Looking back at the ‘Tourism from China’ conference

On June 9th, specialists from the Dutch tourism branch gathered at the Gouden Leeuw Hotel in Voorschoten, the Netherlands, to attend the conference on ‘Tourism from China’.

The attendants were welcomed by NBTC general director Jos Vranken and LeidenAsiaCentre executive director Frank Pieke. The morning program featured three international speakers who discussed various elements of Chinese outbound tourism.

Dr. Robert Li from Temple University, Philadelphia, touched upon China’s fast growing outbound tourism and its new trends, such as the second wave of Chinese outbound tourists who are younger, more experienced and who increasingly prefer independent travel. Eddie Yang, Country Manager NBTC China emphasized the importance and impact of social media for effective word of mouth marketing and recommended to organize authentic and personalized tours to cater to the needs of Chinese tourists. The last speaker of the morning was Robin Uyterlinde from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He elaborated on how new visa regulations have led to the opening of ten to fifteen new visa offices throughout China in order to make Holland more accessible for Chinese tourists.

The afternoon was filled with parallel interactive sessions headed by experts who expanded on their own expertise and research with reference to a variety of subjects concerning the Chinese travel market.

For those interested in the PPT’s of the speakers, please click here.

For a factsheet about Chinese tourism, please click here.

Partners

NBTC Holland Marketing
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dutch Culture
LeidenAsiaCentre