China Summit to address huge tourism growth

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The second China Travel Retail Summit, to be held in Shanghai on May 14-15, has been themed 'Keeping Pace with the China Travel Dragon.'

The event is organised by China Duty Free Group and China Power Duty Free Group in association with Moodie International.

The organisers said they appreciated the need for retailing standards to advance quickly if they are to keep up with the extraordinary growth in China's inbound and outbound travel markets.

New figures show the number of arrivals to China in 2002 grew by 9.9% to 97.9m. The number of foreign visitors excluding those from Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong rose an even more impressive 19.7% year-on-year to 13.4m. Arrivals from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland increased by 5.6% to 61.9m. Tourists from Macau to China grew 20% to 18.9m, while 3.7m Taiwanese visited China last year, up 6.35%. Meanwhile, the China National Tourism Administration said more than 16.6m mainland residents travelled abroad last year, many for the first time, a startling 40% increase on 2001.

"Retail in China has a major opportunity but also has much to do," said China Duty Free Group and China Power Duty Free Group. "We hope that our store managers and buyers from all around China will learn from the best minds in the international business at the Summit."

Last year some 576 delegates, including some 300 Chinese delegates, attended the inaugural event in Beijing. This year the event moves to Shanghai, the fast-growing commercial capital of China. The official hotel is the Shangri La and international visitors are urged to book quickly as there is a serious shortage of hotel rooms in the city because of the growth in travel. Full registration and conference details are available from www.ChinaTRSummit.com.

Once again several of China's senior Government and industry figures will attend. China Duty Free Group chairman Gai Zhixin and China Power Duty Free Group managing director Antares Cheng will both present major statements on the future of the business. Other highlights include a detailed analysis of the Japan travel market to China by Adrian (Edo) Mangiboyat, editor of Travel Journal International Online and Japan Travel Blue Book. Japanese visitor numbers to China grew a startling +25.2% last year, making China the leading destination for Japanese travellers.

To encourage more interaction between the Chinese and international contingents, this year's event will feature a major session called "Dialogue", based on a popular Chinese television programme: International panellists will take questions from the Chinese delegates on a range of retailing and product subjects.

The event will also single out those retailers most associated with high or improving retail standards in China. The China Travel Retail Awards for Excellence will be awarded to the best stores in each major category as well as the best store overall.