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China Tourism Tuesday Episode 33
12 Plays1 month ago
In Episode 33 of China Tourism Tuesday, we sit down with Jane Carter and Qing Hui from China Outbound and Inbound Travel Market (COITM), to unpack what’s happening on the ground right now.
With COITM kicking off soon in Beijing, we discuss what this signals for the industry, how sentiment has shifted among Chinese travel professionals, and what destinations, hotels, and tourism boards should realistically expect from the China market in 2025 and beyond.
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Transcript
Introduction: Meet the Experts
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome to China Tourism Tuesday, a podcast where we discuss marketing international tourism destinations in the China outbound tourism market. Today I have two very special guests from the China outbound and inbound travel markets, being Tsinghui, the founder of COITM, as well as Jane Carter, Global Sales Director at COITM.
00:00:25
Speaker
Jane and Tsinghui, if I could just please ask you guys to introduce yourself to our audience and let us know a little bit more about what you guys do and your objectives with COITM.
00:00:38
Speaker
Okay, ahll I'll start. So it's Jane Carter here. um as As it's just been said, I'm the Global Sales Director on COITM. My role on this event is to discuss with um international ah ah international travel companies, destinations, um about coming to China to attract Chinese tourists to their destination and to use their products.
COITM's Vision: Connecting Globally
00:01:10
Speaker
Okay, for me, so my name's Qing and I'm the founder of CUITM. And i actually in the past 20 years, you know I worked with Jane and the rest of my colleagues for you know travel trade to show in China for many, many years. And last year, you know, as that show, um we were noticed by, you know, they like that company say there's no show anymore. So we set up CYTM, you know, last summer. so now, We are working together again, try to build a platform for international destinations and tourism suppliers and to help them to make connections with the Chinese cover trade.
00:02:09
Speaker
And also we are trying to help, you know, international you know, travel and the tourism suppliers, they are also probably, so ah you know, so seeking to, you know, to source Chinese, you know, tourism suppliers. So now we do both, you know, China outbound and inbound. That's, you know, the platform we are going to, you know, provide to the industry.
The Shift to Personalized Travel
00:02:42
Speaker
Xiu-Hui, I would like to ask you just from a sort of a very, very high level angle, from the point of view of suppliers, you know be they from Europe, be they from Africa, Middle East, that would take but that would kind of take part in an event such as COITM. How has the game changed in terms of marketing to Chinese buyers through events such as these over the past, say, 10 years?
00:03:12
Speaker
Yeah, so um actually, you know, ah as as you may know, we just, you know, did a survey, you know, last month, and we released the survey results, you know, last week.
00:03:31
Speaker
So I actually I would like to, you know, um to share the, you know, the findings, you know, we we probably this can, you know, answer your questions.
00:03:44
Speaker
So what we found, you know, they, um you know, they, you know, they trained, you know, um you know, from the, from the demands we found, you know, people, are Chinese travelers are, you know, um more like, you know, specific and personalized, you know, products rather than, you know, traditional tourism products. So in our survey, we found more than 75% people think you know they like you know personalized and in-depth travel
Insightful Survey Results
00:04:24
Speaker
experience.
00:04:24
Speaker
and seventy sixty seven percent you know they think you know they are like ah you know personalized in a product So I think this is ah you know um quite different from 10 years ago, you know the people would like to, you know to you know the ways they like to travel.
00:04:50
Speaker
ah Cheng, if i if you don't mind me asking, can you tell us a little bit more about the survey? um So so you you obviously looked at some trains in terms of what are the preferences for the type of travel. ah Was there any ah was there other other areas that the survey possibly covered? Like, i don't know, what are the more popular destinations and things like that? Or was it more about like the like the type of ah travel, if you don't mind me asking?
Market Growth Predictions
00:05:17
Speaker
Okay, I would like to share you know um you know some the findings of the survey we did. Yes. Yeah, okay. So the survey is about the outlook of the China urban travel industry and Chinese tour operators' preferences.
00:05:38
Speaker
So there were about 310 Chinese up-and-to-operators who responded our survey questionnaire. 81% of respondents are top operators and 20% them are management and forty eight percent of middle labor professionals So yeah, what we found, at what we asked, and I know what we found, you know, the first question we asked about the predictions of the China urban travel market in 2026.
00:06:16
Speaker
14% of you know respondents think you know the market will grow by over 20%.
00:06:24
Speaker
46% of them think the market will increase by about 10%. So this looks still very positive. And you know another question we asked about you know the main driving forces for the market you know this year.
Towards Sustainable Tourism
00:06:43
Speaker
So their findings are still very positive. you know Probably I just mentioned more than 75% respondents think um percent of financial know respondents thank you know the younger the young generation seeking personalized and the in-depth travel experience is the key driving force for the growth.
00:07:07
Speaker
And, you know, 67 of them think, you know, the senior people who are wealthy and have an abundance of time are their main force driving the market.
00:07:23
Speaker
So another question we asked that was about the products of Chinese travelers will be more interested um interested in over the next three years. We found in our high quality and the in-depth tours is the most popular product.
00:07:42
Speaker
you know, representing 66% of respondents, then followed by wellness retreats and a sustainable tourism, accounting for 62%. So this is because, you know, Chinese travelers are increasingly moving beyond traditional tourism options and instead pursuing high value, tailor made experiences.
00:08:11
Speaker
So, yeah. So another you know question about you know the suppliers, you know Chinese to operators, which you know they are looking for.
00:08:23
Speaker
So ah we found you know same customized tourism suppliers are the most popular, you know accounting account for 68%.
00:08:35
Speaker
and 44% and 42% of respondents are seeking attractions and economy, accommodation, suppliers. This is ah probably due to more FIT and the younger generations growing demands.
00:08:56
Speaker
So this is what we found in the market survey recently and i hope this can be any help for the industry. Actually, we have a detailed report on our website for you know people to read.
Why Beijing? Strategic Location
00:09:13
Speaker
Great. And I think ah we can actually include a link to your report in the episode notes for this. Thank you for that. Jane, jane if if I may pivot to you over for a moment quickly, if I may ask. So um the the show that you ladies ah have launched, it's naturally it's it's going to be in Beijing. um ah Two questions. So currently there is, to my knowledge, no other major B2B show in Beijing. There is in Shanghai in terms of ITB China. What would you say is ah going to be COITM's
00:09:54
Speaker
it's It's a comparative benefit compared to other
The Power of Physical Connections
00:10:00
Speaker
shows at the moment. is And furthermore, is there a particular reason why Beijing was chosen as the destination for the show? And then my my last question on this specific front is also, so it's a physical show. We're definitely moving to more and more of a digital world.
00:10:18
Speaker
how How important do you think it is for brands that are looking to attract Chinese tourists? How important is it for them to actually physically go to China, do you think?
00:10:31
Speaker
Okay. All right. Okay. Thank you for those questions. um I guess first I'll start with why Beijing. ah We've ah previously for the last 18 years, as Ching mentioned, run COTTM. in Beijing. The reason for the location um is that we're in central Beijing and we are near where all the um top Chinese tour operators have their head offices. So we feel that we're right near where they we need to be for the show, for the visitors. And the location of the venue is very central to Beijing.
00:11:10
Speaker
And it's also near the embassies, which helps obviously on the exhibitor side. um So we've we've successfully, we we feel Beijing is a very good place for for the event to be. In terms of our audience, I'd say we obviously do get um the majority of our visitors from the north. but we we do capture an audience from the rest the rest of China.
00:11:36
Speaker
um in terms of what's what's different with our show i guess um as a team we've been you know 20 years experience uh wealth of experience we have a tremendous uh visitor database um that we use um we have really really good relationships which has great relationships with the tour operators and the media and myself have the relationships with the destinations and interested travel companies who who international companies who want to come over to China. um And I think
00:12:11
Speaker
The fact that we're doing our own thing now gives us the freedom ah to to to make the show more fresh and exciting. um Obviously, the one difference is the fact that we're bringing in the inbound market this time, which is new. Obviously, that might help when we've got um overseas buyers coming into the show. um You know, people can do business with with our exhibitors while they're there. So it's a real crossover of... um of people that we'll be gathering together in the travel industry um i think when when you mention um sort of the digital platforms we we're not only an exhibition now we are also offering a year-round um digital marketing support for our exhibitors so that buyers can interact with them not only uh face to face at the exhibition um but also um ah yeah yeah all year
Digital Engagement and Education
00:13:06
Speaker
round. So we're we're adding that as part of the package for our exhibitor companies.
00:13:12
Speaker
um I think the conference, which has always been a very, very strong part of our event, um is going to be more kind of panel discussions and focus group forums, um just making it more interactive and not just presentations. um We want to make it more, you know, more and more educational than it already is. covering tea key topics and trends.
00:13:38
Speaker
um We also want to you know add a bit of sort of razzmatazz to the event and we'll be um having some competitions at the show. So I think we we really want to to build on on the event that we you know we've run in the past, but we're we're going to improve with this brand new event that we're organising. And I think you know we're keeping an eye on also what is happening in the market for example we know that from and you'll see from Ching survey that um ski tourism is is something that seems to be growing and growing in China and that's an area a dedicated area that we will have in our event this time round um
00:14:20
Speaker
And it's interesting with the stats that Ching's got that um South America's moved up to sort of third position in terms of um a destination that is key for our buyers, who who they're interested in and who are um who the Chinese are interested in. So we're trying to get more more companies to come from from South America. So, yeah, so there's lots of new things that we we will be introducing this time round.
00:14:46
Speaker
um Your question about um a physical show, I think there still is that need um for face-to-face interaction um to explain, to sit down with people, to to discuss things rather than just being on ah on a platform online.
00:15:03
Speaker
um And I feel it's ah it's a good way, it's particularly in China, to build trust. So I think there's still ah still a great need for... exhibition face to face. There's still a lot of value in meeting face to face and doing business.
00:15:20
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I must double up on that. I mean, like when we work with our clients and our clients are our abroad, whether they're international tourism brands or whatever, ah we always try to convince them to come to China as soon as humanly possible, see for themselves. that ah We do find it makes our lives a lot easier that they can understand a little bit of the complexities that are on the ground. And for South America, i find that really interesting. I mean, the people, The the brands that we worked with in South America, to our knowledge, they bounced back quicker after COVID than the most of the rest of the world. To to be fair, they were from a lower a lower base, but nevertheless, they come back strikingly hard. ch Ching, I would i'd like to ah ask you the next question. So the the difference between COITM and the previous work that you've done is is clearly the that the inbound. um
00:16:16
Speaker
So now that you're going to be focusing ah some attention to China inbound, ah can you possibly tell us a little bit more about that? And could you possibly give us some hints as to which regions of China are more interested in attracting foreign travelers than than others.
Attracting International Buyers
00:16:38
Speaker
so I'm just curious, ah this China inbound is is something that's also quite new to me.
00:16:45
Speaker
Okay, thank you for your question, Michael. So I think every region and all, you know, provinces and in China are actively, you know, attracting international travelers.
00:17:03
Speaker
You know, they are, I think they are competing with each other. So, in in particular, you know, the main ports like, ah you know, Shanghai Beijing, you know, they are, you know, you know, improving a lot of, you know, you know, you know, the barriers, which used to be, for example, you know, payment system,
00:17:31
Speaker
and you know access some ah of facilities which can you know be a good experience for international people, for overseas you know tourists. So every city, you know in particular Beijing and Shanghai, they are doing a lot of things to you know for ah you know people to travel inbound to China. So for us, this is a great demand. So what we wanted to do is you know to invite international ah you know visitors who are, you know, wanting to come to China to source, you know, Chinese ah tour suppliers to, you know, to build more products, you know, for their clients. So what we are doing is like this. So to invite international people, you know, travel buyers to China to our show. And, you know, we're also, you know, because we already, um you know, so
00:18:35
Speaker
spoke with you know many Chinese suppliers, and I mean, China inbound tourism and suppliers.
Diverse Supplier Interest
00:18:44
Speaker
They really, really wanted to you know to meet you know international buyers at our show.
00:18:53
Speaker
If I could just um stay with, well, if we can just pivot to China outbound for a second, Jane. um From your perspective, I was hoping you could maybe let us know, you know, what is the profile looking like of the of the international suppliers that are actually looking to participate in COITM? I mean, there's been a shift, I assume, maybe from you know from tourism boards, maybe more towards hotels, towards operators and so on. Could you give us an idea of of what the makeup looks like?
00:19:24
Speaker
Yeah, sure. um I think basically we we're still attracting um tourism boards and and and with them obviously come the private sector when they invest in a ah larger space.
00:19:36
Speaker
We're finding those some of the tourism boards are coming perhaps on a um ah smaller space but taking lots of sponsorship. So that's another route for them to to to market themselves.
00:19:47
Speaker
um And we've, yeah, we've had a lot of interest from ah the normal profile, really. We've had quite a few DMCs. We're getting quite a few bookings from ah from Africa, ah safari companies. um Yeah, we've we've we've um a real real mixture, actually. um So from Africa, Central Asia, it's places like Uzbekistan, Australia.
00:20:12
Speaker
North Africa we traditionally normally get, which is the support from Egypt, Tunisia. um Russia are looking to have a big participation. um So we the profile really is ah is is a real mixture of... um of ah companies coming in. um I don't know that, I think it's little early to say that it's changed massively from last last last time, but definitely I would say is we're getting new companies who've never come before.
00:20:40
Speaker
So that that's exciting and that is interesting for our visitor audience. um I'm really happy that you mentioned Russia because you know we we keep a lot of sort of eyes on red note analytics. And the most surprising thing that's kind of popped up over the last, I would say, maybe half year is that Russia has actually become quite popular um in the red note space.
00:21:05
Speaker
and um And that obviously you know you're beginning to see more and more that the you sort of Russian oblast governments are beginning to invest even more in a red note presence, which is always good. Now, sticking with digital platforms, maybe I can i can ask Ching about
Leveraging Social Media Platforms
00:21:20
Speaker
this. um Ching, just for our we have many you know decision makers, maybe from tourism boards or or the like. um If we could maybe just educate them a little bit about which you know which digital platforms are the most important for international suppliers to be investing in in China, and why should they be doing so?
00:21:44
Speaker
Okay, you mean, you know, the social media platforms? Yes, social media platforms, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. So I think, you know, um probably, know, Chinese TikTok and Red Notebook, you know, that um which are two, you know, very popular, you know, social media platforms for young generations. It will be good, you know, for international destinations, if they marketing you know to Chinese consumers that, you know, that will be, you know, very good platforms for them.
00:22:34
Speaker
From what we can see as well, you know is that Red Note is just such a ah valuable platform as well relative to to Chinese TikTok, as you mentioned. And then also, of course, WeChat for B2B connections is absolutely essential.
Key Regions for Outbound Travel
00:22:48
Speaker
right So just one more question from my side, if you don't mind me asking. You know, we often kind of, the the consensus is often amongst, you know, in the China space is that Shanghai and Eastern China is the region in China with the greatest disposable income and therefore sort of the the prime regional target to to speak to when you're promoting for outbound Chinese tourism.
00:23:13
Speaker
If you could maybe give our listeners again just sort of ah a crash course and just help them understand the basics of which regions are the most important regions for suppliers targeting Chinese outbound travel.
00:23:28
Speaker
ah Which regions are the most important, would you say, and why? Okay, thank you for the question. you know, for the, you know, and ill ah Chinese travel trade platforms, you know, at regions, sorry, know, I still think Beijing is the key, you know, regions, you know, for international destinations to come to China, because, you know, Beijing,
00:23:57
Speaker
is the headquarter of you know the top operators, the product and you know risk producing center. So Beijing, certainly Shanghai is also a very important region for you know tourists, you know I mean, Chinese consumers.
00:24:20
Speaker
to generate urban trips. um Another you know key reaching is the thoughts of China, like Shenzhen Guangzhou. So, again, for the B2B Chinese tour operators, i think, i mean, if you are a destination wanted to, you know um set up you our business relationships with a Chinese travel trade, you know Beijing is the key you know place, city for you to you know to be there.
The Role of Tour Operators
00:25:01
Speaker
That's quite interesting. and Allow me to jump in here quickly. So so particularly on that point, i mean, Ching, I agree wholeheartedly, especially also about Beijing, with Beijing having the majority of the ah the the large tour operators base there, the headquarters normally based in Beijing. Now, what would you say to a person who would say, ah but the traditional tour operators in China are not important anymore. um Everything trends show that people are moving slowly, ah but nevertheless,
00:25:35
Speaker
earnestly towards FIT, free and independent travel only. um i think there's also a misconception with people about thinking about just like these large Chinese groups of 20 to 30 packs on a bus with a person leading them around with a flag, the same old stereotypes, but but we know there' there's changed a bit.
00:25:55
Speaker
what What would you say to a person that that that says that the Chinese outbound tour operators are not important in anymore? Okay, thank you. um You know, because as I don't agree, you know, Chinese upbound operators is not important anymore, you know, for the matured destinations, for example,
00:26:24
Speaker
Southeast Asia, you know, because, you know, they are in china ah in China, you know, for many, many years, Chinese people can, you know, travel to, you know, ah do their short course, you know, I mean, to south of China, much, much easier. But for, you know, for long course, and, you know, customized, you know, high end, you know, personalized, you know, tours, they still need to operators to provide dedicated services to them. That's the key, you know, value for their to operators can provide and can deliver for them.
00:27:08
Speaker
So, you know, as you know, the market is getting more and more personalized, you know, um become, you know, um lots of demands needed to catering. So I think to operators still can provide very important services for you know for the market.
00:27:32
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. i mean, i I would tend to agree with that also. I mean, I look often at the Japanese market and the Japanese market is ah older than the Chinese outbound market. It's more mature, yet you still do have a big role played by traditional tour operators. You do still have various groups, or whether it's family groups or whatever, but it's it's still...
00:27:56
Speaker
arranged by tour
Future Growth in Outbound Tourism
00:27:57
Speaker
operators. um like Ladies, I have got one last question from my side for actually the both of you. And it is a bit of a continuation from this. So, for example, the other day, i mean, nothing new, but but I just highlighted the point for myself the other day. I was talking to a lady who works in the Japanese outbound tourism market. And she reminded me that the Japanese outbound tourism market remains strong, ah remains at least sizable, but it will not grow. It cannot grow due to their aging society and things like that. Now, I wanted to ask kind of a similar question to the both of you. What is your outlook ah for the medium to longer term future for the Chinese outbound tourism industry, considering the fact that China is now also starting to be an aging society? Considering
00:28:55
Speaker
um Considering that, but nevertheless, as conflicting to that, there actually very few a low percentage of people in China that actually have passports. If I am not mistaken, think it only like 10 or 13 percent or something like that. And then also considering the economic challenges. um if If you consider all of these factors, ah what is your feeling about the future of the Chinese outbound ah market? do you Do you think it will still be able to grow in the future? do you think it will stay steady? ah what what is What is your viewpoint on that?
00:29:33
Speaker
Okay, Michael. Yeah, I still believe the China outbound market will grow. you know As you mentioned, you know the percentage of people who have passport is still you know um not you know not very high. So means you know a lot of ah lot of people will have their passport and the travel you know internationally.
00:30:03
Speaker
And also, you know, another, you know, a big potential is, you know, because, you know, even though they, China is, you know, aging as you mentioned society, but, you know, the huge population, you know, is still, you know, um has great demand.
00:30:24
Speaker
ah Because, you know, they market, you know, ah people are seeking for, you know, customized, you know, products, you know, they, the numbers, you know, probably not to grow, I mean, the population. But you know, they people still seeking for more personalized the products and the quality products. This is probably, you know, the industry are considered and is the great potential for the products polity
00:30:55
Speaker
up ah ah quality and to meet their are demands for the market. Yeah. Yeah, totally.
00:31:05
Speaker
Yeah. Great. Well, and if you ladies have any ah last thoughts or comments you would like to say for the audience, but um otherwise, i would also very much like to thank you for your time today.
00:31:22
Speaker
And also for the audience, we will put the link for the the survey reports in the notes, and we look forward to seeing everybody COITM later this year.
00:31:36
Speaker
If you have any questions or comments about the topics discussed in today's episode, please feel free to send us an email at marketing at cconsulting.com.cn or search us on LinkedIn at Create Consulting. look forward to hearing from you.