7 November, 2011, an affiliate of World of TUI, the world's leading tourism group, TUI China concluded its 100 person inbound travel trade FAM tour. The six day China tourism odyssey was in partnership with Air China, the Hangzhou Tourism Commission and the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration with the intention of highlighting the historical, cultural and unseen natural wonders of the Middle Kingdom as a global travel destination of choice.

The group, which consisted mostly of European tour operators and travel agents from source markets Russia, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Spain and the United Kingdom as well as East European and Scandinavian countries along with both Chinese and foreign media, commenced their immersion journey in the capital city of Beijing on 31 October. This was followed by a tour to the best attractions in Beijing and Hangzhou and a visit to an unspoiled water village on the outskirts of Shanghai, and then finally ended with a night cruise on the Huangpu River with a spectacular view of the city. Whilst the tour put China’s impressive historical and cultural attractions on display, the group was also exposed to the modern advancement of China by travelling on China’s high-speed railway from Beijing to Hangzhou.

The TUI China show of strength tour reinforced the company’s absolute confidence in the future of China’s inbound travel market, a market that they are leaving no stone unturned to promote. Previously this year TUI China announced their forecast that China would receive 60 million foreign inbound arrivals by 2020, excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Commenting on this familiarization tour, TUI China CEO, Mr. Marcel Schneider said during the welcome dinner in Beijing: “After eight years of successfully bringing foreign tourists to China, we are more convinced than ever of China’s potential as a global leading leisure destination. On the whole, inbound travellers to China have only begun to scratch the surface of what is available in terms of historical, cultural and natural attractions and activities in this vast and intriguing country, and we at TUI China are determined to showcase to our customers an in-depth experience of China’s marvels though our pioneering travel products. We have no doubt that China’s inbound travel market will grow from strength to strength”

Director of the Hangzhou Tourism Commission, Mr. Wang Xinzhang stated, “Hangzhou has been designated as an ‘International Tourist Destination’ in the Yangtze River Delta Development Strategy. In order to uphold these high standards, we are taking many measures to elevate our quality, such as optimizing the environment and improving infrastructure. We have kept excellent cooperative relations with TUI China. Our mutual success is not only based on our appreciation of the brand value of TUI, but also trust in their affluent resources in the European market. Hangzhou is very different from Beijing and Shanghai. Her distinguishing feature, the World Heritage listed West Lake emphasizes our feeling that in Hangzhou, ‘the view of the city is a sight in itself’.”

During the farewell dinner in Shanghai, Chief of Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration, Mr. Dao Shuming emphasized that it was a great pleasure to cooperate with TUI China. “We believe that, as Shanghai offers many spectacular views and different perspectives, ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, high-speed and slow-paced, this inspection tour will help our European travel trade partners to design tour products more adapted to the needs of their consumers. We look forward to strengthening our cooperation with TUI China in the future through the development of China’s inbound tourism.