In 1978, about 230,000 people visited China. By 2001, that number had grown to 11.2 million tourists who brought $17.8 million in tourism-related income. Chinese tourism leaders
seek closer isle tiesBy Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.comBut it is Beijing's successful bid for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games that is expected to boost the visitor count and revenue to never-seen-before levels.
In order to accommodate the influx of international visitors, the country is trying to transform itself and its capital city into a modern tourism destination. Ever since it was awarded the games, Beijing has been on fast forward to meet its deadlines.
China's government realizes it will need outside help and investment.
As part of achieving that goal, a delegation from the country's largest provider of tourism services arrived in Honolulu this week to talk about what opportunities there are for Hawaii businesses to participate in the effort.
Yesterday, the head of the delegation, Duan Qiang, chairman of the board of Beijing Tourism Group, signed a memorandum of cooperation with Gov. Linda Lingle to partner in tourism development and training.
The Beijing Tourism Group is the largest provider of tourism services in Beijing and one of the larger tourism organizations in China. It is also the lead service provider for the Beijing Olympics.
BTG also plays a large role in China's growing outbound tourism market. Hawaii could also benefit as a growing number of Chinese travel overseas every year, Qiang said.
"Just imagine how many would fly here if Hawaii becomes an official destination for the Chinese," he said.
Qiang said China will need help from Hawaii in specific areas. It wants to establish a partnership to assist in the training of hospitality staff and needs to gain expertise in resort development. To start, BTG wants to acquire a hotel in China that will be used both for tourists and for training BTG personnel. It also has plans to establish an annual Beijing festival.
BTG was originally established by the Beijing Municipal Government to undertake large-scale events for the city government and the Communist Party. It employs 40,000 people and has 38 branches throughout China as well as 20 locations overseas. It operates 40 hotels, 7 travel agencies, 2 exhibition centers, a tour bus company and an investment company.
Beijing Tourism Group