Unbiased guide: Which outbound tourism fair in China should my business go for?
Since February 6, with the restart of outbound and group tours, Chinese tourists from all over the country are eager to move. The immigration service halls in many cities are crowded. The vitality of Chinese outbound tourists brings hope to the overseas travel industry.
Global tourism experts predict that the number of Chinese outbound tourists is expected to rise steadily, exceeding 200 million in 2028 and reaching 228 million in 2030. In 2023, it is expected that the Chinese outbound travel will recover up to 60% of its 2019 level.
As a tourism business, whether you are a DMC/incoming tour operator, or hotelier, or destination tourism promotion organisation, it is the time that you begin to form your China marketing strategy, if you are not already doing so.
Over the last three years, you probably have gathered marketing focus on hot keywords like “digital”, “online” and “social media”, while these remain crucial parts of your marketing strategy, 2023 is a year of reconnecting and re-bonding with your Chinese business counterparts in real life context. So how are you going to do that?
Among other tactics, we believe Chinese outbound tourism fairs play an enormously important role in terms of assisting you achieving your objectives.
Before the epidemic, China’s outbound tourism exhibitions sprung up due to the huge market demand, you may have seen many exhibition invitations, or been contacted by their sales staff, or you have been to one of these fairs in person but have always wondered if you had made the best choice for your business.
Here, our China team expresses their unbiased views based on years of experience in exhibiting and their deep understanding of China’s outbound tourism market, hope you will find it useful.
The following four travel fairs are definitely worth considering and being incorporated into your China marketing to-do list in 2023, here is why…
- GITF
Date: 19-21 May 2023
City: Guangzhou
– GITF, entering its 31st year, is a large-scale international travel fair, it covers outbound and inbound tourism, MICE and emerging technologies trends in tourism.
– The 2019 edition, GITF had 1,042 exhibitors from 55 countries, including Europe, Middle East, Africa, Indian Ocean, Southern-Asia, South America. They took up 68% of the total exhibitors.
– GITF is being held in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province, which is strategically located in China’s Great Bay region (a stone’s throw to Shenzhen and Hong Kong), one of the wealthiest parts of the country.
– GITF’s hosted buyers programme has successfully invited top outbound tour operators and travel agencies from not only Guangdong province but also other parts of China.
View our GITF co-exhibiting offer
- ITE Hong Kong
Date: 15-18 June 2023
City: Hong Kong
– Hong Kong outbound tourists’ pre-pandemic spending US$26.9 billion on international tourism in 2019. With a smaller population, Hong Kong has a high per capita spending on outbound travel!
– ITE 2019 drew 700 exhibitors from over 50 countries and regions; over 11000 buyers and trade visitors with 60% from Hong Kong, 30% from mainland China; and around 80000 quality visitors with over 80% prefer FIT.
– ITE2021 and ITE2022 were held physically and successfully each with 30000 trade and FIT visitors.
– A strong restart of outbound Hong Kong residents during the five-day Lunar New Year holiday (21-25 Jan) made a total of 453,000 outbound trips, which was up 50 times over last year. Over 600 outbound tour groups departed last December of which around 30% to non-Asian destinations like Europe and the Middle East.
View our ITE Hong Kong co-exhibiting offer
- ITB China
Date: 12-14 September 2023
City: Shanghai
– ITB China provides the quality and professionalism you can expect from the global leading “ITB” brand, but in the Chinese context.
– B2B exclusive show focused on Chinese outbound travel. ITB China brings top buyers from Greater China with industry professionals from all over the world.
– The exhibition provides various networking events and matchmaking systems to maximise business opportunities for its participants.
– Coinciding with the travel fair, the ITB China Conference will take place, enabling knowledge transfer and updates on current trends throughout the three-day event.
– Strategically located in Shanghai, China’s no. 1 cosmopolitan city with endless business potentials.
- COTTM
Date: 15-17 November 2023
City: Beijing
– Entering its 16th year, COTTM remains its original theme – 100% B2B and 100% outbound focused.
– 2019 edition COTTM attracted 450 exhibitors from 70 countries and 4,000 Chinese travel trade buyers.
– As one of the highlights of the COTTM, the Luxury Travel Showcase is a dedicated area for qualified visitors to instantly find high-end travel services and discover what luxury travel has to offer the Chinese outbound travel market.
– COTTM is being held in Beijing, the capital city of China, which is the largest single outbound travel market in the country.
Contact us and let us know which travel fair you would be considering. Our team is here to assist you optimise your exhibiting experience in China.
Email: solutions@travelworldreps.com
Whatsapp: 00447876071251
