Participants in the 2019 China International Travel Mart (CITM) expressed optimism over the Chinese tourism market's growth, stating that the country's tourism sector opens multiple opportunities for international brands to expand their businesses.
According to Xinhua, regional manager of TripAdvisor Inc. Greater China, Vivian Wu, noted that the Chinese tourism market "has huge potential" whether it is for local or international tour operators doing business in the country.
Wu has been meeting with Chinese suppliers at the CITM that is being hosted by the southwest Yunnan Province. She has also been working with TripAdvisor's online hotel business in the Chinese market for 15 years.
As part of the global travel agency's efforts in searching for more opportunities in the Chinese tourism market, Wu has been sent to participate in the CITM expo multiple times over the past years.
For Wu, the CITM is a way for her to find additional targeted suppliers in the country and to discover new potential trends that Chinese tourists are attracted to these days.
Journey coordinator at Australian travel firm Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, Jacob Iwikua, traveled to China for the first time to seek potential business with Chinese suppliers and find out more about the Chinese tourism market.
Iwikua revealed that around 3,000 travelers visit China through the agency every year. For his China travel this year, Iwikua said he will explore potential business ties in Yunnan, a region showing huge potential in becoming a tourism spot.
Chinese minister of culture and tourism, Luo Shugang, said outbound tourists in China saw an increase of 7.8 percent in 2018 compared to the records from the previous year. The said percentage accounted for 291 million tourists to the country.
Luo said China will continue to open new opportunities for interesting international brands and travel agencies to do business in the country. He said the tourism and cultural departments will promote exchange and cooperation with countries and companies seeking tourism ties in China.
In line with China's pledge of opening up opportunities for international travel operators, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba recently launched an international wallet that will allow foreign travelers to make purchases in the country.
According to the South China Morning Post, Alibaba's AliPay now allows non-Chinese travelers to pay their online purchases through the platform for up to 90 days without the need for a local bank account.
Before AliPay announced an international version of the app for foreign visitors to the country, international tourists were required to have a Chinese bank account to make online transactions.
