asia pacific regions


provided they apply


prior to travelling to Hainan.


She highlights Xi’an as another destination that will appeal to foreign visitors, plus Qingdao for its German heritage and beer brewing. There’s also talk of growth potential


from Wendy Wu Tours – the largest operator to China out of the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Founder and owner Wendy Wu says it is working closely with airlines to develop tours based around flights to second and third-tier cities. “We’re building packages and we view it as our duty to develop these routes as part of our strategy, but the challenge is pretty big,” she says. The reason the first-tier cities continue to grow is because they’re famous, whereas other cities such as Qingdao and Changsha are not as well-known simply because they have not had the exposure, not because they are less attractive. These cities have good tourism infrastructure, but they don’t have the money to promote their destinations. The fact that there are direct flights will allow these naturally beautiful destinations to flourish. However, Wu is concerned about the barrier posed by new rules, which came into force in November, requiring applicants to visit the Chinese embassy in their country to have their fingerprints and biometric information recorded, plus a more complex form from December. For her own company, she believes it will


Shenzen Airlines is among airlines now operating


direct international links to secondary cities in China


stifle growth and lead to a flat 2019. She is calling on the government to allow visa-free travel for three or seven days. “It would be like a snowball and grow tourism to China,” she says. In 201, the number of foreign visitors to hina grew . to 29 million, Ministry of Culture and Tourism figures show. The top four source markets of Myanmar, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan accounted for more than half of this. Euromonitor


International research manager


Shirley Lu and travel research consultant Wouter


Geerts say


outbound travel is increasingly


commonplace among the Chinese middle


classes, stimulating demand for connections from second and third-tier cities. The company forecasts outbound trips by Chinese residents will total 20 million by 200, making hina by


far the world’s largest source market. With 12 million arrivals by 200, hina will also become the


Chengdu is a popular side trip from Beijing or Shanghai because it’s the best place to see giant pandas


largest destination,” the consultants say.


Following extended visa-free travel for visitors to Hainan, they predict further such initiatives, while improved tourism


infrastructure and


diversified product will also help. Six airports


in China were among the top 20 fastest-growing in the world during the first half of 201, led by Quanzhou Jinjiang


International airport. Meanwhile, the China Outbound


Research Institute has forecast Chinese people travelling internationally will almost triple over the next decade to surpass 00 million by 200. A recent report on the market by Resonance Consultancy adds that in just over a decade the Chinese will account for a quarter of all international travel. With growth already coming from


The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum at Nanjing


commemorates the father of modern China


wtm.com


the tier-one cities, the extra numbers will come from elsewhere, Resonance’s president and chief executive Chris Fair explains. “We have hundreds of other cities that travellers are coming out of and there aren’t direct connections yet with those. It’s quite staggering to look at the list. “We’re going to see something in the


order of three to four times the current numbers as that market grows, and it will lead to more flights.


autumn 201 wtm insights 43


The famous


Terracotta Army at Xi’an, which now has direct access from Heathrow


© Peter Ellegard


© Peter Ellegard


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