30 May 2018, Chengdu – Some 100 European tour operators, selected by the European Commission, would be taking part in the upcoming 6^th Chengdu International Tourism Expo (CITE) 2018 for the first time. CITE 2018, which takes place in Chengdu from 29 November to 1 December, is also an official partner event of the current EU-China Tourism Year (ECTY).

Organised by the Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS), the 6^th edition of the CITE series is supported by the Tourism Development Commission of Sichuan Province; the Chengdu Municipal Tourism Administration; the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Exposition and the Sichuan Tourism Association.

The press conference being held at the Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel today, was graced by some X number of local government officials and special invited guests,  including Mr Chai Yan Zhu, the Executive Vice-President and Secretary-General of Sichuan Tourism Association; Mr Yin Hai Sheng, Assistant Secretary-General of Sichuan Tourism Association; Ms Wu Ning, Deputy Director, Promotions, Chengdu Municipal Tourism Administration; Mr Liu Jun, Deputy Director of Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Exposition; and Mr Kenneth Teo, Regional Director (est China) of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

Said Mr Chai: “The Sichuan Tourism Association is glad to partner CITE again to bring the international and local tourism players together, and to provide the professional platform for businesses who are looking to expand into the Chinese market.”

Mr Edward Liu, Group Managing Director of CEMS, added: “In 2017, Chengdu surpassed Guangzhou and Shenzhen to become the third outbound tourism market in China. With 2018 being the EU-China Tourism Year, we are honoured that the European Commission and the European Tourism Association have chosen CITE 2018 as an official partner event. I am confident that this collaboration will draw a good representation of the European Union destinations into the show.”

The European Commission will bring 100 European Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) from the tourism and leisure sector. The focus of the events in Chengdu will be the draw of Romantic Tourism in Europe for the Chinese market. Head of the consortium delivering the programme, ETOA’s CEO Tom Jenkins said: “Chinese romantic travel is a very important niche in which Europe must compete.”

Attendees of this afternoon’s press conference were presented with event highlights that exhibitors, hosted buyers and trade visitors can look forward to in the exhibition. Apart from a significant presence of European and Canadian exhibitors in view of the EU-China and Canada-China Tourism Year, there will also be an offering of diverse products from the Asian exhibitors.

An important aspect of a tourism travel and trade exhibition is the hosted buyers programme. Sourced by a team of dedicated staff, some 400 pre-qualified top buyers from Chengdu, the Western region, the Chongqing municipality as well as other cities will be accepted to attend CITE 2018.

Newly added to the exhibition is the two days of business networking lunches for invited exhibitors to mingle with the hosted buyers and selected media. “This allows more interactions outside of the pre-scheduled B2B sessions”, said Mr Liu.

Chengdu is the provisional capital of Sichuan. The city has an urban population of over 10 million people and the province has a population of over 81 million people. It is the fifth largest urban centre in Asia and so one of the most important economic centres in the world.

The organiser, CEMS has a track record of 29 successful editions of professional international tourism exhibitions such as BITE, BITM, CGITE, XSRITE, and CITE, with participants from across 80 countries over the last 15 years.

For more information on the 6^th Chengdu International Tourism Expo (CITE) 2018, please visit www.CITEChina.asia.

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59.03 million – this is the number of Chinese who travelled overseas during the first half of 2016. While the exhibitors, visitors and hosted buyers are gearing up for the Chengdu International Tourism Expo 2016, the host city finds itself in a more than commendable position as one of top source of outbound Chinese tourists. According to a joint report by the China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, Chengdu joins first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai as one of the top Chinese cities that shipped the 59.03 million outbound Chinese tourists all over the world, at the sixth position.

The first half of the year has already seen the number of Chinese outbound tourists surpass the halfway mark of the number of outbound tourists in 2015 – a record high 109 million – with Chengdu as a huge contributor to the figures. While the rest of the world are still crunching the inbound tourism figures during the Golden Week, China is set to retain its status as the largest tourism market in the world.

With online travel agencies like Tongcheng and Tuniu selling tour packages in the consumer section, Chengdu International Tourism Expo 2016 2016 will support the outbound tourism of Chengdu and the Southwestern region of the land of the red dragon. Chengdu International Tourism Expo 2016 is set to welcome embassies, national tourism organisations, travel agencies, airlines etc, to meet with the local trade visitors and hosted buyers from Chengdu and the provinces around Sichuan. Through a series of meeting sessions, the exhibitors, visitors and sellers can negotiate in mutually beneficial business collaboration, further propelling the outbound tourism market of Chengdu, and the inbound tourism of the exhibiting countries.

About Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd.
Founded in 1980, Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS) Pte Ltd is a pioneer in Singapore’s conference and exhibition scene. A regional organiser with a global perspective, CEMS has vast knowledge and experience in organising and managing events for government agencies, associations and private enterprises. CEMS is active in the ASEAN region including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, China in North Asia, and Pakistan in South Asia.

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