Dubai Makes First Formal Foray Into Chinese Market

(PRWEB) January 31, 2005

As Dubai’s popularity as an ideal year-round business and leisure destination increases by leaps and bounds and the tourism industry expands, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) made its first formal foray into the hugely promising Chinese market through its strong participation in a major trade fair.

The department recently participated in the World Travel Fair (WTF- 2005) that took place in Shanghai from January 20 to 23 to acquaint the residents of the world’s most populous country about the emirate and its numerous attractions as well as developments underway.

DTCM Manager Overseas Promotions, Mr. Khalifa Ali Buamaim, who represented the department, said: “In business travel, Dubai is gaining in popularity to be chosen as a preferred destination in China. Feedback from the visitors to our booth was encouraging. Awareness of Dubai as a tourist destination is growing fast in the China market and we anticipate China to be the one of the fast-growing source market for Dubai tourism.”

The DTCM booth’s design featured the traditional Middle Eastern wind tower, projecting the heritage and culture of Dubai which was very attractive and outstanding among all others as this reflected the unique Arabian culture on Dubai.

Interviews were held on-site with several Chinese media who showed a keen interest on the emirate and the developments taking place.

“During the event, we met with a large number of potential outbound agents, travel media and individual travelers and provided them detailed information of the tourism facilities and key attractions in Dubai. The travel agents, trade contacts and media proved to be well informed of Dubai’s attractions and were optimistic about its potential,” added Mr. Buamaim.

The WTF 2004 attracted more than 50,000 visitors including 9,428 trade visitors. While last years show saw participation from 450 exhibitors from over 40 countries, this year more than 180 exhibitors from 49 countries and regions participated.

The DTCM team comprised 9 co-participants that included Dubai-based travel and tour operators. WTF is the first and the largest out bound focused travel show in China and focuses on business and leisure travelers from Shanghai, China’s most influential city for the world tourism industry.

WTF is one of the few high quality travel fairs in the Mainland China. It is jointly organized by the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission and VNU Exhibitions Asia.

Apart from Dubai, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Brunei, India, Nepal, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Sabah, Thailand, China, Philippines were other NTO representatives from the Middle East and Asia regions.

BIZ COM – “For PRoactive Communications”

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Dubai Makes First Formal Foray Into Chinese Market

USA Most Popular Study Abroad Destination for Chinese Students

Annapolis, MD (Vocus) October 6, 2010

Data generated by the search behaviour of 39,896 Chinese students conducted in August 2010 through the Chinese website 6student.cn part of the Hotcourses Abroad international portfolio of recruitment sites, has revealed that 36.4% of Chinese students select the US as their first choice of country to study abroad in. The UK came second chosen by 18.1% of students, then Australia (8.8%), then Singapore (3.8%), Malaysia (1%) and finally just under 1% choosing New Zealand. The balance (31.3%) was made up of those selecting anywhere in the rest of the world outside of named countries.

For the US and the UK, the ratios of those expressing an interest in studying abroad and those that have enrolled are broadly consistent with 98,235 Chinese enrolled at US institutions in 2008/09 and 47,035 in UK institutions for the same period, although not for Australia where there are 130,000 Chinese students in education which, proportionately is far higher than those now actively searching programs and schools there, potentially indicating a future decline in enrolment numbers.

In the USA the majority of Chinese students are searching for graduate programs (66.3%) compared to those interested in studying at an undergraduate level (13.55%). Interestingly, despite growth of the internet, new technology and the prediction of online as a growing means of program delivery, only 4.6% expressly searched for online programs with the balance of 95.4% looking specifically for campus-based. Some commentators say the reason for this heavy bias towards campus-based programs is a perception amongst students and their future employers that an online degree does not carry the same weight of quality. In addition, those students prepared to invest tens of thousands of dollars for an overseas degree, want to combine that with the cultural experience of spending time abroad as well, particularly as tuition prices between online and campus-based programs are often very similar.

The top 10 most popular subject areas of interest making up 87.4% of total searches were:

Business 21.1%

Engineering and technology 11%

Sciences 9%

Social studies 8.4%

Creative arts 7.9%

Medicine 7.7%

Computers and math 7.1%

Education 5.3%

Humanities 5.2%

Travel and tourism 4.7%

Again this is consistent with actual enrolment behaviour with business and management being the top field of study in the USA for international students in 2009/09 followed by engineering and the physical and life sciences. This suggests the trend of subjects future Chinese students will want to study, will remain consistent with those subjects that are already popular.

In terms of traffic origination and most dense regions from which Chinese students are searching study abroad options in the USA, the highest was Beijing (19.2% of searches), Guangdong (10.3%), Shanghai (8.7%), Jiangsu (7.9%) and Zhejiang (6.2%) meaning that over half of all students searching for US programs live in Chinas Eastern provinces.

What this data reveals is although there is increasing competition to recruit Chinese students around the world and within China itself, the interest from Chinese students in studying abroad and particularly coming to the US remains undiminished, commented Mike Elms, CEO Hotcourses Inc. The internet clearly is the most effective way of reaching potential Chinese students with more than 383 million Chinese online in 2009, up from 298 million in 2008 and of these 346 million using broadband*, more than the total population of the United States. Thats why we have a website, 6student.cn, fully in Chinese and domained in China to provide schools with an online presence within the country to reach this growing demand of students.

*CNNIC (2010), Statistical Report on Internet Development in China.

Background on Hotcourses Inc.

Hotcourses was founded in 1996 and now runs websites in 21 countries and in 16 languages around the world. It has websites with education links to destinations in the USA, UK, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and New Zealand. Hotcourses has offices in Massachusetts, USA; London, UK; Sydney, Australia; and Chennai, India.

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USA Most Popular Study Abroad Destination for Chinese Students

Bangkok (PRWEB) September 30, 2011 Thai superstar Thongchai “Bird” McIntyre will sing for the first time in Mandarin, rendering a soft, romantic melody in a music video set against the backdrop of some of Thailands most appealing and iconic tourism attractions. The music video will be broadcast in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, which are some of Thailands fastest growing visitor arrival markets (see chart below). Mr Suraphon Svetasreni, TAT Governor said, Music is a universal language, understood by everyone. This new strategy helps us to use the power of both music as well as our popular celebrities to underscore the brand image of Thailand and the strength of our marketing slogan, Amazing Thailand: Always Amazes You. This special music video will communicate a powerful and memorable message in a completely new way to our target group of Chinese visitors, which are important in terms of both numbers as well as spending power. In addition to the five source markets in the Asia-Pacific, the video will also be broadcast in the China town districts of cities in Europe and Australia. The TAT will seek to convert interest into bookings by offering special prizes of 3 days 2 nights tour packages to potential travellers who sign up for the marketing promotional offers before December 2011. The 3-minute music video Rong Hai Tham Mai (Why do I cry?) will feature Mr Thongchai and Ms Sonia Sui, a well-known actress, singer and model in Taiwan and another well-known Thai performer Mr Nawat Pong Kulrattanarak, who now commands a large Chinese fan following. The music video is directed by Mr Ekachai Uekrongtham, a rapidly-rising Thai film-maker. The narrative tells the tale of a Thai tour guide who meets up with a Chinese girl on his tour around Thailand. Their journey takes them to famous tourist attractions in Thailand such as Hua Hin Beach, Kao Tao Beach, Bung Bua National Study Centre in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, Khao Wang in Phetchaburi province, the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Chatuchak Weekend Market, Giant Swing, Yaowarat (China Town), the Golden Mount in Wat Saket, and other popular sites around Bangkok. Both of them share some memorable times with each other throughout the trip, until the tour comes to an end. How will this love story end? The climax to this love story is the draw card that is expected to keep viewers riveted until the end, and send the bookings to Thailand soaring. Mr Suraphon said, We think this video will pull at the heart-strings of potential visitors across all age groups. If it proves successful, we will replicate this strategy in other markets. Visitor arrivals to Thailand by nationality from the target source markets China – in 2010 1,122,21 visitors = +44.34% change/ in 2011 1,155,712 visitors = +68.59% change Hong Kong – in 2010 316,476 visitors = -0.72% change/ in 2011 253,256 visitors = +42.56% change Malaysia – in 2010 2,058,956 visitors = +17.13% change/ in 2011 1,385,042 visitors = +21.91% change Taiwan – in 2010 369,220 visitors = +1.77% change/ in 2011 302,628 visitors = +41.73% change Singapore – in 2010 603,538 visitors = +7.09% change/ in 2011 391,923 visitors = +23.39% change Source: Immigration Bureau, Thailand Visit this link for the Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINEWGka-4M&feature=related (Chinese Subtitle) Contact Information: International advertising support section Tourism Authority of Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 1521-4 Fax: +66 (0) 250 0245 E-mail: advertising_tat(at)hotmail(dot)com International Public Relations Division Tourism Authority of Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545-48 Fax: +66 (0) 2253 7419 E-mail: prdiv3(at)tat(dot)or(dot)th Web site: http://www.tatnews.org ### TAT Taps the Power of Music and Romance in Marketing to Chinese Visitor

Bangkok (PRWEB) September 30, 2011

Thai superstar Thongchai “Bird” McIntyre will sing for the first time in Mandarin, rendering a soft, romantic melody in a music video set against the backdrop of some of Thailands most appealing and iconic tourism attractions.

The music video will be broadcast in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, which are some of Thailands fastest growing visitor arrival markets (see chart below).

Mr Suraphon Svetasreni, TAT Governor said, Music is a universal language, understood by everyone. This new strategy helps us to use the power of both music as well as our popular celebrities to underscore the brand image of Thailand and the strength of our marketing slogan, Amazing Thailand: Always Amazes You.

This special music video will communicate a powerful and memorable message in a completely new way to our target group of Chinese visitors, which are important in terms of both numbers as well as spending power.

In addition to the five source markets in the Asia-Pacific, the video will also be broadcast in the China town districts of cities in Europe and Australia.

The TAT will seek to convert interest into bookings by offering special prizes of 3 days 2 nights tour packages to potential travellers who sign up for the marketing promotional offers before December 2011.

The 3-minute music video Rong Hai Tham Mai (Why do I cry?) will feature Mr Thongchai and Ms Sonia Sui, a well-known actress, singer and model in Taiwan and another well-known Thai performer Mr Nawat Pong Kulrattanarak, who now commands a large Chinese fan following.

The music video is directed by Mr Ekachai Uekrongtham, a rapidly-rising Thai film-maker.

The narrative tells the tale of a Thai tour guide who meets up with a Chinese girl on his tour around Thailand. Their journey takes them to famous tourist attractions in Thailand such as Hua Hin Beach, Kao Tao Beach, Bung Bua National Study Centre in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, Khao Wang in Phetchaburi province, the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Chatuchak Weekend Market, Giant Swing, Yaowarat (China Town), the Golden Mount in Wat Saket, and other popular sites around Bangkok.

Both of them share some memorable times with each other throughout the trip, until the tour comes to an end. How will this love story end? The climax to this love story is the draw card that is expected to keep viewers riveted until the end, and send the bookings to Thailand soaring.

Mr Suraphon said, We think this video will pull at the heart-strings of potential visitors across all age groups. If it proves successful, we will replicate this strategy in other markets.

Visitor arrivals to Thailand by nationality from the target source markets

China – in 2010 1,122,21 visitors = +44.34% change/ in 2011 1,155,712 visitors = +68.59% change

Hong Kong – in 2010 316,476 visitors = -0.72% change/ in 2011 253,256 visitors = +42.56% change

Malaysia – in 2010 2,058,956 visitors = +17.13% change/ in 2011 1,385,042 visitors = +21.91% change

Taiwan – in 2010 369,220 visitors = +1.77% change/ in 2011 302,628 visitors = +41.73% change

Singapore – in 2010 603,538 visitors = +7.09% change/ in 2011 391,923 visitors = +23.39% change

Source: Immigration Bureau, Thailand

Visit this link for the Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINEWGka-4M&feature=related (Chinese Subtitle)

Contact Information:

International advertising support section

Tourism Authority of Thailand

Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 1521-4

Fax: +66 (0) 250 0245

E-mail: advertising_tat(at)hotmail(dot)com

International Public Relations Division

Tourism Authority of Thailand

Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545-48

Fax: +66 (0) 2253 7419

E-mail: prdiv3(at)tat(dot)or(dot)th

Web site: http://www.tatnews.org

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TAT Taps the Power of Music and Romance in Marketing to Chinese Visitor