Successful Meetings - August 2008 - (Page 10)

08.08 & ANALYSIS U.S. Dept. of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez welcomes Shao Qiwei, chairman, China National Tourism Administration NEWS > Industry Trends Eastern Promises Will future groups from China pose opportunities or obstacles to the meetings industry? Following a visit by the first leisure tour group from China that was sanctioned by the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, which arrived in the U.S. in June, meeting business from China may not be far behind. On June 9, more than 200 visitors from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou were welcomed during a gala reception in Washington, DC, that included Shao Qiwei, chairman of the > INDUSTRY EVENTS China National Tourism Administration; ALHI’s diamond promo for U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic meeting planners . . . PAGE 15 of China Clark Randt; U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez; > ON THE RECORD Travel Industry Association (TIA) President Designer Donald I. Grinand CEO Roger Dow; National Tour Associberg on Conv. Ctrs. . . PAGE 16 ation (NTA) Chairman and CEO Bob > TECHNOLOGY Hoelscher; and NTA President Lisa Simon. New tool for evaluating During the trip, the group toured Washsessions online . . . . PAGE 18 ington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and San Francisco. “Competition for the Chinese traveler is enormous worldwide,” says Deborah Reinow, vice president of tourism for the San Francisco CVB. “Everyone—from Dubai to Europe to all of Asia is looking to the Chinese visitor to fill hotels and attend their conventions.” Reinow anticipates that leisure tourism will be followed by meetings tourism. “This will encourage additional participation of the Chinese in U.S. conventions, and jumpstart Chinese participation in U.S.-based international meetings. Simultaneously, she adds, “U.S. companies will shift more focus on obtaining more meetings, incentive, convention, and expo business.” Both NTA and TIA were proactive on the mainland promoting U.S. tourism. “NTA is proud to join with TIA in hosting this monumental event as the U.S. opens its doors to these new international leisure visitors,” says NTA’s Hoelscher. “NTA tour operators participating in the China Inbound Program are ready to assist Chinese travel agents, and the initial NTA list included more than 90 U.S.-based tour operators.” TIA’s Dow says, “Welcoming more Chinese visitors to the United States will increase understanding between our two countries and facilitate ‘people-to-people’ diplomacy. This is an important step in reversing the decline of overseas visitors to the United States since September 11.” Planners like Jackie Chutter, president of Williamsburg-based Virginia Escape, Ltd., are eager for the mimegasite.com AUGUST 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS Inside 10 http://mimegasite.com

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Successful Meetings - August 2008 Contents Editor's Note Industry Trends Industry Events On the Record Technology Calendar Websites of the Month Personal Success Technology Talk Food & Beverage Pre-Event On Site Tools of the Trade Pre-Event Crude Awakening Oil’s Well Betting on Development The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of No Spa, No Dice New & Improved Bean Counting Places & Spaces Cleveland Palm Springs, Desert Resorts Midwest Meetings San Antonio Yucatan Peninsula Gurus

Successful Meetings - August 2008

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