Vision for the China Pacific Tourism Year 2019 now a reality
The tourism industries of SPTO member countries will benefit from the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) through the promotion of the China Pacific Tourism Year 2019 (CPTY). This was announced by President Xi Jinping on Friday when he met with Pacific Island Country Leaders from Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, PNG, Cook Islands, FSM and Vanuatu, before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
“With the
full support of SPTO member countries at the Council of
Tourism Ministers meeting in Samoa in October this year,
CPTY 2019 will not be a concept or vision anymore but a
reality. We are extremely grateful to the President Xi
Jinping, Government and people of the People’s Republic of
China for this great opportunity and we are very excited for
2019. CPTY 2019 will celebrate and mark the opening of the
door of cooperation between China and the Pacific in the
tourism sector, connect people in the tourism industry in
China and the region as well as increase awareness and
understanding of the Pacific Island destinations in the
Chinese market and vice versa” said SPTO CEO, Chris
Cocker.
SPTO also recognises the pertinent need to
improve air access from China into the Pacific; the need to
train the Pacific to be China Ready; the need to train the
Chinese tourism counterparts to be Pacific Ready; and the
need to sustainably develop and promote the Pacific to niche
market segments in the Chinese market and finally to
integrate culture in the Pacific and China as an important
component of the CPTY 2019 celebration and promotion.
“In 2018, an estimated 140 million Chinese visitors have
travelled the globe. Today China is the world’s largest
source market of outbound tourists and strategically for
SPTO and its member countries, this means better access to
the Pacific Islands where tourism has greatly expanded since
the early 90’s and China has emerged as not only the
region’s but also the world’s fastest growing source
market; and the top spender in international tourism since
2012” said Mr Cocker.
Cocker added that the China
market is the 6th largest tourism source market for the
Pacific and accounts for 6.7% of the total market share. In
spite of its modest contribution to the overall region,
China as a market has been the key driver of tourism growth
in the Pacific over the past 5 years. In 2017, an estimated
143,014 Chinese travellers visited our region” said Mr
Cocker.
The proposed activities for the CPTY 2019
program have been the topic of ongoing discussion between
the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Culture &
Tourism and SPTO. This was one of the key agenda discussed
when SPTO and some of its member countries attended the
China International Travel Mart (CITM) last week from the
16th to 18th November in Shanghai, China.