In November this year, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) will lead a group of delegates to take part in the China International Travel Mart (CITM), the largest and most influential tourism fair in Asia, taking in place in Shanghai from 16-19 November. Canada will be taking part in CITM for the 3rd time and on an unprecedented scale.

 

“We are delighted to be bringing such a large and influential group to CITM this year”, Michele McKenzie, President & CEO of Canadian Tourism Commission said. “CITM is gaining increasing recognition as an important platform for international tourism cooperation and is growing in leaps and bounds. China is a very important market for us and a strong presence at trade shows like this is a pre-requisite for success in the market,” she added.

 

In one of the largest booths at CITM, around 600 sq meters including a presentation and B2B area in the upper deck, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) will host 90 Canadian delegates including representatives from Tourism British Columbia, Travel Alberta International, Ontario Tourism and Tourisme Quebec, and key partners from the travel trade including Tourism Vancouver, Tourism Calgary, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts VIA Rail, Air Canada and Harmony Air. Special guests joining the delegation will be Michele McKenzie, President & CEO of CTC and British Columbia’s Premier, Gordon Campbell.

 

At CITM the Chinese travel industry and the Chinese traveling public will be able to meet some of Canada’s famous icons. Accompanying the 90 strong delegation will be the Le-La-La dancers, representatives from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Quebec’s own Bonhomme. Joining the RCMP group, will be Captain John Yee, Facilitator for the Police Driving Unit. Captain Yee’s parents were born in southern China and immigrated to Canada in 1953. They have never been back to China and Captain Yee was born and bred in Canada. “I have never been to China and look forward to tracing my roots” Captain Yee has said.

 

Canadian program activities include travel agent training sessions hosted by British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. These sessions aim at providing key Chinese travel agents with the knowledge and tools to successfully market Canada in the Chinese marketplace. MICE tourism will be a key focus during these sessions. A newly produced CTC MICE tourism brochure for travel agents will also be launched during CITM, as Canada gets set to become a more popular destination for large incentive group traffic.

 

In addition, Travel Alberta International will host a lunch for travel agents at the Canada booth on November 16, Ontario Tourism and Tourisme Quebec will host a lunch the following day for a group of travel media and British Columbia are co-hosting a dinner reception with CTC on the evening of November 17. At the reception, guests will be invited to sample one of British Columbia’s most delicious exports, Ice Wine, and enjoy a special Le-La-La dance performance. 

 

The Canadian program is due to end with a dinner for travel agents on November 18, co-hosted by British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. Each province will be inviting some of their key partners to the dinner, which should provide an excellent platform for further relationship building with influential Chinese travel agents.

 

Packed with exciting activities showcasing Canada’s tourism products and events seeking to stimulate and educate the travel trade in China about all Canada has to offer, Canada looks set to make the most of CITM 2006.

 

(China.org.cn November 2, 2006)