual presences on
the show floor such as Finland,
Germany and Portugal. The growth
potential of countries and regions
from Southern and Eastern Europe
is also well reflected, with among
many others, the Catalan Tourist
Board, Malta Tourism Authority,
Hungarian Tourism Agency Ltd and
Tourism Association of Canton
Sarajevo presenting their services
Germany targets
5-million Chinese
overnight stays by 2030
DZT, the German National Tourist
Board, is joining the Germany
pavilion this year for ITB China. We
asked its Chief Executive Officer
Petra Hedorfer how the Chinese
outbound market is progressing
for Germany.
China has become one of the
largest overseas markets for the
travel destination Germany. The
number of overnight stays from
Chinese tourists to Germany
reached its first million in 2010.
The number increased to over
three million in 2018, and our
expectation is to have five million
overnight stays of Chinese
tourists to Germany by 2030.
How do you work to facilitate
the work Chinese outbound
operators coming into Germany?
Over the past two decades, we
have established and maintained
close relationships with important
Chinese outbound operators.
Every year, we hold the Germany
Travel Mart (GTM) in Germany and
invite our key Chinese outbound
operators. During this event, they
meet with German suppliers and
seize business opportunities.
Furthermore, our Chinese key
contacts have the chance to gain
knowledge about Germany in
Pre-Convention Tours. In addition
to GTM, we also organise China
Roadshows annually, with which
we invite our German suppliers to
our important source markets. Not
only the first-tier cities, but also
some emerging secondary cities
are parts of the China Roadshow.
Thus, Chinese outbound operators
can meet with possible German
suppliers close to their business
locations. For years, we have been
conducting online and offline
training programmes. Our Wechat
Account offers an exclusive
B2B Platform for information
exchange and networking
STAND A148
Petra Hedorfer
Chief Executive Officer, DZT
Tapping into Europe…
the right way
The European Travel
Commission is back at ITB China
this year, represented by Miguel
Gallego – Head of Marketing
and Communication, who
notably participated yesterday
in a roundtable on connecting
Chinese travellers via the use of
digital tools. We asked him how
the way destination marketing
organisations communicate with
Chinese travellers is changing.
Chinese travellers have become
more mature, moving away
from traditional tour packages
and groups toward authentic
and diverse travel experiences,
ultimately influencing the way we
communicate with them. They are
travelling independently, ditching
the major tourism destinations
and attractions for less exploited
places and travel products, more
frequently taking advantage of
mobile and digital technology. This
has given rise to the emergence
and growth of channels that
help consumers tailor their
experiences to their personal
taste. In particular, FITs search for
and rely on trustworthy content
online that provides destination
information, reviews and
recommendations on attractions,
accommodation, local tours and
anything related to travelling
abroad. Optimized online visibility
has thus become very important,
as well as the maximization of the
use of social media channels for
communication and promotion
activities, as they stimulate
interaction and engagement with
consumers and generate positive
buzz and interest. Destination
marketing organisations need to
be visible in the Chinese online
universe in order to make it onto
the shopping lists. In this respect,
influencers are a powerful online
marketing tool in China, and are
rising in popularity, especially in
the tourism industry
STAND A023
Miguel Gallego
Head of Marketing and
Communication,
European Travel Commission
ITB CHINA NEWS • Thursday 16 th May 2019
www.itb-china-news.com