Belt and Road Initiative boost tourism for Central Asian countries

29 Nov 2018 2059 | World Travel News

Tourism players have been keen to leverage business opportunities and travel interest arising from enhanced links and cooperation between China and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

For Daniel KC Chen, executive director of Shanghai Jiu Ying Consultant, which specialises in organising educational tours for Chinese students, the BRI now “opens up new opportunities” for a segment that has traditionally favoured the US as a destination.

“I’m looking for experiential products in Central Asia as well as north-west China to meet clients’ different needs and travelling styles,” he told TTG Asia at the recent CITM in Shanghai. “For instance, we have done self-drive tours from Gansu Province to Xinjiang and walkathon from China to Kazakhstan.

“We hope to come up with non-traditional tours and modify them according to demands of students and their families,” he added. “These educational tours promote exchange and Chinese parents opt for eye-opening exposure for their kids.”

The ambitious Chinese economic project has also spurred interest in the Belt and Road region from seasoned Chinese travellers, noted Sun Bing, general manager, CITS Jiang Su.

He said: “We observed more high-end, sophisticated travellers opting for destinations along this route. As they have covered many countries like Europe and as far as to South America, Central and West Asia are rising as new destinations.”

Meanwhile, China’s investment along the route will foster greater business exchange and word-of-mouth promotion may further draw more visitors from China, he opined.

Coupled with the success of Expo 2017 in Astana and BRI impacts, Kazakhstan expects Chinese arrivals to surge from 10,000 last year to 15,000-20,000 in 2018.

Said Kadylbek Zhalyn, general manager of Astana-based Qtrip: “As China’s economy grows, more Chinese can afford to go out. It’s typical now for them to transit (in Kazakhstan) for few days before heading to Russia or Europe. This year, our Chinese bookings have doubled to 7,000.