China successfully held the opening ceremony for its largest-ever pavilion at the London World Travel Market on 4th November.
The total area of this year’s China exhibition reached 402 square meters, setting a record for the largest scale in the history of China at the World Travel Market (WTM). A major upgrade from last year’s 200 square meters.
For this year’s WTM, the core theme of the China stand was “China Tourism: Innovation and Integration and Green Development”.
It brings together cultural and tourism representation from 13 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions: Beijing, Shanghai, Shaanxi, Henan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, Shandong Province, Hubei Province, Sichuan Province, Chongqing City, Guizhou Province, Hainan Province and Shanxi Province.
There were also eight major Chinese airlines and representatives from several travel and tourism companies.
At 11 a.m., the opening ceremony of China was held, welcoming more than 100 guests from the cultural and tourism industry.
The event kicked off with a performance from the Hubei Wudang Kung Fu Troupe, demonstrating impressive martial art skills and receiving a warm applause from the audience.
This was followed by speeches including from Wang Qi, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, Zhang Li, Director of the China Tourism Office in London, Zhang Weiguo, Director of the Sino-Foreign Cultural and Tourism Exchange Center, Evelyne Freiermuth, Director of Government Affairs of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Louise Bryce, Director of Partnerships of the UK Tourism Board, Jonathan Heastie, Director of WTM Exhibitions, David Haigh, President of Brand Finance, and Lee Holden Director of Marketing at Wendy Wu Tours.
In his speech, Zhang Li reflected that the theme of “China Tourism: Innovation, Integration and Green Development” reflects not only China’s goal for tourism, but also highlights China’s wider vision of economic quality and sustainable development. He stressed tourism is an essential bridge connecting China and the world, saying “friendship between countries lies in the closeness of their people, and the closeness of the people lies in travelling more”.
The opening ceremony closed with a giveaway for two round-trip tickets to China and a three-night stay in a five-star hotel in Shanghai, which was won by one lucky guest.
After the event, Lee Holden, Marketing Director of Wendy Wu tours, told China Minutes that they were expecting increasing numbers of tourists to visit China. This was driven not just by China’s long history and natural beauty, but a growing understanding in the world of China’s increasing modernity.
“It’s not just the bullet trains but fun things like drone shows and driverless taxis. Everything just seems to have an incredible place and energy in China. I think it’s fair to say Chinese cities are probably the most dynamic in the world at the moment.”
As for the China stand, he described it as: “Impressive, friendly, and open.”
Following the November 4th opening ceremony, the Chinese Tourism Office in London also hELD a special “China Night” event at London City Hall. The goal was to host an event where the Chinese and foreign tourism organisations can more effectively cooperate and exchange.
During the three-day WTM, the China stand is planning to hold more than 30 conferences, cultural performances and hand on activities. All intended to demonstrate the diversity and strength of China’s culture and tourism for global audiences.
The three-day WTM will continue until 6th November.
Since its inception in 1980, the WTM has been one of the world’s largest and most influential professional travel exhibitions. With the theme of “Travel Empowers the World”, this year’s WTM attracted 5,000 exhibitors from more than 180 countries and regions around the world to participate in the industry event.
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