Best of Britain on show to buyers across China as VisitBritain hosts travel trade event

More than 60 travel trade and industry suppliers from across the UK are set to showcase why Britain is a must-go-now destination to buyers from across China at VisitBritain’s annual ‘Destination Britain China’ event.

The three day trade event, this year held in partnership with British Airways and Visit Wales, takes place in Guangzhou, China, from Tuesday 21 November to Thursday 24 November with more than 3500 business appointments set to take place.

In attendance will be UK suppliers including hotels and retailers, visitor attractions, tour operators and local destinations from across Britain who will be doing business with 75 buyers from 15 cities across China.

VisitBritain Director Patricia Yates said:

“China is the most valuable outbound tourism market in the world and a huge opportunity for Britain. This event gives UK travel suppliers and local destinations the chance to get their tourism products and services in front of top buyers from China and to forge valuable business connections.

“We will be showcasing to Chinese travel trade and media the outstanding innovations in tourism across our nations and regions from the latest in luxury travel to rail, food and drink products, ultimately inspiring more visitors from China to book a trip to Britain right now.”

Destination Britain China has been running since 2009 and is a flagship event in VisitBritain’s annual trade event calendar. As well as doing business with top travel buyers in China, delegates at this year’s event will hear about the latest international travel trends, what the UK is doing to attract more international visitors alongside seminars on product development.

Britain has seen record-breaking growth from China in the first half of 2017. From January to June this year there were 115,000 visits from China to the UK, up 47% on the same period last year, with visitors spending £231 million, up 54%.

Visitors from China are some of the UK’s highest spenders, they also stay longer and travel more widely. In 2016 Chinese visitors spent, on average, £1,972 during their visit, more than three times the all-market average. They visited the UK for an average of 20 nights in 2016, compared to an all market average of seven.

Britain’s hotels, shops and visitor attractions continue to offer great value for visitors from China. As of October 2017 the UK was 10% cheaper for visitors from China, compared to October 2015.

For every 22 visits from China to the UK, one job is created in Britain’s tourism industry.

VisitBritain has ambitions to double spend from Chinese visitors to £1 billion annually by 2020.

 

Delegates attending Destination Britain China 2017

Alnwick Castle 
An English Collection 
Beatles Liverpool 
Beta Travel Limited 
Big Bus Tours 
Blenheim Palace 
British Airways 
Castle Howard 
China Britain Travel Group (Hello Britain Ltd) 
China Perfect Travel 
China Southern Airlines 
City Cruises 
City Sightseeing Worldwide 
David Urquhart Travel/Du Grand Tours 
Destination West End 
Discovering Distilleries - Diageo 
Discovery International Education and Travel Group Limited 
Dorsett Hotel 
Dufry / World Duty Free 
Durham Cathedral 
ECE Travel Ltd 
Edwardian Hotels London 
Encore Tickets 
English Heritage 
English Lakes Hotels 
Golden Tours 
Great Western Railway 
Hainan Airlines Holding Company Limited 
Historic Royal Palaces 
Jurys Inns 
Kew Green Hotel Group 
Lake District Estates - Ullswater Steamers 
Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway Co. Ltd 
Loch Ness by Jacobite 
London & Partners 
made 
Marketing Liverpool 
Marketing Manchester 
Mountain Goat Tours & Holidays 
No.1 Travel Ltd 
Northern England 
RMG Hotels 
See Britain Ltd 
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust & Royal Shakespeare Company 
The Alnwick Garden 
The Athenaeum Hotel and Residences 
The Hari London 
Tourism Ireland 
Tourism South East 
Trump Turnberry - A Luxury Collection Resort 
UKVI 
Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd 
Visit Birmingham 
Visit Wales 
Visit York 
VisitBritain Shop 
VisitScotland 
VOSAIO Travel Ltd 
Wangping Travel Limited 
Western Lake District & Coast 
Westfield Europe Ltd 
Windermere Lake Cruises 
World of Beatrix Potter Attraction/ Lakeside Railway 
YOYO International Travel Limited