Meeting News - December 17, 2007 - (Page 52)

Cover Story China continued from cover Kunming’s location in Yunnan—one of China’s poorest provinces, far from the power and financial centers of the east coast—means it has been slower than some other cities to attract foreign investment. Life in Kunming often calls to mind this old Chinese proverb: “The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.” So I was surprised to learn that China’s biggest travel expo, China International Travel Mart (CITM), was scheduled to take place here in November. The show alternates between Shanghai and Kunming, and though organizers say the Shanghai show is bigger, the one in Kunming was a 2,200-booth affair with 92 countries represented. Having lived in China for the last five months, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. In the case of CITM, I found that much was the same as at a travel expo in the United States or Europe. However, there were a few notable differences. The most interesting one was the palpable blend of excitement, tension, and confusion pervading international business conducted in China today. Foreign companies scramble to get a piece of the growing pie, while the Chinese hustle to establish themselves in the international business community. At CITM, representatives of the West’s established travel market tried to make sense of the fledgling Chinese travel industry. Some understand it better than others. Germany counted one million room nights originating from China last year, and it’s bullish about increasing that number, said Horst Lommatzsch, the German National Tourist Board’s director of destination management for Asia. “China is using Germany as an example for a lot of things—meetings, hospitals, roads, factories,” he said. “I think we have a good opportunity to build on that and entice people to come here on holiday.” U.S. Embassy Sets Straight the Chinese’s Visa Vexation D China’s major travel show, CITM, lured a variety of destinations eager to attract Chinese groups. In return, Germany has been welcoming incentive tional brand strategy for the LVCVA. “They [Chinese executives] come here for the big annual congroups from China, he said. For the United States, the West Coast leads the ventions like the Consumer Electronics Show and drive to attract Chinese travelers and meetings. decide to bring back a big group for a sales convenDestinations in that region were well represented at tion or an incentive trip or other corporate meetCITM. Los Angeles’ LA Inc. represents the only ing. They like the entertainment and the golf.” American city that has a marketing office in mainAmerica’s Greatest Cities, a marketing cooperaland China. LA Inc. was in attendance, along with tive that includes Seattle, Philadelphia, New York, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, exhibited at the show and hosted a reception. and the Nevada State Tourism Commission. The Kunming International Convention and Exhi“Our meetings market out of China has gone through the roof,” said John Bischoff,VP of interna- bition Center has a design unlike any I have seen. Instead of one big convention hall, it is a series of parallel corridors separated by concrete outdoor space, with giant doors opening to the outside. This layout allows trucks to unload exhibitors’ materials very close to their booths, but it forces attendees to walk outside to move between corridors, rain or shine. uring a press conference at China International Travel Mart—held jointly by America’s Another unique feature of the show was the Greatest Cities and the Travel Industry Association of America—a single topic dominated ubiquitous presence of uniformed guards. There the question-and-answer period: visas. seemed to be one guard for every four or five exhibAll but one question related to the visa application process and the perceived difficulty it booths; they roamed the aisles and hovered near that Chinese tourists and business travelers face when trying to obtain U.S. visas. business conversations. But according to Jamie Papa, vice counsel of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, the challenge It’s clear from attending CITM that some destiis smaller than perceived. “Our acceptance rate from China doubled between 2003 and nations are ahead of others in cracking the China 2007; it’s now 70 percent,” she said, crediting the increase partly to Tour Trek, its program meetings market, but making sense of the market that allows groups of 10 to go through their interviews together. has unique challenges for all, such as continual Still, journalists expressed frustration; some elements of the program seemed to be lost in change, said Caroline Zhang, marketing director for translation. Tour Trek exists only in Beijing, leading one reporter to ask: “Does this mean the Donghu Hotel in Shanghai. that if we have a group of 10, those people must go to Beijing to apply?” The answer is yes. “Every year, the travel agents change,” she said. —Maggie Rauch “We have to be here to meet the new ones.” H December 17, 2007 www.meetingnews.com 52 MeetingNews http://www.meetingnews.com

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