THE INAUGURAL Go China Summit in Suzhou last year generated US$188 million worth of tours to China, according to a survey conducted among tour operators who had participated in the event.
A larger harvest could be expected, as the figure was obtained from only half of the population of participants, noted Mary Motsenbocker, president of Go China Summit, which seeks to showcase tourism products in various destinations in China to overseas buyers.
Motsenbocker expects the second Go China Summit, which started yesterday and ends today, to reel in the same extent of return on investment for mainland China’s tourism sector.
This year’s summit is attended by 75 tour operators from all over the world and at least 134 Chinese tourism suppliers. The programme included a familiarisation tour of Lijiang and Dali in Yunnan province, in addition to tabletop meetings between buyers and sellers.
European buyers at the summit told the Daily that they are eager to find new products for their markets.
Mircea Anitas, manager of Paris-based Sports Incentives Conventions International, which also handles leisure programmes, is looking to package Yunnan for the French market, and possibly combine it with a Singapore trip. His agency sent 400 French travellers to the mainland last year.
Rio de Janeiro-based Marsans Brasil director, Carlos Costa, a first-time participant at the Go China Summit, said he hoped to find companies that could work with him to package cultural and adventure tours in the mainland.
Juergen Kremer, inbound department director of Beijing-based TUI China Travel, which deals with mostly German-speaking markets, said the summit offered invaluable networking opportunities, especially with smaller suppliers.
By Amee Enriquez
