'How China ready are you?' asks VisitBritain

The Summit, which follows the unveiling of a new Charter earlier this month, will provide UK hoteliers, destinations, attractions and tour operators with the opportunity to hear first-hand from some of the world’s leading experts about the scale and opportunities of the rapidly-growing Chinese outbound tourism market.

Delegates will also be given details of a new tool which can help them assess their own China-readiness. Developed for VisitBritain by market entry consultants ChinaContact, the online assessment is part of an online suite of market advice, sector-specific tips and information which VisitBritain has made freely available to the industry.

Over 100 businesses - including Harrods, British Airways, Blenheim Palace and Birmingham Airport - have already signed up to VisitBritain’s new GREAT China Welcome Charter, which helps Chinese visitors to easily identify hotels, attractions, retailers and tour operators that are making themselves ‘China ready’ by providing information in Chinese and adapting their products for the market. Charter members are eligible for use of the GREAT China Welcome Chartermark2 in marketing materials and promotional activities, discounts from commercial partners, exclusive priority access to VisitBritain’s trade missions and regular updates about upcoming opportunities.
Experts at today’s Summit include Professor Dr Wolfgang Arlt, Director of the Chinese Outbound Tourism Research Institute, speaking about the global perspective of the Chinese market, and Roy Graff, Managing Director of ChinaContact, who will share essential knowledge for tourism operators on getting their businesses 'China ready'.

Panellists from VisitBritain, China Holidays, UK Visas & Immigration and Union Pay International will be answering questions on the trends, challenges and opportunities that Chinese visitors to Britain present, while some of Britain’s best known tourism brands will demonstrate China readiness in action with case studies and examples of best practice.

Sandie Dawe, CEO of VisitBritain, said:“Our goal is simple - to make Britain the most welcoming destination in Europe for the Chinese visitor. In order to do this we are providing the industry with guidance on what they need to become ‘China ready".

“The GREAT China Welcome programme will underpin our work in China and move us towards our ambitious target of welcoming 650,000 Chinese visits a year by 2020 - worth nearly £1.1 billion annually to the UK economy.”

Earlier this month the Chartermark was unveiled at Blenheim Palace by VisitBritain CEO Sandie Dawe, Cultural Minister Counsellor Mr Xiang Xiaowei, Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill and Keith Williams, Executive Chairman of British Airways - a founder member of the Charter.
China is now the world’s largest outbound tourism market and provisional data for 2013 suggests that the number of visitors to Britain from China reached 200,000 for the first time. Spend figures are even more remarkable, with Chinese visitors parting with over £400 million during the first nine months of 2013 alone.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews