November 2023

A three-year Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by Trip.com with the China International Culture Association to promote inbound tourism.

China International Culture Association and Trip.com Group have signed a strategic framework agreement to implement the ‘Nihao! China’ program, which includes filming and producing global promotional videos and the ‘Nihao! China’ digital communication campaign.

The ‘Nihao! China’ campaign, launched by China International Culture Association, aims to foster and promote cultural exchanges and establish friendships between China and visitors from around the world.

Several measures to boost tourism were recently announced by the Chinese State Council on September 27, including optimising visa and customs clearance policies, increasing international flight capacity and routes to key destinations, and improving inbound tourism products and information services for foreign visitors. This strong alliance, with updated travel policies, is expected to further promote the high-quality internationalisation of China’s inbound tourism.

As the official partner, Trip.com Group and China International Culture Association will promote the Nihao! China campaign on its platforms across various markets. The Group will further curate engaging content to showcase specific offerings and services, and position China as a unique and welcoming destination rich in history and cultural heritage.

In addition, Trip.com Group will also collaborate with Chinese cultural centres, tourism boards and other organisations to promote and showcase the unique attractions, experiences, and beauty of China.

Over the next three years, Trip.com Group plans to invest in platform technology, marketing and promotion, and product integration to accelerate the development of inbound tourism in China.

According to Trip.com Group’s data, the top ten sources of inbound travellers to China are South Korea, the United States of America, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Germany.  The first ten months of 2023 saw, four-digit growth in visitor numbers when compared with the same period in 2022. This equates to more than 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Following the opening of China’s borders earlier this year, there has been a consistent increase in the number of China-related bookings made via Trip.com Group’s platforms.

Trip.com data saw a significant increase in booking numbers. In October 2023, there was a 98 percent year-on-year surge in inbound flight bookings, while September and August saw an increase of 58 percent and 89 percent.

The top ten most popular cities for inbound travellers saw Shenzhen and Shanghai toppling the list alongside other destinations such as Guangzhou, Beijing, Zhuhai, Hangzhou, Foshan, Xiamen, Zhongshan, and Chengdu.  Seven out of ten hotel bookings made by inbound tourists are for Shenzhen, while two Shanghai hotels rank second and third in the most booked hotel list.

Trip.com stated, the demand for travel to China, is expected to rise. This is credited to the efforts made by the government and the industry to facilitate travel to the country. The government has simplified the visa application process for tourists from several countries and has also, since November 1, removed the requirement for inbound arrivals to fill in the entry health declaration card.

Data collected by Trip.com shows that global search results for inbound travel to China have significantly improved in the third quarter by nearly 40 percent compared to the second quarter.

Trip.com recently launched the China Travel Guide, a comprehensive guide which includes travel-related information such as hotel reservations, travel advice, transport options, payment methods, insights into popular destinations enabling international visitors to better explore the beauty of China.

Since its launch in September, the guide, has already served nearly 100,000 overseas visitors.

The Association Impact Masterclass was cocreated by BE Sarawak with ICCA and the GainingEdge and Meet4Impact. For this first legacy impact certification programme, Business Events Sarawak is the exclusive seed grant contributor.

“The Sarawak Government envisions Sarawak as the legacy capital of business events in Malaysia and Borneo. We see the importance of business events and its legacy in materialising our 10-year policy, the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030,” said Datu Hii Chang Kee, Deputy State Secretary of Sarawak and Deputy Chairman of BESarawak, at the 62nd ICCA Congress seed fund announcement.

Meanwhile, Amelia Roziman, chief executive officer of BESarawak commented: “Being the exclusive contributor will definitely help us to position Sarawak better. However, what is important is growing the human capital with highly qualified legacy impact association members. ICCA has been supporting our efforts to change the narrative of business events for the past 6 years. Our long-term collaboration is with associations who are vital stakeholders with a pivotal role in developing our key economic sectors in Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030.”

Genting Singapore Limited has released its Q3FY2023 business overview of the company and its subsidiaries.

The Board of Directors of Genting Singapore Limited is pleased, to announce that it has approved a total investment of around S$6.8 billion. The investment will firmly anchor Resorts World Singapore as the most sought-after tourism destination and, to be funded through internal resources.

At the same time, the company has received the Singapore’s government provisional permission with the construction of its Waterfront development with construction set to commence in 2024.

The Waterfront development comprises approximately 700 hotel keys and experiential lifestyle content in a captivating blend of biophilic architecture that is designed by award winning firm Benoy. Coupled with a striking new waterfront sculpture designed by Heatherwick Studio, it will transform Singapore’s skyline and form a monumental gateway to RWS and the new Greater Southern Waterfront precinct.

While the transformation of the company’s other developments such as the Forum, Minion Land in Universal Studios Singapore and the Singapore Oceanarium, are progressing well and expected to soft open in early 2025.

Artist impression of the resort by Resorts World Singapore.