A
relationship continuing to this day and which Bit – Borsa
Internazionale del Turismo wanted to celebrate by nominating China as
Guest Country for the 2013 edition, to be held in Milan at Rho from
Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 February 2013.
“Choosing
China as the Guest Country at Bit 2013 – comments Marco Serioli,
the manager of Fiera Milano Exhibitions Division – is in token of a
historic cultural relationship, now succeeding in transforming itself
into business relationships as well, especially in a sector such as
tourism, its very essence being exactly reciprocal transactions
between differing countries. China is now one of the world’s
first destinations and
by 2020 it will become the first outgoing market.
The Bit and Fiera Milano internationalization strategy, particularly
focused on emerging markets,
is keen to promptly address this trend, with a view to collaboration,
creating opportunities for
both institutions and sector players”.
Fortunately
there is no need to have the adventurous spirit of Marco Polo to
visit China nowadays: it is sufficient to be good Travellers. China
in fact became the world’s third touring destination in
2010, with about 56 million visitors, on an average increasing by +9%
(UNWTO data). The first things that foreign visitors want to see are
the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army at Xi’an and the Forbidden City
in Beijing. But Italians are also very keen on the Silk Way, treading
in the Venetian explorer’s footsteps.
Italian
visitors in China registered record numbers with
about 240 thousand in 2011. Our fellow countrymen visit the Asiatic
giant above all for business, but leisure trips are also on the
upward trend. The Italians not only like the
classical destinations but also Canton and Shanghai. The
typical package is for 9 days and 7 nights, but 15 to 20 day stays to
visit the inland parts are likewise on the upturn (Source CNTA -
China National Tourism Administration).
On
their part, the Chinese have a great desire to see Europe, in
particular Italy, as they are full of admiration for its lifestyle.
China will be the world’s first outbound market by 2020,
according to UNWTO, with over 100 million tourists. Last May, our
country was the destination for the greatest bonus-journey
ever organized in China: as many as 2,800 managers, whose company –
a great producer of consumer goods - asked them to vote their
preference, chose Italy, where they visited various central-northern
localities in a mix of art and shopping: each one having spent an
average of 4,000 Euro on Made
in Italy must products. Chinese travellers to
Italy increased by + 130% in 2011, adding up to over 230 thousand
visas issued by our embassy.
China
will enjoy special visibility as Guest Country during the exhibition,
through all the official communication tools and with a series of
events including informative meetings on destination China
in the “Destination Room” meeting room.
