Dragon Trail and COTRI have been tasked by ITB to put together the China Session on Wednesday, March 9th at 4pm in Hall 7.1a (New York Auditorium) during the ITB Convention in Berlin.

ITB in Berlin is the biggest and most important international trade fair for the travel and tourism industry.  The three ITB Destination Days are devoted to the challenges in destination management. Their focus: Forms of travel that are increasingly gaining popularity, such as culture, city or river tourism; Asian Emerging Markets, Latin America, Africa, Spain, and of course, Mongolia, the partner of the ITB Berlin Convention 2011.

The China Session will be moderated by Prof Arlt, Director of COTRI, with a presentation by Jens Thraenhart, President of Dragon Trail. The description of the session is below:

The New Chinese Tourist

A structural change is happening in the way Chinese travel, according to trends research revealed by Chinese Outbound Tourism Express. The products of a packaged tour with a busy schedule in multiple destinations are being replaced by all-directional development such as in-depth and theme tours. “More and more Chinese tourists see outbound travel as a chance to broaden horizons, and experience foreign cultures,” noted the Tourism Express. “Therefore, they have higher demand for the content and patterns of travel. Seen from the sales of tour operators, half of the outbound tourism market has now been taken over by FIT tours.” This shows that tourists are increasingly pursuing personalised tour experiences and are looking for authentic experiences and not for arranged shopping tours, yet still rely on the convenience of travel agents to arrange flights, hotels, and visas.
The way many Chinese consumers are finding out about new destinations and travel services, such as hotel or cruise brands, is via the Internet. With over 450 million Internet users in China, more than in any other country, of which 92% engage in social media channels not including blocked sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Foursquare, more than 80% of Chinese travelers research and educate themselves about destinations and brands online. According to the Digital Influence Index, social media is the most influential medium in modern China, more than travel agents, newspapers, magazines, or TV. Further 95% of Chinese Internet users trust a brand more that is active on one of the major Chinese micro-blogging platforms.

Introductory presentation:

Jens Thraenhart, President, Dragon Trail (Beijing, China)

Moderated by:
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, Director, China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI)

Panel guests:
Raymond Chen Mingqiong, General Manager Berlin Office, Hainan Airlines
Declan Hurley, VP Marketing, Ritz Carlton Hotel Company
Jens Thraenhart, President, Dragon Trail (Beijing, China)
Angelos Vlachos, Greek National Tourist Organization (GNTO), former China Director (Beijing) & Tourism Policy Advisor

We are looking forward to see you during ITB, and you may contact Jens Thraenhart via email jens<at>dragontrail<dot>com.