18 May, 2011, Beijing: TUI China, an affiliate of World of TUI, the world’s leading tourism group with a European legacy spanning almost a century, today announced their forecast that China will achieve 60 million foreign inbound arrivals by 2020 (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), at a media briefing at the Beijing Hilton Hotel.

The media event was hosted by TUI China CEO Marcel Schneider who highlighted both current and future inbound industry trends. He said: “From our analysis of the inbound market we are confident that China will reach 60 million foreign inbound arrivals by 2020 and as such we at TUI China are clearly upbeat about China’s inbound future. The growing maturity of the market and the increasing diversity of its product offering will result in the required sustained growth in our opinion. ”

Elaborating on the development of the market Marcel named five key future trends, namely that: 1) group business is to maintain its prominent position in Western source markets; 2) diversification of entry/exit points such as international direct flights to second and third tier Mainland cities; 3) increased demand for tailor-made travel products, activity and special interests programs; 4) train travel to become more popular due to constructed high speed links and niche route luxury carriage designs; and 5) the rise in popularity of previously less known destinations such as Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Shandong, the Silk Road and Hainan island. Marcel further stated: “TUI China’s evolvement as a company mirrors the changing trends of the China inbound industry, just this year we launched PureQuest Adventures, a sub-brand that specializes in soft adventure and special interest programs throughout China. If we continue to act as pioneers in this market by identifying and reacting to China’s emerging trends our company will remain inline with its mission – “Putting a smile on people’s faces”.

According to CNTA sources China received 26 million foreign (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) inbound arrivals in 2010. Their total spend is estimated at USD26.7 billion, representing a significant contribution to job creation in China.