China CEECs Tourism Cooperation Past, Present and Future
Background Warsaw, April 2012 - Economic and Trade Forum of the 16 CEECs and China (12-point action plan on the cooperation of China and the CEE region),-the Chinese PM advised to establish China-CEECs Association of Tourism Promotion Agencies and Businesses. Bucharest, November 2013, HLM of Heads of Governments of China and the CEE countries - decision on the establishment of 6 regional centres to coordinate and boost cooperation in 6 professional fields Fields of cooperation: chambers of commerce (Poland), local governments (Czech Republic), higher education (Romania), agriculture (Bulgaria), infrastructural development (Serbia), tourism (Hungary) China called upon Hungary to set up the Tourism Coordination Centre
Establishment of the tourism platform Beijing, February 2014 Memorandum of Understanding signed by CNTA and the Ministry for National Economy of Hungary on jointly promoting the establishment of the tourism platform Budapest, May 2014 first cooperation platform, in the field of tourism established 1 st High-Level Meeting - defining mission, vision, goals and activity plan No legal framework!
Main goals Deepen tourism cooperation between the CEECs and China Mutually increase the number of tourist arrivals and guest nights between CEE and China Do experience-based joint marketing activity Share best practice Address and involve national tourism offices and market players Provide professional information for the participating countries and tourism market players
Cooperating partner countries China, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia
Operation Tourism Cooperation Centre (TCC) established - upon the request of the Chinese Partner, - at 1 st High-Level Meeting on May 21-22, 2014 in Budapest - within the organization of Hungarian Tourism Ltd. Director of TCC Secretariat Tourism Attaché, Beijing Finances: Hungarian state budget for operation and BASIC marketing activity Partners are free to continue their own marketing activities and are asked to finance them Contact us at tcc@gotohungary.com
Information Network ADS offices Tourism Market Players Associations CNTA TCC Embassi es, Foreign Reps CEE countries Ministries NTOs
Levels of Cooperation National Tourism Administration Bodies National Tourism Offices Market Players from the Business Sector
Milestones 2014-2015 National Tourism Administration Bodies May 2014 establishment of the Tourism Cooperation May to September: national tourism administration bodies delegated one national coordinator each from either their ministry or the national tourism office* *problems may arise, suggestions awaited
Milestones 2014-2015 National Tourism Administration Bodies National Tourism Offices E-database for website with country information, CEE statistical data of Chinese tourist arrivals 2013) First joint promotion at China International Travel Mart (CITM, November 2014) First TCC press conference at CITM
Milestones 2014-2015 National Tourism Administration Bodies National Tourism Offices Market Players from the Business Sector March 2015: Official Opening of China CEECs Tourism Promotion Year (by Mr. Li Jinzao, President of CNTA) China Information Day Conference for the business sector, B2B workshop with 124 CEE businesses and 23 Chinese tour operator companies, social events
All Marketing Activities 2014-2015 Press conferences CITM Shanghai 2014, COTTM Beijing 2015, Ningbo, 2015 Exhibitions CITM Shanghai 2014 B2B workshop March 2014 Budapest On-line activities Kick-off meeting webinar January 2015, site: china-ceec.travel; ceec-china.travel Roadshow in 8 countries January to March 2015 Education Video workshop kick off in January 2015 Conferences Belgrade 2014, CITM Shanghai 2014 China Tourism Info Day March 2015, working group meeting March 2015
Terms of Reference Situation no legal framework (2 official documents- Memorandum of Understanding, Protocol) do not cover rules and definitions Experience during everyday operation problems may arise between stakeholders because of the lack of commonly used definitions and rules Need Purpose a simple and clear set of rules needed to help understanding clarify commonly used terms, define the composition, roles and responsibilities, govern processes
Terms of Reference: Candidacy for hosting HLM Cooperating partner countries may apply to be a host country of the next HLM. - candidacy must be submitted in writing/e-mail - be addressed to the Director of the TCC - minimum six months before consecutive HLM - optimal date - early autumn (preferably September) - Host country and the TCC jointly organize the HLM - duties of host country listed in the Terms of Reference
Terms of Reference: Marco Polo Award From 2016 Marco Polo Award goes to the persons with strongest performance in the field of tourism relations between China and CEE in either bilateral or multilateral context. Nomination: - Cooperating partner countries nominate one person each - five-member panel from national coordinators - on rotation basis takes the decision - by online votes. - Resume is to be submitted two months before next HLM. - winners decided by a simple majority vote - hold the title for one year
Preparation for 2 nd HLM Steps: 1. January 2015 kick-off in Slovenia 2. March 2015 host country officially invites partner countries to the 2 nd HLM 3. May 2015 e-brainstorming on future strategic directions 4. July 2015 evaluation of survey results, formulating strategy and activity plan 2016
E-brainstorming results 10 TCC Projects for 2016 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Direct Flights Education of service prov. Visa Issues Tourism Routes Joint Product packages Social Media Tourism Investment Silk Road ProjectBusiness PartnerUniversity Coop. support Most important Less important Not important
Strategy 2016: Flights, Routes, Products Starting point: results of e-brainstorming They supported: Acting as a driving force in the issue of launching of new direct flights Acting as a mediator in visa working out new joint tourism routes joint tourism products education of service providers to prepare them for receiving Chinese visitors TCC strategy will focus on the above mentioned directions TCC acts as a CATALYST, builds on business partners PRO- ACTIVITY, and relies on CNTA as MAIN ADVISOR
Flights Facts 1. Direct flights are a precondition to the further increase of mutual tourism traffic 2. At present only V4 capitals are being served by direct flights from China 3. The TCC can only play the role of a driving force by means of communication between the stakeholders Present situation Beijing Warsaw (LOT, 3 times per week) Beijing Budapest (Air China, 4 times per week) Expected from 23 September 2015: Beijing Prague (Hainan, 3 times per week) The TCC wishes to contribute to the launch of minimum 2 direct flights between the capitals of the other 2 CEE sub-regions (the Balkans and the Baltics) the launch of direct flights between other big cities of China (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Xi an)and CEE capitals/big cities
Routes Facts Chinese round-trips to Europe cover only 2 to 3 CEE countries Average stay in CEE countries is less than 2 nights Goal Channel more Chinese tourists directly into the CEE region Make the stays of Chinese tourists longer Make them cover more CEE countries at one stay How to achieve? Continuous dialogue between all stakeholders (tourism administration bodies, NTOs, businesses) Development of joint tourism routes should be based on tourism development strategy of the individual countries TCC wishes to rely on country initiatives Who are the actors? Country tourism administration bodies, NTOs and tourism businesses should be PRO-ACTIVE CNTA - should support by advisory activity TCC is responsible for internal communication and harmonizing route development plans Special attention should be paid to different regulation applying to travels into different CEE countries!
Products Facts 1. Chinese travelling habits are rapidly changing 2. New age groups, more independent travellers appear in the market 3. New groups of tourists seek for different or new products 4. They access information and organize their trips using new channels We SHOULD NOT miss the opportunity! Popular products at present - City breaks - Round trips Goal - Further strengthen the existing products - Find niche products interesting for the Chinese visitor Roles The TCC - information on new market trends, research results, finding promotional opportunities CNTA - act as source of first-hand, up-to-date information for the TCC cooperating partner countries NTOs and active involvement in the information exchange tourism businesses be informed by NTOs, play an active part
Education of service providers Fact tourism service providers should be prepared for receiving Chinese visitors Country suggestions in e-brainstorming -Education, focusing on developing basic competencies, develop knowledge, skills and attitudes Round tables for service providers, make them be able to special offers and packages which are adapted to the Chinese tourist market. (Bulgaria) Chinese partners should educate staff working in chambers of commerce and tourism professional associations on how to do business with Chinese people Adapt UK s Great Britain s China Welcome program CEECs should prepare general guidelines for training programmes Organize a webinar for CEEC tour-operators Chinese experts should be involved in the education
Where we are now The TCC - has performed 25 promotional activities until date, - has a growing network (cooperating institutions in the partner countries, appr. 300 CEE businesses, dozens of Chinese tour operator companies, 30 universities, COTRI and CEATM research institutes) - news are spreading beyond CEE, even CVs arrive at the Secretariat 90 % of all Chinese outbound travellers are not interested to visit Central and Eastern Europe or to use your services But 10% of all outbound travels in 2015 will still amount to more than 13 million trips. (Professor Georg Wolfgang Arlt, Director of COTRI, China Information Day, Budapest, March 2015) There is great potential in the Chinese market for our Tourism Cooperation. Our CREATIVITY and PROACTIVITY are the keys to grab it.