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North Carolina To Host Historic China-United States Travel Directors Summit

carolinanewswire.com

A historic meeting of state travel directors from across the United States and from 31 provinces of China will take place in Charlotte on October 24, 2007. The purpose of the summit is to help foster travel between the United States and China.

Lynn Minges, Executive Director for North Carolina’s Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development, will present the official welcome on behalf of the National Council of State Travel Directors. Zhu Shanshong, Director General of the Chinese National Tourism Administration (CNTA), will address the group and provide an overview of China’s tourism industry and the Chinese outbound travel market.

According to the World Tourism Organization, China is projected to supply 100 million travelers by 2020, making it the number one supplier of outbound tourists. The Chinese market presents significant growth potential for the U.S. Travel industry, since China is currently ranked seventh and is expected to be the second-fasted growing market in the world through 2015.

Although the U.S. has yet to come to any formal Approved Destination Status agreement with China to promote group outbound travel, significant travel is already occurring between the United States and China. In May, the United States and China signed a declaration of intent to launch negotiations to facilitate Chinese group leisure travel to the United States.

 Printable Version  | published Oct 23, 2007