China travel is on full show at the World Travel Market in London.
China had a large presence at the World Travel Market in London, which opened on Tuesday 5th November, with government tourism departments and private companies promoting China tourism.
The China Pavilion, located at N12-220, is themed “High-Quality Tourism Development in China”. Located just inside the N12 entrance of ExCel London, visitors are met with an imposing red arch in a traditional Chinese style. Beyond, stands from multiple Chinese provinces and companies advertising Chinese tourism.
Throughout the three-day event, China Pavilion will feature a variety of talks, competitions, and activities. This includes Chinese baijiu liquor tastings, Tai Chi workshops, VR experiences, and samples of Chinese cuisine.
The China National Tourist Office London led the event, showcasing the high-quality tourism available in China. This year, they collaborated with cultural and tourism departments from nine Chinese provinces and cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Guangxi, Henan, Xinjiang, and Sanya. They also worked with several top-tier tourism enterprises. Together, they aim to highlight China’s vibrant cultural heritage and sustainable tourism initiatives.
China has pushed to increase foreign tourism recently. It has widely expanded visa-free travel with nationals of 54 countries eligible for 72 or 144-hour visa-free travel to 23 cities of China.
Gary King, of Wendy Wu Tours, told China Minutes after his presentation at the China Pavilion that the future of the China travel market is “very very good.”
“Wendy Wu tours, we are seeing that forward booking for 2025 has returned to pre-COVID numbers. So that’s a big thumbs up, and I would expect 5-10% growth year on year after that.”
Clare Mcvey and Kelly Baldwin from Aspire Travel are likely to be amongst the tourists visiting China in the near future after winning a return flight from Air China at the China Pavilion. They had come to do research on potenitally expanding their companies offerings to include China.
Speaking of the pavilion, Clare said “It’s beautiful, the setup is beautiful and you can walk around easily. The speech about Shanghai was really interesting.”
Kelly added that winning the ticket was “incredible… it’s quite surreal to be honest.”
The China National Tourist Office in London is a governmental non-profit office under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China. It promotes tourism and cultural exchanges between China and the UK, Ireland, Finland, Norway, and Iceland.
Established in 1980, World Travel Market London connects global travel buyers with leading destinations and brands. It is one of the world’s most influential events in the travel and tourism industry.
The 44th edition of WTM London, themed “travel powers the world,” opened on Tuesday 5th November and will continue until Thursday 7th. It is expected to attract over 40,000 attendees and nearly 4,000 exhibitors from around 180 countries and regions.
If you liked this article why not read: Top 15 Chinese Cities for Travel in 2024.
