Cape Town, 7 February 2025 – World Travel Market (WTM) Africa has announced the launch of its first-ever China Ready® Workshop in partnership with CBISN, aimed at helping African tourism businesses capture their share of the world’s largest outbound travel market.
“With China’s outbound travel sector projected to reach 200 million travellers annually by 2028, the exclusive one-day intensive training on 11 April 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) comes at a crucial time for African tourism stakeholders,” says Olivia Gradidge, Marketing Manager for WTM Africa & ILTM Africa.
China Ready® is the world’s leading Chinese tourism preparation programme. Since 2002, it has been successfully implemented across 52 countries and six continents, helping more than a quarter of global tourism destinations effectively serve Chinese visitors.
The workshop, hosted by Dr Marcus Lee, CEO of China Travel Online, offers tourism professionals practical insights into attracting and serving Chinese visitors effectively.
“The workshop represents a significant opportunity for African tourism businesses to gain a competitive advantage in the Chinese market,” adds Gradidge. “Participants will receive expert guidance on everything from understanding Chinese visitors’ needs and preferences to marketing and promotion, dos and don’ts, the power of social media, preferred digital payments and cultural expectations, enabling them to create more appealing experiences for Chinese visitors.”
“China was the country with the highest outbound tourism expenditure worldwide in 2023 according to UN Tourism. China Ready provides assurance to Chinese visitors that destination and service providers understand and adhere to the Chinese hospitality standard”, says Marcus Lee, CEO of China Travel Online.
The China Ready® programme, developed by the China Outbound Tourism Research Academy (COTA) and operated by CBISN, is recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Since its inception, the programme has helped various destinations achieve remarkable growth, with some reporting an over 100% increase in Chinese visitors after implementation.
The workshop is essential for all tourism and hospitality stakeholders, including:
Destination marketing organisations and Tourism Boards
Accommodation providers (from luxury hotels to boutique properties)
Transport operators (aviation, rail, cruise, and ground transportation)
Tourist attractions and cultural venues
Retail and shopping destinations
MICE industry professionals
Luxury brands and service providers
Tour operators and destination management companies
Wellness and leisure facilities
Event details:
Date: Friday, 11 April 2025
Time: 09h30 – 15h30
Venue: WTM Africa Global Stage, CTICC
Investment: USD $299 per participant
Key workshop highlights include:
Comprehensive coverage of 25+ essential modules
Real-world case studies from 50+ countries
Practical strategies for immediate implementation
Official certification upon completion
Early registration is strongly encouraged as spaces are limited. Participants can secure their spot here.
More information available on the WTM Africa website here.
-ENDS-
Issued by: Big Ambitions
Contact: Sonnette Fourie
Tel: +27 81 072 2869
Email: sonnette@bigambitions.co.za
Now in its 32nd year, Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. Held annually at the Dubai World Trade Centre, ATM 2024 spanned 12 halls, making it the largest edition to date. The event attracted over 47,000 attendees and more than 35,000 visitors (including 6,000+ high-value buyers) and over 2,550 exhibitors and representatives from over 161 countries. In 2025, ATM will expand to 13 halls, growing across all sectors, and will continue to be a crucial gathering for the global travel and tourism industry. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai
ATM takes place from 28 April to 1 May 2025, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai.
https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html
Arabian Travel Week is a week-long festival of events from 28 April to 4 May, alongside Arabian Travel Market 2025. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes Start-Up Competition, Influencers' Event, GBTA Business Travel Forums, and ATM Travel Tech. The event also features ATM Buyer Networking and a series of country forums.
https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html
About RX
RX is a global leader in events and exhibitions, leveraging industry expertise, data, and technology to build businesses for individuals, communities, and organisations. With a presence in 25 countries across 42 industry sectors, RX hosts approximately 350 events annually. RX is committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX empowers businesses to thrive by leveraging data-driven insights and digital solutions. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit www.rxglobal.com.
About RELX
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 36,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. *Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors
World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events and online portals across four continents. The events are Arabian Travel Market, WTM London, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa.
WTM London is the world’s most influential travel & tourism event for the global travel community. The show is the ultimate destination for those seeking a macro view of the travel industry and a deeper understanding of the forces shaping it. WTM London is where influential travel leaders, buyers and high-profile travel companies gather to exchange ideas, drive innovation, and accelerate business outcomes.
Next event: 5 to 7 November 2024 at ExCel London
WTM Latin America is held annually in São Paulo and attracts more than 29,000 tourism professionals during the three-day event. The event offers a qualified content combined with networking and business opportunities. In its most recent edition, in 2024, WTM Latin America maintained its focus on the effective generation of business and managed to secure the early scheduling of more than six thousand meetings that were held between buyers, travel agents, and exhibitors. WTM Latin America contents are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Next event: 14 – 16 April 2025, Expo Center Norte, São Paulo, Brasil
latinamerica.wtm.com
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2024, WTM Africa facilitated more than 10 thousand unique pre-scheduled appointments, an increase of more than 8% compared to 2023 and welcomed more than 10 thousand visitors (unaudited), 25% more than 2023.
Next event: 9 to 11 April 2025 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/
About ATW Connect: Africa Travel Week’s digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.
WTM Global Hub, is the WTM Portfolio online portal created to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world. The resource hub offers the latest guidance and knowledge to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. WTM Portfolio is tapping into its global network of experts to create content for the hub. https://hub.wtm.com/
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