Here are 5 aspects to consider in order to benefit from the opening without wasting resources that could be invested on closer targets.

1. Pandemic and safety: To date, many countries have introduced the obligation for Chinese tourists to take a COVID test before departure. Chinese citizens are used to regularly taking COVID tests and will need one before returning home, so from this point of view, one more test should not prevent them from traveling. However, with a wide choice of destinations for their first trip abroad after the pandemic, the one that does not require a test will appear more accessible and more easily reachable.
2. Destinations: For the moment, according to ForwardKeys, the most sought-after destinations would be Macao, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt. It is clear that at least for the first period, Chinese tourists’ trips outside their own country will have as main destinations the Asian countries, geographically closer.
3. Timing: According to TTG Asia, the first quarter of the year will focus on business or study trips, rather than leisure travel, whose real restart is expected for the second quarter, reaching pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.
4. Target: Dragon Trail argues that the first to travel will be independent tourists and in the younger age group, probably millennials or Gen-Z. Main travel motivations will be local cuisine and unique experiences related to the culture of the place.
5. Digital: Chinese social media (69%), travel websites and OTA (49%), KOL and travel blogs (45%) are the most important sources of information on travel destinations for Chinese consumers. In the recovery period, digital channels, the purchase of advertising space and the use of influencers will all be crucial for marketing. As a study by Dragon Trail, ITB China and COTTM shows, WeChat will remain one of the main channels for researching and booking trips and experiences.

We at Twissen observe that, despite the reopening of borders, given the aforementioned implications, the Chinese segment will remain marginal for the next period. It is necessary to study and adapt the strategies to target a specific segment of Chinese tourists, focusing on the most promising destinations and channels.

Twissen

L'articolo China reopens: caution and opportunities proviene da Twissen.

There is no substitute for a face-to-face meeting. This is proven by the fact that in-person encounters lead to more fruitful business opportunities, where relational and financial impacts are significant, as confirmed by 74% of business travelers. Moreover, an analysis by the San Diego State University underlined how organizations that resume business travel more quickly will probably have a competitive edge over those that do not go back to in-person travel as fast. .

Also bleisure travel, more and more identified as workation trend, is coming back: 53% of business travelers are taking into consideration going on a bleisure trip, where they can blend family, work and fun all in one. Because of remote work, beach and ocean resorts are the most interesting destinations, together with off the beaten track locations. In particular for bleisure tourism, companies working in the travel industry can now capitalize on this trend basing their marketing campaigns on local tourist attractions and events so that business travelers will extend their trip thanks to their presence.

At Twissen, we have observed how the return of business travel brings with it a new travel mindset, dictated by the emerging needs of workers, accustomed to increasingly hybrid meeting modes, and the need to find the best solutions for combining private and work life.

Twissen

L'articolo The evolution of business travel and emerging trends in 2022 proviene da Twissen.

According to the “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2017” of the World Travel & Tourism Council, in 2016 tourism generated a direct contribution to the Country’s GDP of 4.3bn euros, namely 2% of GDP. The WTTC expects this to grow up to represent its 2,2% in 2027. The total contribution, including the indirect and induced ones, was 18.9bn euros, namely 8,8% of GDP. The report underlines how the tourism sector of the Country is particularly characterised by national tourism flows. In fact, in 2016, the domestic tourism expense represented 77,1% of the direct contribution to the Travel & Tourism industry.

The World Economic Forum, in its “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017”, ranks Finland 33rd for tourism competitiveness, out of 136 analysed Countries. The strong points of the destination are the environmental sustainability (5th), ground and port infrastructure (24th), air transport infrastructure (30th) and international openness (31st). Weaker points are the minor priority that the Government dedicated to the Travel & Tourism industry (86th) and the price competitiveness (112th ).

In 2015, the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment published a new tourism strategy, called “Rodmap for Growth and Renewal in Finnish Tourism for 2015-2025”. The strategy aims to enhance the Country’s appeal as a tourism destination, through a better cooperation between tourism centres and networks of enterprises operating in the sector. Some of the planned operations for the 2015-2018 period, financed by the Ministry itself, are “Finrelax”, which aims to position Finland as a Country for wellness tourism and “Finland stopover”, to make it popular for short stays. Further measures include the increase of air routes from and to Asian regions through the “Air Strategy to 2030”, the promotion of activities linked to nature and adventure tourism with the “Finland’s Strategy for the Arctic Region” and the development of the first “Strategy for Food Tourism in Finland”.

The Finnish Government, which is part of the intergovernmental forum named Arctic Council, proposed a collaboration deal to the Norwegian Government, to build an artic rail route to connect these Countries to the rest of Europe.

Finland proves to be a Country taking care of its folk traditions. Maybe this is one of the reasons why there are several particular events but, as reported by Visit Finland, with the capability of attracting tourism flows. Among these, there is the world championship of wife carrying, of mobile phone throwing, of winter swimming and of mud football. In addition, in every period of the year the local bodies organise the “Viking Dinner” in Iloranta, dedicated to tourists who want to experience a timeless experience. There are also many music festivals: Pori Jazz Festival, Ilosaarirock Flow Festival, Club Color Festival and Konemetsä Festival are just some of them. In addition, the Savonlinna Opera Festival, born in 1900 and celebrated in Saint Olaf castle, lasts an entire month and hosts 60.000 people every year, with the participation of theatre companies from every part of the world.

Finland is a safe destination. Even if the UK Foreign Travel Advice states that attention should be paid to possible threats deriving from international terrorism, the Country is 1st as safest in the world, according to the World Economic Forum. Its Capital Helsinki is also among the 10 most liveable cities in the world.

At Twissen we observed that Finland has an interesting potential to become a destination characterised by more constant tourism flows. The development of new tourism products, which can lead to a specialisation of the offer, is useful to attract new market segments.

Francesco Redi

President and founder at Twissen. Manager in Local Development, Tourism Policies,  EU Funds. He cooperates with several European universities, public bodies, development agencies, DMOs and enterprises.

L'articolo In Finland, the Government focuses on new tourism segments proviene da Twissen.

Recently, this topic was discussed during the 3rd World Tourism Organization Euro-Asian Mountain Resort Conference, which was held in Georgia.

UNWTO showed to be very sensitive about this topic, as 2017 is also the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development; it underlined the importance of mountain tourism to the economic development of remote areas, also addressing to its potential to enhance the awareness towards sustainable tourism of travellers, institutions and enterprises. 

In Europe, following the growing demand of experiential tourism, mountain tourism is being characterised by the demand for adventure tourism. The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) reports that the global adventure travel market is worth 80bn euros. This year, ATTA has also included Albania in the top destinations for this type of tourism, along with Portugal.

As reported by the Tirana Times, Albanian tourism operators are investing in this sector: mountain hiking and rafting through natural canyons seem to be the key to attract many adventure tourists who are looking for experiences in emerging destinations.

Also other Countries are promoting themselves as ideal places for this sector, flanking other historical destinations of ski tourism as the Alpine ones, and in which mountain tourism is a crowded and consolidated market.

Among the Countries which are investing on mountain tourism there are Ireland and Slovenia, which is now focusing on the development of environmentally sustainable tourism products. Thanks to its particular attention towards slow tourism, this year Slovenia gained the prize for Best Mountain Hiking Community in Europe, given by IMBA Europe, the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

At Twissen we observed that mountain tourism offers several possibilities to create different tourism products. Adventure tourism, along with experiential tourism, is an excellent sector for his purpose, given the growing demand by international tourism flows. Attention towards sustainability can allow the an environmental-friendly development of infrastructures for mountain tourism, in order to avoid the impairment of the typical mountain ecosystems.

Martina Baldo

She graduated in Intercultural Development of Tourism Systems and she has a passion for foreign languages and cultures. Since 2016 she works as administration and tourism project manager at Twissen.

L'articolo Mountain tourism, sustainable segment of adventure tourism proviene da Twissen.

According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, international tourists that visited the Country in 2015 were about 15.6 million, and grew by 18% during 2016, along with the number of overnights, which grew by 21%. In the previous year, the most important origin markets were the United Kingdom (+20%) and Italy (+17%).

In fact, according to the “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2017” published by the World Travel and Tourism Council, in 2016 the foreign tourists expense represented 62,7% of the Travel & Tourism direct contribution.

Generally, in the same year, the direct contribution of tourism to the Hungarian GDP was about 4.5bn euros (HUF 1,440.2bn), namely 4,1%, and it is foreseen to grow up to 5,3% in 2027. The total contribution, including the indirect and induced ones, was about 11,7bn euros (HUF 3,667.4bn), namely 10,5% of total GDP.

In 2014, the Hungarian Government approved the Tourism Marketing National Plan, which aims to promote new market segments through branding strategies and international promotion campaigns. A National Plan for Tourism Development is also being prepared; it projects the intervention of some local stakeholders which are going to invest in developing attractive tourism products, in hospitality and in DMOs’ activities.

The Government is promoting several initiatives to deseasonalise tourism flows. The most successful one is the “Budapest Winter Invitation” campaign, which aims to enhance tourism flows in the capital during the winter period through several promotions and advantageous tourist cards.

Hungary, with Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland, joined the project “Discover Central Europe”, which has the objective of promoting this region of Europe to potential tourists. Moreover, in 2014, the China–CEE Countries‘ Tourism Co-ordination Centre opened in Budapest, which aims to increase the visibility of the Central Europe Countries, promoting them to the Chinese market as one destination.

Tourism in Hungary has a strong leisure connotation. Notwithstanding, as reported by the Hungarian Tourism Agency, the business segment grew during 2016, along with the events that can be referred to the MICE segment which rose by 27%. Another important segment is the wellness one, thanks to the several thermal springs in the Country. Recently, the Ministry of Economy announced a renovation plan of thermal baths to consolidate the success of the destination in this segment.

Many events are planned for 2017, from music to food and wine festivals, aiming to foster the number of tourists in the Country, both national and international. A particular attention is paid to the 17th FINA World Championship, holding in Hungary in July.

According to the UK Foreign Travel Advice, in Hungary there is a low risk deriving from international terrorism, but there is a significant petty crime rate in cities.

At Twissen we observed that tourism in Hungary is a sector which is mainly linked to its historical wellness connotation and, consequently, to the leisure segment. Notwithstanding, the Government is adopting deseasonalisation and differentiation policies of the tourism supply, to attract different targets from new origin markets.

Francesco Redi

President and founder at Twissen. Manager in Local Development, Tourism Policies,  EU Funds. He cooperates with several European universities, public bodies, development agencies, DMOs and enterprises.

L'articolo Hungary is still a successful wellness tourism destination proviene da Twissen.

In Serbia, the tourism sector is oriented towards the leisure segment. As underlined in the WTTC’s report, 85,8% of Travel & Tourism direct contribution is represented by leisure travel expense. It is interesting to highlight that 67,5% of direct contribution is represented by the international tourists’ expense, and the destination aims to foster this segment. Notwithstanding, as it is reported in the World Economic Forum’s “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017”, this Country is not able to count on policies which guarantee its internationalisation. In fact, Serbia is 95th out of 136 analysed Countries for tourism competitiveness and, as a tourism destination, shows some weak points on “International Openness” (106th) and in particular regarding Government policies and expenditure in Travel & Tourism (respectively, 110th and 131st). Moreover, the Country has not defined yet successful destination branding policies (127th). On the other hand, Serbia has an effective potential in hotels price competitiveness (17th), an organised rail network (21st) and a sufficient environmental sustainability level (61st).

At the present day, the Serbian Government has not renewed a tourism development strategy yet. The most recent strategic document dates back to 2006 and was called “Tourism Strategy of the Republic of Serbia” and aimed at the “Support to Implementation of the National Strategy for Tourism 2010-2012”. Notwithstanding, the Country is putting efforts in planning an attractive tourism offer, addressed to young people and sport lovers. Thanks to the cycling path along the Danube, Serbia is on European Cyclists’ Federation‘s international route called Eurovelo 6. New tourism products linked to mountain and hill sports are being developed, such as trekking and rafting, thanks to more than 300 specialised guides in these sectors and 150 dedicated associations.

According to the Serbian National Tourism Board, last year the Country welcomed more than 1.2 million tourists, a record to this nation, which grew by 13% yoy. The most interesting origin markets were China (+29%), USA (+16%), Canada (+9%), Italy (+7%) and Russia (+6%). A further growth of tourism flows from Italy is expected starting from June, when Air Serbia will introduce a the route Venice-Belgrade.

Several festivals are planned in the whole Country during the summer season, aiming to attract more tourists, both domestic and international. Among the successful festival, in July there is the Exit Festival of contemporary music and the International Film Festival. The following month, the Nišville jazz festival and the Guça Festival.

Last November, the Ministry of Health announced a contest for the health sector professionals, aiming to promote Serbia as a medical tourism destination. As in other Countries, this sector represents an economic potential which has not been exploited yet in Serbia, which will be promoted as a medical tourism destination in the next international tourism trade shows. Recently, the Government showed its willingness to attract more Chinese tourists, also projecting direct flights from and to the Country, especially after the mutual exemption from visa, in force since January, an initiative which has been followed by several Countries in order to enhance their appeal towards non-EU tourists.
In order to foster its competitiveness, cooperation agreements are planned with Montenegro and Hungary to be promoted as an integrated destination to Chinese tour operators.

At Twissen we observed that the Serbian Government is prioritising tourism in its development policies, investing on different segments through promoting new travel motivations.
Moreover, according to Ctrip, Chinese colossus of the Travel & Tourism industry, Chinese tourists spend an average of 3.000 euros per holiday while in Serbia. As we could notice, Serbian Travel & Tourism operators are organising to welcome a growing number of this segment of tourists.

Francesco Redi

President and founder at Twissen. Manager in Local Development, Tourism Policies,  EU Funds. He cooperates with several European universities, public bodies, development agencies, DMOs and enterprises.

L'articolo In Serbia, new travel motivations to increase tourism flows proviene da Twissen.

As reported by the “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report” by the World Economic Forum, Cyprus is 36th out of 141 analysed Countries. This positive performance is probably due to an organised “Tourist Service Infrastructure” (2nd place) and to the “Prioritization of Travel & Tourism” policies (3rd place). The Country can also count on its “Ground and Port Infrastructure” (23rd) and “Air Transport Infrastructure” (46th), which ease the tourism arrivals. On the other hand, the weakest points of the destination are “Price Competitiveness” (111st) and “Environmental Sustainability” (83rd).

One of the most interesting trends in 2016 was the so-called “wedding tourism”. According to the Cyprus Tourism Organization, about 8.000 civil weddings are celebrated in the Country every year, of which 5.000 are organised by British tourists. This is one of the reasons why TUI UK signed a deal with BookYourWeddingDay.com, in order to simplify the administrative procedures required to get married in Cyprus and in Greece.

In 2013, the Cyprus Tourism Organization signed a cooperation agreement with the Cyprus Medical Association to promote the Country as a medical tourism destination. During the last ITB held in Berlin, they announced new agreements to foster the growth of this segment.

During the visit of the Cyprus Undersecretary of the President to Israel, the Government showed its intention of starting several collaborations with the Israeli Government in the business, innovation and tourism sector. In March, ISSTA Lines, part of the Israel’s biggest tourism company ISSTA Assets, started a joint acquisition together with the chain Fattal Hotel Management of 800 hotel rooms of 3 different resorts located in the area of Paphos, for a value of 80 million euros.

At Twissen we observed that Cyprus is a mature leisure destination. There is room for developing business in the wedding tourism segment, in particular for the British demand. A major attention paid to sustainability could further enhance the tourism performances of the destination.

Francesco Redi

President and founder at Twissen. Manager in Local Development, Tourism Policies,  EU Funds. He cooperates with several European universities, public bodies, development agencies, DMOs and enterprises.

L'articolo Cyprus, a leisure destination that grows in wedding tourism proviene da Twissen.