The ITB China Conference runs parallel to ITB China, taking place from 16 to 18 May in Shanghai, and will form a key element of the B2B show focusing on Chinese outbound tourism. Co-hosted by TravelDaily, the recognized travel think tank will invite business leaders and experts both from China and abroad to share their expertise and ideas on market hotspots in the industry.
The morning sessions of ITB China Conference will kick off with opening keynotes by Mr. James Jianzhang Liang, Co-founder & Executive Chairman of the Board at Ctrip; Mr. Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of European Travel Commission, “EU-China Tourism Year: A Year of Opportunities”; Mr. Leo Liu, President, Greater China, Wyndham Hotel Group, “The Invariable Innovation and Crossover”; Ms. Yiyi Jiang, Head of International Tourism Research, China Tourism Academy, “Trend of China Outbound Tourism Market” and Mr. Paavo Virkkunen, Head of Visit Finland and Executive Vice President of Finpro Ltd. on “Sustainability and Responsibility, Fundamentals in Travel Industry Development”.
The afternoon sessions of 16 May 2018 are dedicated to ‘Destination’ and ‘Customized Travel’. Moderated by Mr. Philip C. Wolf, Founder, Phocuswright Inc., the “Destination” session will feature a panel discussion on “EU-China Tourism Year” (ECTY). Panelists from major European destinations will explore how to upgrade the attractivity of Europe as a whole to Chinese tourists. Mr. Steven Shu, CMO, Meituan Dianping; Mr. Shihong Chen, Tourism Industry Director, Tencent Online Media Group, Tencent and other guests will further probe into the topic of destination marketing.
Mr. Joseph Wang, Chief Commercial Officer, TravelDaily China, will moderate a panel discussion on “Connecting Destinations with Chinese Millennials”. Panelists from Merlin Entertainments, the Ministry of Tourism of Brazil, Turismo de Portugal and the Israel Government Tourism Office will look at marketing strategies targeting at Chinese millennials.
For the first time ITB China Conference will feature a dedicated session on Customized Travel, which has become an important fast-growing market. Ms. Iris Cai, Co-Founder, UniqueWay will talk about "The Implementation of AI and Big Data in Customized Travel" and Executives from Abercrombie Kent as well as Lushu, will present interesting keynote speeches on “How to design customized travel products”. Afterwards ITB China and Qyer will launch the award ceremony of “It’s My World Travel Awards 2018”.
