2024 China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market (COTTM)
Opening Address
By Qinghui Qing
Project Director COTTM
16 Oct 2024
Good morning! President Dai Bin, respected leaders and colleagues in the tourism industry, welcome you all to be here at COTTM opening today!
I am Qinghui Qing, the COTTM Project Director of the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market (COTTM).
Following the joyous National Day celebration of the people, taking advantage of the momentum of the China Africa Cooperation Forum in September, the 2024 China Outbound Travel & Tourism Market opens here today in this beautiful golden autumn! On behalf of the organizers, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the leaders and industry colleagues who have come to participate in the China Outbound Travel & Tourism Market !
Qinghui Qing, COTTM Project Director
The China Tourism Academy predicted in the “Annual Report on China’s Outbound Tourism Development” released earlier this year that the number of outbound tourist trips made by Chinese would reach 130 million by 2024. According to a survey conducted by Fastdata at the end of last month on China’s outbound tourism industry, the number of Chinese outbound trips reached 60.71 million in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 50.4%, and has recovered to 74.7% from 2019. This data all indicates the fact that: China’s outbound tourism industry is steadily recovering!
In fact, from our COTTM exhibition site today, everyone can intuitively feel the industry recovery. We warmly welcome 220 tourism resource and service providers from 52 countries (regions) around the world participating in the exhibition, including national/regional tourism boards from Egypt, Almaty, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Tunisia, Poland, Sarajevo, Uzbekistan, etc. Meanwhile, it is also expected that 3,000 outbound tourism operators from all over China to visit and make purchases at COTTM 2024.
Among these participating countries, Egypt has left a deep impression on me. Since 2006, they have been exhibiting at COTTM every year, and almost every time they bring around 20 grounding resources to occupy the largest exhibition area at the entrance of the exhibition. Tomorrow afternoon, the Egyptian Tourism Authority will hold a press conference at the COTTM Activity Center. His Excellency Sherif Fathy, the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Assem Hanafi and the Egyptian Tourism Authority CEO Mr Amr El-kady will also attend. Special thanks to the Minister and his team! All media and industry players are welcome to participate! At the same time, I also want to underscore that H.E Mr. Sofiane Tekaya, Minister of Tourism of Tunisia is leading the national tourism delegation to participate in COTTM this year, and the Minister will also give a keynote speech next! The Tunisian National Tourism office has consistently supported the development of COTTM since 2006. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all destination countries, governments, and embassies that have participated in COTTM and supported its development, as well as all exhibitors and partners!
In terms of the market demand, as the post-90s and post-00s generations have become the dominant force in the consumer market, the consumption habits of Chinese outbound tourism and travelers are undergoing significant changes. They place greater emphasis on tourism quality and hope to explore the unique culture and lifestyle of a destination and expect to pursue immersive and novel tourism experiences. Over the past decade, COTTM has been committed to sourcing “new, special, and unique” products and services from travel destinations from around the world, bringing them to Beijing to meet the needs of Chinese outbound tourism operators in developing and designing new high-quality tourism products and services, and catering to the demands of the younger generation of Chinese outbound tourists and travelers for “new, special, and unique” products. At today’s COTTM exhibition, there are mysterious cultural tourism products from Central and Western Asia, historical and artistic products from the Balkans, world heritage and wine tourism products from the Caucasus region, products from business delegations to the Middle East, hot air balloon products flying throughout Italy, and even magical safari products from Africa. Welcome everyone to “treasure hunt” on site.
Paralleled with the show, the “COTTM Conference” will also be held in this conference room as scheduled. We have invited more than 40 outstanding pioneers and key players in the China outbound tourism industry. Over the next three days, they will discuss the new pattern of the outbound tourism industry, the Belt and Road, new channels, new marketing, customized tourism, and new technologies of AIGC. In the afternoon of the 17th, our newly launched “COTTM outbound tourism investment & development forum” will try to explore the opportunities and challenges of China’s cultural and tourism industry going overseas. Meanwhile, in the fields of business and travel, COTTM’s partner, the CTC conference, will present a major discussion on the future of the travel industry to the industry on the 18th. We are particularly honored to have invited Mr. Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy and Director of the Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, to COTTM again! President Dai has supported the development of COTTM since its establishment and spoken at COTTM Conference for many times.
Known by the industry, COTTM gathers plenty of tourism resources from the “the Belt and Road” destinations. To further implement the “the Belt and Road” national strategy, COTTM will hold the “Outbound Tourism Investment and Development Forum” in this conference room tomorrow afternoon, providing opportunities for Chinese cultural and tourism investment institutions, hotel brands and technology system service providers committed to “going overseas” to connect with resources and projects.
With the increasingly clear global competition pattern among major powers, China’s outbound tourism industry is bound to prosper again with the globalization of Chinese manufacturing, Chinese brands, and Chinese solutions, just like the mighty, magnificent, and unstoppable Yangtze River flowing eastward. The green mountains cannot cover it, after all, it flows eastward!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank exhibitors, Chinese tourism industry operators, associations, and media partners from around the world. Thanks to their long-term support, COTTM is able to continue serving the Chinese outbound tourism industry after 19 years of ups and downs since it has been established in 2005. At the same time, I would like to express my special thanks to COTTM’s strategic partners – China Tourism Academy, and top operator partners – Utour Group and HCG Travel Group – for their full support over the decades!
2025 marks the 20th anniversary of COTTM. Our company, Informa Group, will adjust the dates of COTTM and bring it back to April 2025, with the dates 24-26th April. In the following, Shine Liu, General Manager of the Lifestyle Division of Informa Group China, will announce this officially.
Thank you again for your support. Let’s meet again at COTTM 2025!
Thank you!
