China Remains the Key Focus for America’s Tourism Plans

In a move to push increased international tourism in USA and to grow America’s share of the global travel market, the National Tour Association (NTA) will be hosting a China Market Forum in Hawaii next week. The prominent travel agents from China as well as leading US experts will join the forum to share ideas and insight to uplift the mutual tourism trend in China and USA.

Earlier this year, the Obama Administration and representatives of the US travel and tourism industry launched a campaign called Brand USA that included China as a key target of their $150 million marketing fund promoting USA as the top travel destination in the world.

The forum comes after a series of initiatives this year, which aims to bring millions of new international visitors – and the billions of dollars they spend – to the US, creating loads of new tourism related jobs in America.

After establishing offices in Beijing and Shanghai earlier, Brand USA, to promote tourism in USA launched an integrated campaign which includes consumer marketing, social media and a Chinese-language website, available in mobile and PC versions, on Aug 7.

This gives Brand USA the ability to reach consumers through a cohesive marketing program and in turn provide highly qualified users and value to our travel partners in China and globally. Users may upload stories and photos of their US trips to win a variety of prizes.

In 2011, China ranked No 9 in terms of international arrivals to the US and in 2012 it jumped to No 7. By the end of 2013 it will be vying closely for the No 5 spot with Germany and Brazil, according to the latest data from Brand USA.

The association’s Shanghai Office has been working with five top tour operators in Shanghai on special itineraries for attracting more Chinese travelers to California during the 2013 Spring Festival, she said.

Helen Tsui, the director of international tourism for the association’s Asia-Pacific department, said that “repeat Chinese visitors now seek more in-depth tours to gain a deeper understanding of the destination, and their strong interest in buying luxury brands and vitamins has not changed”.

First time Chinese visitors to the US usually try to cover as many cities as possible, spending only one day in San Francisco. So, Chinese visitors like to spend three to four days to really experience the different neighborhoods of city, when they come back.