Having seen success in domestic Chinese business events, the Hainan government has now turned its attention to the international market, in particular those in Europe.
Fam trips for potential buyers and roadshows in Europe are part of Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission’s action plans, spokesperson Anastasia Yang told TTGmice in an interview. This is in addition to the Chinese province’s first ever participation in IMEX Frankfurt this month.
Ying Sun
Yang noted that it was Hainan’s first independent presence at a tradeshow for the business events industry, as the destination had previously only participated in similar exhibitions under the China country pavilion.
Ying Sun, director of Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission, and Fangxu Chen, president of Hainan Provincial Conference and Incentive Travel Industry Association, led the Hainan delegation at IMEX Frankfurt.
Some 20 tourism enterprises, attractions and business event service providers from Hainan were represented, such as Hainan Province MICE Association, Himice Conference Exhibition Co, Hainan Hongrui Exhibition Management Co, and Hainan Tourist Hotel Association.
According to a press statement, Hainan welcomed 60.2 million travellers in 2016, 30 per cent of which were from Europe.
When asked if there were specific segments of business events Hainan was most confident in attracting from Europe, Yang said the government has intentions to win over the full spectrum of events.
“We believe our resources are good for all (types of business events),” Yang said, pointing to Hainan’s range of high quality hotels and meeting facilities, good customer service standards, sunshine and beaches, natural rainforests, rich culture and enticing cuisine as being magnets for European planners and event attendees.
The province is currently connected to Europe via flights operated by 23 airline companies that offer frequent scheduled and chartered flights from cities such as Rome, Frankfurt and Moscow. While not all are direct services, Yang said access for Europeans is easy through other Chinese international airports, as there are frequent domestic flights onwards to the province.
Continued efforts to improve air access from Europe are being made. For instance, the Hainan government was in Germany recently to negotiate with Frankfurt–Hahn Airport for direct flights.
Hainan’s easy access through major Chinese city gateways like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu has also given rise to twin-city itinerary potentials, according to Yang.
She emphasised that combining different destinations with varying appeals could enhance business event programmes, and Hainan’s destination specialists are able to help planners customise something suitable.
