5th China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market
22-24 April 2009, China World Trade Center, Beijing, China

Press Conference                 

Speech of Mr Matt Thompson
Project Director

On behalf of the organising Committee and team of COTTM, I would like to welcome you all to the official Press Conference for the fifth edition of China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market. I would like to extend our special thanks to the Media for your time in attending our event here today, and for all the support that you have provided COTTM over our first five years.

The twelve months since the last COTTM has been a huge challenge for the travel and tourism industry. According to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the growth in international tourist arrivals has slowed down considerably due to the volatile and turbulent global economy. The final result for 2008 was an estimated growth of 2%, down from 7% in the previous year, but the forecast for 2009 is that the arrivals will be flat at best and a few per cent down at worst.

These are global figures and forecasts, and whilst everyone has been affected, there are some markets that have proved to be more resilient than others. Whilst certainly not immune to this downturn, it is encouraging that outbound travel from China continues to grow and is expected to reach 50 Million in 2009, up 9% over the same period of last year. In 2008 there were 46 million departures made by Chinese outbound tourists, with an increase of 12% compared with its previous year.  This is still on course to achieve the WTO’s expectations that these numbers will continue to rise to 100 million by the year 2020, possibly even sooner.

Over the next three days, COTTM will welcome thousands of Chinese travel trade professionals who will come together with exhibitors from all over the world to source new products and destinations, and to build on existing relationships.

As traditional, more mature markets, have declined during the recession, forward-thinking exhibitors have realised that the strength of the Chinese travel industry can have a positive impact on their business. This year’s event will welcome over 200 international companies from more than 50 countries, from Argentina to Australia; Egypt to Estonia; Malaysia to Mozambique. In particular, I am delighted to announce a dramatic increase in the number of exhibitors from America, following its ADS status – this year’s event sees a large pavilion put together by the National Tour Association. Furthermore, we are pleased to welcome the combined V4 pavilion, showcasing the best tourism products from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

This year, many of our pre-registered visitors and hosted buyers have taken advantage of our innovative online appointment–scheduling system that enables buyers and sellers to book meetings in advance. More than 1,000 appointments have been made in advance.

Furthermore, this week sees a large focus on education. Many of you will also be attending the fifth International Forum on Chinese Outbound Tourism (IFCOT), which will take place on Friday at the Marriott Beijing City Wall. The conference programme will focus on a wide range of issues including outbound tourism trends, future challenges, commercial opportunities and government policies affecting the outbound market in the short and long term.

This theme continues this afternoon as COTTM once again plays host to the sixth edition of the Chinese Tourist Welcoming Awards, which recognises the efforts of international organisations who have adapted their products to cater for the Chinese traveller. Organised by the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, these awards will take place in this theatre at 2pm this afternoon. The CTW Award has been recognized inside and outside China as the most important award for the international Chinese Outbound market, with wide coverage in print and electronic media

Visitors to COTTM will also have the opportunity to participate in the China Outbound Clinic, an innovative way of giving answers and finding solutions for real experiences and questions while welcoming Chinese outbound travellers. This clinic is hosted by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt plus several specialized China Tourism journalists, concentrating on the critical issues of Chinese Outbound Tourism in 2009 and beyond.

Tomorrow afternoon, it gives us great pleasure to introduce a new initiative – the tour operators’ discussion, which aims to provide COTTM exhibitors with practical and informative views and advice on how to successfully co-operate with Chinese outbound operators to market and sell their products in China. 
There are also a number of exhibitor presentations over the next few days, which will allow visitors to gain a greater understanding of new and existing markets, such as Peru, Tunisia, Jamaica, America, and Egypt.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support in staging this important event here in Beijing for the fifth time. I hope that you find your visit to COTTM to be a great success and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2010.