The third Dragon Trail International (DTI) survey on China’s outbound travel trade shows a preference for doing business at shows organised on the mainland or in Hong Kong, and attendance in 2025 is expected to rise between two and 12 per cent compared to the previous year.
According to Sienna Parulis-Cook, director of marketing and communications, this is the largest outbound travel trade survey to date with 465 respondents, where 29 per cent of respondents offer business travel services.
The B2B engagement question on planned trade show attendance in 2025 shows the 20th MICE Travel Expo co-locating with the 39th ITE Hong Kong will see a 12 per cent increase, ITB China three per cent, and IT&CM China two per cent.
Parulis-Cook pointed out Arabian Travel Market, the most popular international trade with five per cent attendance last year will increase three per cent in 2025, IBTM World at four per cent attendance will increase three per cent, and ITB Asia also at four per cent will increase two per cent.
As for 2024 B2B engagement and roadshows, DTI’s data visualisation chart shows Thailand, New Zealand, Dubai, New York City ranking high, followed by Fiji, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, Scandinavia and South Africa.
Among the 136 who responded on how roadshows help, 67 per cent said it was to learn about a destination’s resources and products, 61 per cent to better understand a destination’s brand message and marketing strategies, 60 per cent to learn about market trends and insights, 40 per cent to establish cooperative relationships, and 38 per cent to help with travel product design.
On areas where respondents would like more B2B “desired resources”, respondents named hotels (45 per cent), attractions (44 per cent), local transportation services (43 per cent), visa services (41 per cent) and shopping and retailers (38 per cent) as the top five.
On cooperation and support, respondents listed timely information on products, safety and culture; cooperation in developing travel products; seasonal travel products and information; preferential rates, offers and exclusive products; products for small and private groups; products tailored to age groups; Chinese-language services and Chinese food; and an easy payment experience.
