中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「香港:十五年回顧與前瞻」 香港灣仔博覽道一號 香港會議展覽中心S221室 2012年10月8日上午11:45至下午2:30 二零一二年十月八日,香港 中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇於二零一二年十月八日在香港會議展覽中心舉辦專題午餐會,來自不同戰略行業的專家演講嘉賓將為大家分享真知灼見。各位嘉賓將會從各自行業的角度回顧香港過去十五年該行業的發展,並展望未來五年的發展挑戰及機遇。本次午餐會將邀請來自政府、商界、學界、非牟利機構及媒體界的領袖,包括亞洲新聞聯盟的主編。亞洲新聞聯盟是由亞洲19個國家和地區21家主流媒體構成的新聞聯盟,是全球最大的媒體及出版行業協會之一。本次專題討論將以英文進行(將會提供同聲傳譯),並會向本地、區域及國際媒體開放。 確認演講嘉賓: 區域經濟: 陳坤耀教授,香港大學亞洲研究中心傑出院士 金融服務: 方正博士, 證券及期貨事務監察委員會主席 公共運輸: 錢果豐博士,香港鐵路有限公司主席 媒體及出版: 盧永仁博士,南華傳媒集團副主席 電影製作: 高志森先生,【春天舞台】監製 高等教育: 黃玉山教授,香港科技大學副校長 奢侈品及零售: 唐德安先生,Bally北亞太區執行總裁 公共政策智庫: 吳家穎先生,思匯政策研究所運輸及可持續發展研究主管 策略諮詢: 倪以理先生,麥肯錫香港分公司總經理 關於《中國日報香港版》 《中國日報香港版》創刊於1997年,以其本地化、獨特的報道視角成為香港、澳門和部分亞洲國家和地區高端讀者的重要讀物。讀者包括香港特別行政區政府官員、金融機構和跨國企業CEO、高級管理人員、外交官員、智庫和學者等。香港以其特殊的區位優勢,在連通世界與中國內地方面發揮著重要作用。《中國日報香港版》為展現包括港澳地區在內的中國當前經濟、社會飛速發展提供了良好的視角;以其第一手的資訊和敏銳的觀察力,成為讀者洞悉中國內地蓬勃發展最直接、最權威的信息源。二零一二年適逢香港特別行政區回歸十五周年。過去十五年,《中國日報香港版》見證了香港特區經濟及社會運動的發展,同時也迎來了《中國日報香港版》的十五周年報慶。 關於中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇」(www.chinadailyapac.com/roundtable) 旨在搭建一個由亞洲國家和地區的政、商、學界領袖和社會精英參與的高端對話和交流平台,圍繞亞洲地區經濟、商業、產業和社會發展等具有戰略影響的重要議題展開討論和分享見解,以增進中國與亞洲和西方國家的交流和理解。
2012-10-08The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations aspires toward regional economic integration by 2015 and to form the ASEAN Economic Community. To facilitate this, the China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum will bring together CEOs from China's most dynamic and fast growing enterprises and their counterparts in Malaysia. The forum, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21, is jointly organized by the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable and the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance. The forum will see leaders from key sectors including technology, energy, natural resources, finance, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and other strategic industries share ideas on how to realize their business potential and work together as strategic partners. The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economy, business and social development in Asia. News source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-09/21/content_15774561.htm
2012-09-21China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum Sept 21, Kuala Lumpur As the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aspires to regional economic integration by 2015 and form the ASEAN Economic Community, the China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum is delighted to bring together CEOs from China’s most dynamic and fast growing enterprises and their counterparts in Malaysia. The forum will see leaders from key sectors such as technology, energy, natural resources, finance, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and other strategic industries share insights on how to realize their immense business potential and work together as strategic business partners. The forum, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21, is jointly organized by the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable and Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance. The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. It aims to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding among China, other Asian countries and Western countries. Established in 2004 following the success of the China Daily CEO Roundtable, it is supported by the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions. The Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance, inspired by the philosophy of “helping 100 private Chinese enterprises join the ranks of the Fortune 500”, was founded by Feng Jun, chairman of Aigo Digital Technology, in cooperation with a consortium of influential entrepreneurs who are leaders in their respective fields. The alliance aims to promote leading brands from China’s rapidly growing private sector and help them become global leaders with contributions to corporate citizens worldwide. The panel at the forum includes Feng Jun, chairman and president, Aigo Digital Technology, Zheng Jingbo, president, Bank of China (Malaysia), and Lindsay Zhang Lingzhi, ZTE’s HR director, Asia-Pacific region. Tan Chee Chai, director of Metal and Fabrication Industries Division, Malaysian Investment Development Authority, will deliver the welcome address. We are pleased to have The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Chinese Enterprises Association in Malaysia and Malaysia Chamber of Commerce as supporting organizations and China Daily, Sin Chew Daily, Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd and Asian News Network as media partners. Details of the event: Date: 21/9/2012 (Friday) Time: 11:45 – 15:00 Venue: Prince Room 1, Level 3, Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur Moderator: Alexander Wan – Senior Advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable was created as a result of the success of the China Daily CEO Roundtable (established in 2004, http://ceoroundtable.chinadaily.com) and with the support of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions (http://www.asianewsnet.net). The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries. About Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance Based on the overarching idea of “helping one hundred private Chinese enterprises join the ranks of the Fortune 500,” the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance (http://aea.aigo.com) was founded by Feng Jun, Chairman of Aigo Digital Technology, in cooperation with a consortium of influential entrepreneurs that are leaders in their respective fields. The Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance aims to promote leading Chinese brands from China’s rapidly growing private sector. AEA is driven by the goal of helping more private Chinese businesses become truly global enterprises and contributing corporate citizens worldwide.
2012-09-21Ctrip.com International Ltd, the leading on-line travel services provider in China, will speed up its overseas tour market expansion to cash in on the country’s growing outbound tourism, Chief Executive Officer Fan Min told China Daily on the sideline of the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao. Market competition within the tourism sector is intense in the mainland these days, and oversupply has become an issue haunting the industry, Fan said, adding that some real needs remain unsatisfied as “fine service systems are not easy to set up”, particularly high-end products catering to the needs of the rich. The Nasdaq-listed company will continue to boost sales through its traditional on-line platform, which has provided ample and clear choices to clients. At the same time, “off-line sales” have also been put onto the shelves, including premium winery tours, which aim to serve the growing wealthy population’s needs in the country, according to Fan. “Our outbound tourism services are also expected to surge rapidly on buoyant demand, although it remains a relatively small portion of the whole cake of the group currently,” Fan said in Macao on Monday, without elaborating on the exact proportion of their outbound tourism within all their current products. Ctrip’s focus on high-end tourism products was not just a recent move. At the end of April this year, the company had announced its acquisition of Trip TM, a four-year-old hyper-luxury vacation operator to “help realize Ctrip’s goal to corner half the market share of the top-end tours in the country”. “Ctrip currently serves millions of clients in China, but the potential consumers in the market could be tens of that,” Fan added. The outbound travel markets maintained strong growth momentum in the mainland over the years with the number of outbound travelers growing by 22.85 percent year-on-year to 70.25 million in 2011, and the figure surged by another 20 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012, according to the China Outbound Tourism Yearbook 2012, which estimated the number to reach 100 million by the year of 2015. Although the travel-service provider aims at a breakthrough in outbound products and high-end tours, Fan admitted that Ctrip is cautious with its expansion plans. He added that the Greater China tourism services remained the cornerstone of the group, and “solid business foundation in China will make the go-out plan much easier.” The chief executive officer, who is still bullish on the market outlook despite the slowdown of the overall mainland economy, acknowledged that some consumers may be tight with money, but he believes that people’s travel plans would not be scrapped during hard times, but rather they would probably choose some cheaper itinerary to relieve their boredom instead. China is widely anticipated to overtake Germany and the US to become the world’s largest source of outbound travelers by the end of this year, Matt Thompson, project director for the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market, said at a tourism fair held in Beijing this April. Thompson predicted some 78 million Chinese will travel overseas in 2012, with the consumption generated from outbound tourism to hit a record high of $80 billion this year. litao@chinadailyhk.com By Li Tao
2012-09-11The China Chamber of Tourism and the Macao government hosted a three-day forum with the main purpose of finding new collaborations in the travel and tourism industry to foster greater economic growth globally. Executives and officials are looking into all areas of the industry and checked out ways on how to foster its growth. They examine and evaluate areas of growth from searching new budding markets to setting up successful and productive big events. A panel discussion was sponsored by China Daily on September 11, 2012 focusing on the importance of using new technologies efficiently. The impact of technology in the industry is enormous. One example that contributed to the formulation of this forum was the boom of Lonely Planet’s apps all over the world. Lonely Planet, a simple travelling guide, is a 40-year old business that contains the founders’ trip experiences across Asia from the UK to Australia. This simple business turned into a big giant and a significant multimedia business. Lonely Planet is best known for their guidebooks but it also has websites, mobile applications, e-books, and television. The company even sells all kinds of things. New Technology and media has changed the way of tourism. Travelers turn to the internet to research on potential destinations and do bookings online. They even include sharing their experiences of the trips they go to. The executive director of Ctrip.com said that consumers know more about the industry and travel businesses cannot make money from the information gap anymore. The past ten years has empowered consumers greatly. A great majority of travelers do their search online for bookings, travel guides and visas. According to John Liu, the executive vice-president and head of Greater China at Google, 85% of travelers do their research on the net and the average traveler does 55 online searches before a booking. Comparing and looking for information is very easy now and all kinds of information are available on the internet. By Rosendo Cuyasen Another topic that was discussed in the panel was the impact of Global Positioning System (GPS) on how the airlines operate and on how easy traveling has become around an unfamiliar city. Millions of people around the world have benefited from this technology. What seems to be impossible in the past has become acceptable at present like travelling from one point to another by using a virtual boarding pass, self check-in of luggage and more. After this three-day forum, executives and officials hope to establish better ties among each other and implement their plans so that continuous economic growth in the travel and tourism industry will be achieved.
2012-09-11The successful launch of The Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao this week - the first-ever mega tourism forum held in China - achieved success in connecting the Chinese tourism industry with the rest of the world, and it is expected to become a long-term program in the future. Featuring the strongest line-up of global tourism leaders ever, the Forum attracted over 1,000 delegates from more than 20 countries and cities from all over the world. Over the course of the three day event, more than 50 speakers, including government ministers, scholars and business leaders, held lively discussions covering: Mega Events & Festivals, Emerging New Markets, Media & Technology, Destination Planning and Lifestyle & Entertainment. Ablet Abdurishit, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference stated, “The Global Tourism Economy Forum created a high and international exchange platform for industry experts and leaders to meet and share experiences, discussion topics and future vision and development. I believe this will certainly create new opportunities, which will bring great cooperation for tourism and other related industries.” The goal of the Forum, “Growth Driving Growth” focused on the interdependency of tourism growth and economic growth. The common themes debated during the event included how to balance responsible growth, sustainability and the challenges of visa restrictions, technology and emerging markets’ ability to handle tourism demand with facilities and services required by a savvy and demanding consumer. In opening the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao, Secretary General, Taleb Rifai of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said “We need to ensure that the tourism sector is supported by adequate national policies and that we work to reduce existing barriers to the expansion of the sector, such as complicated visa procedures, increased direct taxation or limited connectivity.” Rifai elaborated on three challenges to be faced by the industry namely convenience in travel, tax income and a higher degree of collaboration across industries. As witnessed by the elite leaders from government and tourism industry, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Global Tourism Economic Research Centre, the Forum’s coordinating unit. The Memorandum serves as a dedication and commitment to make advanced and better use of the Forum’s discussions to the actual tourism economy. Through collaborations and research, solutions and advanced thinking will be provided for guiding the sustainable development and economic diversification of the tourism industry, subsequently leading to more employment opportunities. Highlights from the Forum included: In 2011, international tourist arrivals reached 990 million. With an expected growth of 3% to 4% in 2012, this figure is forecast to reach one billion for the first time by December 2012. For on-line travel retailer Ctrip, the opportunity for outbound and inbound Asian travel is staggeringly large. Some 70 million Chinese will travel internationally this year, said Fan Min, executive director and CEO, and the UNWTO expects that 100 million Chinese will take an international trip by 2020. Pansy Ho, secretary general of GTEF states that over the next decade Chinese will become the single largest group of tourists in the world. Ho also stated that In 1980, emerging economies accounted for about 30 percent of the tourism industry. By 2011, their share had grown to 47 percent. Zhou Li, publisher and editor of China Daily Asia Pacific, said, “The advent of the Internet and mobile technology has literally given a big shot in the arm to an industry that contributes $6 trillion to the global economy, 9 percent of global GDP and created 260 million jobs worldwide. Google’s John Liu, head of Greater China at Google noted that 85 percent of travelers do research online and they make an average of 55 online searches before booking a trip. Half of these travelers base their ultimate decision on the advice of people they know and trust. Brendan Jacobson, Global Head of Sales at Google-owned Zagat Survey, confirmed that Zagat planned to post user-generated reviews of every tourist destination in the world via Google. Huang Mengfu, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chair of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) mentioned: “In the aftermath of the international financial crisis and the global economy confronted with many challenges, the economies of many nations underwent a quiet restructuring if not transformation. With the industrial structures quickly upgrading, various new industries, notably the tourism industry, are developing at breakneck paces. At the closing ceremony, Pansy Ho, Secretary-General of Global Tourism Economy Forum, remarked: “I am very glad that the Forum succinctly covered many of the key challenges ahead. Our distinguished speakers and moderators certainly gave us plenty of food for thought on designing and formulating our next generation of tourism trends. By embracing different perspectives and new ideas, the industry and related stakeholders can formulate clear approaches for development, in turn promoting the sustainable development of the global tourism industry and boosting the global economy at large.”
2012-09-11When a Lonely Planet executive became stranded in London after a volcano erupted in Iceland in 2010, he was very likely not thinking about shifting his company’s approach to new media then. “He was very frustrated because he didn’t know London that well and he needed information. He suggested that other travelers in his position probably wanted information too,” said Anthony Dormant, general manager for Asia at Lonely Planet. To help, Lonely Planet decided to give away a handful of European city guides on its mobile apps for a few days. “We put up one Twitter post and one post on our Facebook,” said Dormant. “Within four days we had four million downloads. Some people in our business freaked out, saying: ‘What have we done? We have given away our content’.” At the time, each of those apps cost $12.99 and Lonely Planet had just given them to 4 million people. “In the days and weeks after we had given away those apps, those people were sampling our products and were coming back to buy new products,” said Dormant. “Our run rate from our mobile application business increased by 50 percent and we never looked back.” That accidental success underlined the importance for the travel and tourism industry to use new technologies efficiently. Industry leaders considered on Tuesday the use and impact of technology in the travel and tourism industry during a panel discussion sponsored by China Daily as part of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) held in Macao. The three-day forum brought together more than 1,000 industry leaders from around the world. The Macao government hosted the event that was co-organized by the China Chamber of Tourism. The event’s overall aim was to find new synergies within an industry that is an important driver of global economic growth but remains fragmented. Through the three days, executives and officials looked for ways to foster growth in all areas of the travel and tourism industry, from finding new emerging market to putting on successful and profitable mega-events. On Tuesday morning, industry leaders discussed the impact of technology on the industry. “The advent of the Internet and mobile technology has literally given a big shot in the arm to an industry that contributes $6 trillion to the global economy, 9 percent of global GDP and created 260 million jobs worldwide,” said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. Travellers are increasingly quick at adopting new technologies. A process that used to take years, now happens in a matter of months. “It’s bringing incredible disruption. It’s bringing incredible threats to a lot of businesses and incredible opportunities at the same time,” said Dormant. The free apps accident was something of a eureka moment for Lonely Planet, a 40-year-old business that started out as a simple guide narrating its founders’ experiences after a year-and-a-half trip across Asia from the UK to Australia. “It started with paper stapled together,” said Dormant. “Today, that has grown into a significant multimedia business. We are best known for our guidebooks but we obviously have websites, and mobile applications, e-books, television, and we merchandise all kinds of things.” New technology and media have revolutionized tourism and the way travelers manage their trips, from the earliest research for potential destinations to their purchase decisions and how they share their experiences. “Technology has had a profound impact on the travel space,” said Brendan Jacobson, Global Head of Sales at Zagat Survey. Few companies are experiencing the potentially explosive impact of technology as Zagat, which provides user-generated reviews of tourist destinations. Once exclusively a book that could be purchased in bookstores and covered only the US, Zagat is now fully available online and, since it was acquired by Google in September 2011, it has a target of including reviews of every such destination in the world, says Jacobson. Just a few years ago, he would have laughed at such an ambitious target. Information that once cost $20 per year to access online is now free through the company’s website or Google searches. The Zagat Survey has evolved from a collection of photocopied pages in the 1970s to the Zagat Guide in the 1980s, “but today what we are seeing is that people are consuming content across any number of platforms and devices.” The printed guides still exist, but they are now one avenue in a diversified platform of offerings all centered around the same content: from a website to reviews integrated in the navigation systems of cars. This widespread availability of information creates massive opportunities but it is also creating a shift in the industry. Travel agents are increasingly pressured and often seen as irrelevant as airlines and hotels put their offerings directly in front of their customers. At the same time, said Fan Min, Executive Director and CEO at mainland on-line travel retailer Ctrip.com, an information gap is disappearing and taking business opportunities with it. Just being a travel agency is not enough. “Consumers know more and more about our industry. We cannot make money from the information gap any more,” he said. “Consumers have been empowered by technology over the past 10 years.” For Ctrip the opportunity is staggeringly large. Some 70 million Chinese will travel internationally this year, said Fan, and the UN World Tourism Organization expects that 100 million Chinese will take an international trip by 2020. While Ctrip aims to become a complete online travel platform, Fan is aware that it is increasingly difficult to program the potential needs of every customer in an online platform that is, at the end of the day, linear. Others have tried. Ctrip’s foreign competitors like Expedia and Travelocity have realized that people are needed to complement the online platform. Expedia, for example, has hired staff to man the phones and answer questions from customers, said Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor at CBS. “The powerful thing and also the challenging thing about travel is that it transcends all the demographics,” said Greenberg. “It is that powerful.” Greenberg, who is one of the most recognizable travel journalists in the world, says all this media should empower a global conversation, one that requires a common language and standards but one that is open to everyone nonetheless. “It is very easy to embrace the technology. You can do it at 3 o’clock in the morning, You can do it in your bathrobe. You don’t have to talk to anybody. Human means aren’t involved. So it is very expedient,” he said. “The question is, in the long run, how effective is it?” Judging by the experience and statistics that Google has accumulated, the potential effectiveness of the current technological leap is enormous - at least in terms of reaching travelers. The vast majority of travelers, 85 percent, do their research online, said John Liu, Executive Vice-President and Head of Greater China at Google. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the average traveller does 55 online searches before making a booking. “You search a lot. You really compare and look for information,” said Liu. “All kinds of information is available online and that gives a lot of information to the travelers.” But technology is virtually useless without the users. An overwhelming majority of travelers research and book online but one in two of them base their ultimate purchasing decisions based on recommendations from people or sources they know and trust. At the same time, while technology has come a long way towards facilitating travel for millions of people worldwide, it has also failed to make leaps that could streamline the global infrastructure of travel and tourism, and this could lead to both customer frustration and lost opportunities for growth. The vicissitudes of airline travel are a case in point. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that makes Google Maps possible and has made moving around a strange city easier for millions around the world, has also changed the way airlines operate. If a traveler is going to fly on a budget airline from point A to point B on a regular schedule, it is fine to operate completely impersonally: a virtual boarding pass, self check-in of luggage and so on. “Above a certain price point, the more complicated the itinerary, they (travellers) definitely want that conversation,” said Greenberg. The experience of Expedia and Travelocity - which had to hire people to man the phones - is a case in point. But the use of technology goes beyond ticket sales. Airplanes rely on enormous amounts of technology to fly safely, as do air traffic controllers. Unfortunately, while technology is making the world smaller for the traveller, operators and regulators have not taken advantage of widely available technology to eliminate barriers. “The GPS was a revolution for the airlines,” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, a former airline executive, Vice-Chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council and Vice-Chairman of the GTEF. “What is the pilot doing now? The pilot is just looking at the computer (to ensure it) is doing the right thing.” The challenges of air traffic control is another problem. “We have terrible resistance from governments and from air traffic controllers to get those systems (changed),” said Baumgarten. In China, the military looks after air traffic control. The US has no airline policy. The corridors that airplanes fly now, were designed decades ago, basically at a time when airplanes followed railroad tracks to determine their direction. “We haven’t advanced much further than the train tracks when you think about what we are doing today in terms of maintaining an effective, robust, on time, airline system,” said Greenberg. “They haven’t figured out how to make it work for the system itself. And until we do that... we are hurting ourselves economically whether it is in China or the United States.” The challenges of technology go far beyond the choice to adopt it or not. Technology is creating challenges in regards to customers because one thing technology does is to bring choice. And choice makes it harder for all kinds of brands, from hotels to airlines and everything in between, to earn consumers loyalty. For content providers, the questions are easier to answer: Quality content and a variety of offerings can keep customers coming back. For airlines, the question is a bit more difficult. One approach has led to a proliferation of rewards programs, but these have not always been successful. Frequent flyer programs have, at times, taken a life of their own as customers acquire miles but not always use them to buy plane tickets with a particular airline. The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce supported the GTEF, which was coordinated by the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2012-09/12/content_15751370.htm
2012-09-11It was by accident that Lonely Planet, the famed purveyor of travel guides, hit a new high in its mobile content platform. It happened in 2010 after an executive became stranded in London as an Icelandic volcano spread ashes across Europe and grounded all flights. “He was very frustrated because he didn’t know London that well and he needed information,” says Anthony Dorment, general manager for Asia at Lonely Planet. To help, Lonely Planet decided to give away a handful of European city guides on mobile apps for a few days. “We put up one Twitter post and one post on our Facebook. Within four days we had four million downloads,” he says. “Our run rate from our mobile application business increased by 50 percent and we never looked back.” That accidental success underlined the importance for the travel and tourism industry to use new technologies efficiently. Industry leaders reflected on the use and impact of technology on the travel industry during a China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable held as part of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) in Macao on Sept 11. “The advent of the Internet and mobile technology has…given a big shot in the arm to an industry that contributes $6 trillion to the global economy, 9 percent of global gross domestic product and created 260 million jobs worldwide,” said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. Travelers are increasingly quick at adopting new technologies. A process that used to take years now happens in a matter of months. “It’s bringing incredible disruption. It’s bringing incredible threats to a lot of businesses and incredible opportunities at the same time,” says Dorment. New technology and media have revolutionized tourism and the way travelers manage their trips — from the very earliest research of potential destinations to their purchase decisions and how they share their experiences. “Technology has had a profound impact on the travel space,” says Brendan Jacobson, global head of sales at Zagat Survey. Few companies have experienced the potentially explosive impact of technology as much as Zagat, which provides user-generated reviews of tourist destinations. Once exclusively a book that covered only the US, Zagat is now available online. Since it was acquired by Google in September 2011, it has the target of including reviews of all destinations across the world. The printed guides still exist, but they are now one option on a diversified platform of offerings centered on the same content: From a website to reviews integrated in the navigation systems of cars. This widespread availability of information is creating massive opportunities, but it is also creating a shift in the industry. Travel agents are increasingly pressured and often seen as irrelevant as airlines and hotels put their offerings directly in front of their customers. The information gap is disappearing and taking business opportunities with it, says Fan Min, executive director and CEO at Chinese mainland online travel retailer Ctrip.com. Just being a travel agency is not enough. “Consumers know more and more about our industry. We cannot make money from the information gap anymore,” he says. “Consumers have been empowered by technology over the past 10 years.” For Ctrip, the opportunity is staggeringly large. Some 70 million Chinese will travel internationally this year, says Fan. The UN World Tourism Organization expects 100 million Chinese will take an international trip by 2020. While Ctrip aims to become a complete online travel platform, Fan is aware that it is increasingly difficult to program the potential needs of every customer on an online platform that is, at the end of the day, linear. Others have tried. Ctrip’s foreign competitors like Expedia and Travelocity have realized that people are needed to complement the online platform. Expedia, for example, has hired staff to man the phones and answer questions from customers, says Peter Greenberg, travel editor at CBS News. “It is very easy to embrace the technology. You can do it at 3 o’clock in the morning. You can do it in your bathrobe. You don’t have to talk to anybody. Human means aren’t involved. So it is very expedient,” he says. “The question is, in the long run, how effective is it?” The vast majority of travelers — 85 percent — do their research online, says John Liu, executive vice-president and head of Greater China at Google. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the average traveler does 55 online searches before making a booking. “You search a lot. You really compare and look for information,” says Liu. “All kinds of information are available online and that gives a lot of information to travelers.” But technology is virtually useless without users. An overwhelming majority of travelers research and book online, but one in two of them base their ultimate decisions on recommendations from people or sources they know and trust. At the same time, while technology has come a long way toward facilitating travel for millions of people worldwide, it has failed to make the leaps that could streamline the global infrastructure of travel and tourism. If a traveler is going to fly on a budget airline from point A to point B on a regular schedule, it is fine to operate completely impersonally: A virtual boarding pass, self check-in of luggage and so on. “Above a certain price point, the more complicated the itinerary, they definitely want that conversation,” says Greenberg. The experience of Expedia and Travelocity — which had to hire people to man the phones — bears that out. While technology is making the world smaller for the traveler, operators and regulators have often not taken advantage of it. “We have a terrible, terrible resistance from…governments and from air traffic controllers to get those systems (changed),” says Jean-Claude Baumgarten, vice-chairman of World Travel and Tourism Council and vice-chairman of GTEF. The corridors that planes fly now were designed decades ago, basically at a time they followed railroad tracks to determine their direction. “We haven’t advanced much further than the train tracks when you think about what we are doing today in terms of maintaining an effective, robust, on-time, airline system,” says Greenberg. “They haven’t figured out how to make it work for the system itself. And until we do that... we are hurting ourselves economically, whether it is in China or the US.” The challenges of technology go far beyond the choice to adopt it or not. It is creating challenges because it brings choice. And choice makes it harder for all kinds of brands, from hotels to airlines and everything in between, to earn consumers’ loyalty. For content providers, the challenge is easier to meet: Quality content and a variety of offerings can keep customers coming back. For airlines, it is a bit more difficult. One approach has led to a proliferation of rewards programs, but these have not always been successful. There are 17.5 trillion unredeemed reward miles out there that will never be redeemed, says Greenberg. Still, to thrive in today’s competitive markets they have to figure out ways to retain customers, he adds. Zagat is moving out of its comfort zone and into the world with local language content that will kick off this year. Lonely Planet, for its part, is pushing deep into multiple markets, including China, where it has been successful with its one-year-old weibo site that has 130,000 followers. Its Lonely Planet magazine has launched in Chinese this year as a complement to Chinese-language international guides and even Chinese-language domestic city guides, says Dorment. To go forward, companies need innovation and the mindset to embrace the opportunity, he adds. “(And) not being afraid to fail… and taking a bit of a risk.” Global Tourism Economy Forum Media & Technology Date: Sept 11, 2012 Venue: Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre Panelists Brendan Jacobson Global Head of Sales, Zagat Survey Fan Min CEO of Ctrip.com International Ltd Peter Greenberg Travel Editor, CBS News Anthony Dorment General Manager Asia, Lonely Planet Dr John Liu Corporate Vice-President, Head of Greater China, Google Inc Jean-Claude Baumgarten Vice-Chairman, World Travel and Tourism Council Moderator Alexander Wan Senior Adviser, China Daily Asia Pacific By Alfred Romann
2012-09-11Industry leaders to shed light on How new media and technology are reshaping the travel & tourism industry 11 September 2012, HONG KONG/MACAU – New media and IT technology has profoundly impacted the travel & tourism industry and will continue to reshape the industry in the years to come. The online sales of the travel & tourism industry now grow at a double-digit pace globally, with the momentum continuing to rise, thanks to the emerging new media and technology such as social networks. China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable (www.chinadailyapac.com/roundtable ) brings together a group of prominent leaders from the travel & tourism industry to share with the audience their insights and views on the game-changing role of new media and technology in the industry. The panel discussion is part of the Global Tourism Economy Forum.Macau 2012, which is held at Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre from 9-11 September 2012. Under the theme “Media and Technology in The Travel & Tourism Industry”, the speakers will hold discussions on how the internet and social networks have created a new operating environment for players in this industry. Commenting on industry challenges and opportunities, speakers will also shed some light on how businesses have adapted to the fast-changing world and the ever changing consumption patterns of travelers in the aftermath of the new web-based technology. Panel expect speakers include: Anthony Dorment – General Manager for Asia, Lonely Planet Peter Greenberg – Travel Editor, CBS News Brendan Jacobson – Global Head of Sales, Zagat Survey Min Fan – Executive Director and CEO, Ctrip.com International Ltd Sandeep Bahl - Regional General Manager of Asia, Air New Zealand John Liu – Corporate Vice President, Head of Greater China, Google Inc. Moderator: Alexander Wan – Senior Advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable With the support of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions (http://www.asianewsnet.net), the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries.
2012-09-11Hong Kong and Macao economies have benefited tremendously from the robust inbound tourism, which remained the only bright spot of the major components of Hong Kong’s services exports in the first half of the year amid a slowing global economy. According to Hong Kong’s Half-yearly Economic Report 2012, during the first six months of this year, resulting from a worsened external trading environment, Hong Kong’s total goods’ exports remained weak; exports of services likewise decelerated and recorded only a modest growth. “The inbound tourism was the only bright spot, thanks to thriving growth of the mainland visitors.” The government said in the report. Hong Kong’s exports of travel services totaled HK$112.8 billion in the first half of this year, increased 9.9 percent from a year ago, accounting for 24 percent of the city’s total service exports. The inbound tourism sector’s performance continued to put up a robust show in the first half, with the total number of visitor arrivals surging by 15.5 percent over a year earlier to 22.3 million. Of the figure, mainland visitors surged by 22.7 percent to 15.6 million in the first half, accounting for 69.8 percent of the total visitor arrivals. But the other markets were much weaker, especially in the second quarter. Of all the visitors, the same-day visitors soared by 25.3 percent in the first half, much faster than the 6.8 percent growth in overnight visitors. As a result, the share of same-day visitors of total arrivals expanded from 46.8 percent a year earlier to 50.8 percent in the first half. Supported by the strong incoming visitors’ growth, the average hotel room occupancy rate in Hong Kong stayed at a high 87 percent level in the first half of 2012. In parallel, the average achieved hotel room rate rose further by 12 percent over a year earlier to HK$1,446. Meanwhile, according to the Macao Government Tourist office, the total number of visitor arrivals was 13.58 million in the first six months of this year, increasing 2.5 percent from a year ago; and among the visitors, 59.7 percent were from the mainland. The percentage of overnight visitors increased marginally from 46.2 percent in 2011 to 47 percent, driving up the city’s hotels’ average room rate by 9.1 percent to MOP$1,418.6 ($177). Macao’s hotels’ occupancy rate over the period was 81.58 percent, 0.42 percentage lower from a year ago. According to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau Macao SAR, for the first six months of this year, the accumulated gross revenue from fames of fortune was MOP$148.73 billion, representing a 19.8 percent increase compared with the same period in 2011. Gaming expense in Macao accounts for a major part of visitors expenditure, official data shows. In the first quarter of this year, the total visitor expenditure was MOP$77.28 billion, 19.8 percent more than it was a year ago, out of which, MOP$67.04 billion was gaming expenses, and around MOP$10.24 billion were expenses related to accommodation and other expenses. sophiehe@chinadailyhk.com By Sophie He
2012-09-11Balancing act for govt and business As one of the world’s most populous countries and with a massive economy to boot, it comes as no surprise that China is also one of the world’s biggest consumers of energy and raw materials. The rapid pace of growth and development in the past 30 years has taken a toll on the environment. Recent Chinese estimates put the annual costs of pollution approaching 10 percent of the country’s GDP. With a burgeoning urban population and plans to quadruple its economy by 2020, China is facing a huge energy challenge. Beijing recognizes the importance of sustainable development. For several years now, China has been investing in green technologies. According to a World Wildlife Fund report, China ranked first in clean technology (cleantech) growth, with sales in 2011 reaching 57 billion euros ($70 billion), a substantial increase from 13 billion euros in 2010. The report ranks China as the first in absolute ranking for sales from manufacturing cleantech, ahead of the US, Germany, Japan and South Korea, with a “remarkable growth of 29 percent per year”. To bring home the importance of creating a sustainable economy, one of the key goals outlined in China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) is to protect the environment and improve its energy efficiency. While the government has set the direction for developing green initiatives, the implementation at the local level is just as important, said business leaders. “You don’t stop at the central government; the provincial and municipal governments have to take over the ball and run with it. That’s the challenge,” said Oon Jin Teik, Group Executive Vice President and CEO China, of Singapore-listed Hyflux Ltd. Oon said the public-private-people partnership is crucial for the industry to “help influence and urge the government to come into the picture” to ensure the success of any sustainable project. He was speaking at a session titled China as a leader in green technology, moderated by Alexander Wan, senior advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific. Juliet Jiang, senior vice-president of China’s Broad Group, recalled the Chinese government’s initial less-than-enthusiastic sentiments about the company’s non-electric air conditioners using natural gas and waste heat, with zero carbon di-oxide emission. “But now, they are very supportive,” she said. The government’s policies are often retrospective, said Gao Jifan, CEO of China’s Trina Solar. This is because China’s structural landscape is different from Europe or the US. The Chinese State-owned enterprises are still the dominant players in many fields. The photovoltaics industry has been facing great challenges in the past few years, said Gao. They include oversupply, trade barriers, mass competition and general losses across the industry. But he is confident that solar energy is sustainable, not only as a clean source of energy but also as an industry. Gao believes that solar energy can escape the restrictions of the power grid. It is independent of the power grid, he said. As long as there is a roof, every family can harness the power of the sun. “In Germany, many people have turned to solar energy instead of relying on the power grid. That should be the way to go,” Gao said. The industry players are confident that clean and green technologies that are sustainable are the way of the future. The Broad Group, for example, has stuck its head out in introducing the Broad sustainable building (BSB). The largely pre-fabricated building derives its sustainability from eight aspects. It is earthquake resistant, conserves energy and uses construction materials free of formaldehyde, lead, radiation and asbestos. In addition, it is durable, saves on material and uses recyclable construction materials. Besides, it leaves no construction wastes and helps in air purification. In January, the Broad Group erected a 30-storey BSB hotel in Dongting Lake in Hunan, China in just 15 days. Jiang told a disbelieving audience at the FutureChina Global Forum that constructing the hotel was like “playing Lego on site”. Although the foundation is constructed the traditional way, 93 percent of the hotel was pre-fabricated. Most of the tiling, wiring and pipe work was done in the factory. “We did not have even one death,” Jiang proudly told the audience, alluding to the dangers of the construction industry. “Not even one fingernail got hurt.” Plus the site was dust-free and there was no welding. Where water is concerned, Hyflux’s Oon noted the Chinese government’s recognition that action was critical, given the severe water shortages in China and increasing consumer demand for quality and clean water. He believed that public sector investment, which has been strong, will play a bigger role in the coming future. Industrial players are aware of the challenges facing them in promoting and using green technologies. Gao reminded the audience that climate change is a global issue and most governments are working to address the issue. “Many industries and companies have to change their ways of doing things — of production, of manufacturing, and of living,” he said. “The key issue is how to conserve energy. It’s not just limited to solar energy, construction and water usage. It will become a social trend.” The main challenge then is to find a balance between sustainable environment, and industrial and economic development. And it is a challenge that will involve the government, public and private sectors. http://www.chinadailyasia.com/news/2012-07/13/content_115221.html
2012-07-10(2012年4月19日,香港)香港友好協進會與中國日報今天非常榮幸於香港四季酒店四季大禮堂合辦「第一屆中國政經論壇」。約三百位來自香港及中國內地的政府官員、商界及金融界專家共聚一堂,令是次論壇熠熠生輝。 Author: 第一屆「中國政經論壇」群英會聚同探 「全球挑戰和機遇」 (2012年4月19日,香港)香港友好協進會與中國日報今天非常榮幸於香港四季酒店四季大禮堂合辦「第一屆中國政經論壇」。約三百位來自香港及中國內地的政府官員、商界及金融界專家共聚一堂,令是次論壇熠熠生輝。 是次論壇主題為「全球挑戰和機遇」,主要探討在全球經濟及政治發生巨大轉變的時代背景下,中國如何面對隨之而來的挑戰,把握新機遇,將其轉化為優勢的策略。 各演講嘉賓將詳細討論困擾美國的經濟不穩定、歐洲債務危機及其導致的動盪等議題。 是次論壇設有兩個討論環節,各演講嘉賓將與我們分享他們對「全球挑戰和機遇」的獨特見解。香港友好協進會會長陳永棋表示,環球經濟仍充斥不明朗因素,期望透過是次論壇,匯集香港和內地金融界及商界精英,從全球挑戰中找出機遇。 「中國政經論壇」策劃委員會主席、全國政協委員方黃吉雯認為該主題能夠針對「全球經濟危機,尤其是在歐洲經濟受著主權債務影響下」深入探討。 中國日報亞太分社社長兼總編輯周立表示,中國日報期待能「將本次論壇所聚的真知灼見,通過多種渠道傳遞出去,分享給全世界更多的人」。 是次論壇的演講嘉賓包括:原中國銀行業監督管理委員會主席劉明康、中投國際(香港)有限公司董事長劉遵義教授、國務院發展研究中心副主任盧中原、香港上海滙豐銀行有限公司亞太區顧問(業務策略及經濟)梁兆基、中國國際金融有限公司董事長李劍閣、太盟投資集團集團主席兼首席執行官單偉建、中國銀行(香港)有限公司發展規劃部經濟及政策研究主管謝國樑。 ─完─ 關於香港友好協進會 香港友好協進會成立於一九八九年,由本港一批全國政協委員會和全國人大代表發起成立。成立的宗旨是一團結香港社會各界愛國港人士,支持「一國兩制」方針,擁護基本法,推動香港平穩過渡、順利回歸;參政議政、促進兩地交流合作,支持國家改革發展;支持特區政府依法施政,維護香港繁榮穩定。 關於中國日報 中國日報是中国的國家英文報紙。中國日報亞太分社的總部設於香港,旗下有《中國日報香港版》、《亞洲版》等多份出版物以及以中國日報亞太網www.chinadailyapac.com為核心的新媒體平臺。同時,還擁有亞洲領袖圓桌論壇等品牌活動。 關於中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇」旨在搭建一個由亞洲國家和地區的政、商、學界領袖和社會精英參與的高端對話和交流平臺,圍繞亞洲地區經濟、商業、產業和社會發展等具有戰略影響的重要議題展開討論和分享見解,以增進中國與亞洲和西方國家的交流和理解。
2012-04-19中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「香港:十五年回顧與前瞻」 香港灣仔博覽道一號 香港會議展覽中心S221室 2012年10月8日上午11:45至下午2:30 二零一二年十月八日,香港 中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇於二零一二年十月八日在香港會議展覽中心舉辦專題午餐會,來自不同戰略行業的專家演講嘉賓將為大家分享真知灼見。各位嘉賓將會從各自行業的角度回顧香港過去十五年該行業的發展,並展望未來五年的發展挑戰及機遇。本次午餐會將邀請來自政府、商界、學界、非牟利機構及媒體界的領袖,包括亞洲新聞聯盟的主編。亞洲新聞聯盟是由亞洲19個國家和地區21家主流媒體構成的新聞聯盟,是全球最大的媒體及出版行業協會之一。本次專題討論將以英文進行(將會提供同聲傳譯),並會向本地、區域及國際媒體開放。 確認演講嘉賓: 區域經濟: 陳坤耀教授,香港大學亞洲研究中心傑出院士 金融服務: 方正博士, 證券及期貨事務監察委員會主席 公共運輸: 錢果豐博士,香港鐵路有限公司主席 媒體及出版: 盧永仁博士,南華傳媒集團副主席 電影製作: 高志森先生,【春天舞台】監製 高等教育: 黃玉山教授,香港科技大學副校長 奢侈品及零售: 唐德安先生,Bally北亞太區執行總裁 公共政策智庫: 吳家穎先生,思匯政策研究所運輸及可持續發展研究主管 策略諮詢: 倪以理先生,麥肯錫香港分公司總經理 關於《中國日報香港版》 《中國日報香港版》創刊於1997年,以其本地化、獨特的報道視角成為香港、澳門和部分亞洲國家和地區高端讀者的重要讀物。讀者包括香港特別行政區政府官員、金融機構和跨國企業CEO、高級管理人員、外交官員、智庫和學者等。香港以其特殊的區位優勢,在連通世界與中國內地方面發揮著重要作用。《中國日報香港版》為展現包括港澳地區在內的中國當前經濟、社會飛速發展提供了良好的視角;以其第一手的資訊和敏銳的觀察力,成為讀者洞悉中國內地蓬勃發展最直接、最權威的信息源。二零一二年適逢香港特別行政區回歸十五周年。過去十五年,《中國日報香港版》見證了香港特區經濟及社會運動的發展,同時也迎來了《中國日報香港版》的十五周年報慶。 關於中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇」(www.chinadailyapac.com/roundtable) 旨在搭建一個由亞洲國家和地區的政、商、學界領袖和社會精英參與的高端對話和交流平台,圍繞亞洲地區經濟、商業、產業和社會發展等具有戰略影響的重要議題展開討論和分享見解,以增進中國與亞洲和西方國家的交流和理解。
2012-10-08The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations aspires toward regional economic integration by 2015 and to form the ASEAN Economic Community. To facilitate this, the China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum will bring together CEOs from China's most dynamic and fast growing enterprises and their counterparts in Malaysia. The forum, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21, is jointly organized by the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable and the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance. The forum will see leaders from key sectors including technology, energy, natural resources, finance, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and other strategic industries share ideas on how to realize their business potential and work together as strategic partners. The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economy, business and social development in Asia. News source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-09/21/content_15774561.htm
2012-09-21China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum Sept 21, Kuala Lumpur As the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aspires to regional economic integration by 2015 and form the ASEAN Economic Community, the China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum is delighted to bring together CEOs from China’s most dynamic and fast growing enterprises and their counterparts in Malaysia. The forum will see leaders from key sectors such as technology, energy, natural resources, finance, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and other strategic industries share insights on how to realize their immense business potential and work together as strategic business partners. The forum, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21, is jointly organized by the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable and Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance. The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. It aims to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding among China, other Asian countries and Western countries. Established in 2004 following the success of the China Daily CEO Roundtable, it is supported by the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions. The Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance, inspired by the philosophy of “helping 100 private Chinese enterprises join the ranks of the Fortune 500”, was founded by Feng Jun, chairman of Aigo Digital Technology, in cooperation with a consortium of influential entrepreneurs who are leaders in their respective fields. The alliance aims to promote leading brands from China’s rapidly growing private sector and help them become global leaders with contributions to corporate citizens worldwide. The panel at the forum includes Feng Jun, chairman and president, Aigo Digital Technology, Zheng Jingbo, president, Bank of China (Malaysia), and Lindsay Zhang Lingzhi, ZTE’s HR director, Asia-Pacific region. Tan Chee Chai, director of Metal and Fabrication Industries Division, Malaysian Investment Development Authority, will deliver the welcome address. We are pleased to have The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Chinese Enterprises Association in Malaysia and Malaysia Chamber of Commerce as supporting organizations and China Daily, Sin Chew Daily, Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd and Asian News Network as media partners. Details of the event: Date: 21/9/2012 (Friday) Time: 11:45 – 15:00 Venue: Prince Room 1, Level 3, Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur Moderator: Alexander Wan – Senior Advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable was created as a result of the success of the China Daily CEO Roundtable (established in 2004, http://ceoroundtable.chinadaily.com) and with the support of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions (http://www.asianewsnet.net). The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries. About Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance Based on the overarching idea of “helping one hundred private Chinese enterprises join the ranks of the Fortune 500,” the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance (http://aea.aigo.com) was founded by Feng Jun, Chairman of Aigo Digital Technology, in cooperation with a consortium of influential entrepreneurs that are leaders in their respective fields. The Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance aims to promote leading Chinese brands from China’s rapidly growing private sector. AEA is driven by the goal of helping more private Chinese businesses become truly global enterprises and contributing corporate citizens worldwide.
2012-09-21Ctrip.com International Ltd, the leading on-line travel services provider in China, will speed up its overseas tour market expansion to cash in on the country’s growing outbound tourism, Chief Executive Officer Fan Min told China Daily on the sideline of the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao. Market competition within the tourism sector is intense in the mainland these days, and oversupply has become an issue haunting the industry, Fan said, adding that some real needs remain unsatisfied as “fine service systems are not easy to set up”, particularly high-end products catering to the needs of the rich. The Nasdaq-listed company will continue to boost sales through its traditional on-line platform, which has provided ample and clear choices to clients. At the same time, “off-line sales” have also been put onto the shelves, including premium winery tours, which aim to serve the growing wealthy population’s needs in the country, according to Fan. “Our outbound tourism services are also expected to surge rapidly on buoyant demand, although it remains a relatively small portion of the whole cake of the group currently,” Fan said in Macao on Monday, without elaborating on the exact proportion of their outbound tourism within all their current products. Ctrip’s focus on high-end tourism products was not just a recent move. At the end of April this year, the company had announced its acquisition of Trip TM, a four-year-old hyper-luxury vacation operator to “help realize Ctrip’s goal to corner half the market share of the top-end tours in the country”. “Ctrip currently serves millions of clients in China, but the potential consumers in the market could be tens of that,” Fan added. The outbound travel markets maintained strong growth momentum in the mainland over the years with the number of outbound travelers growing by 22.85 percent year-on-year to 70.25 million in 2011, and the figure surged by another 20 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012, according to the China Outbound Tourism Yearbook 2012, which estimated the number to reach 100 million by the year of 2015. Although the travel-service provider aims at a breakthrough in outbound products and high-end tours, Fan admitted that Ctrip is cautious with its expansion plans. He added that the Greater China tourism services remained the cornerstone of the group, and “solid business foundation in China will make the go-out plan much easier.” The chief executive officer, who is still bullish on the market outlook despite the slowdown of the overall mainland economy, acknowledged that some consumers may be tight with money, but he believes that people’s travel plans would not be scrapped during hard times, but rather they would probably choose some cheaper itinerary to relieve their boredom instead. China is widely anticipated to overtake Germany and the US to become the world’s largest source of outbound travelers by the end of this year, Matt Thompson, project director for the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market, said at a tourism fair held in Beijing this April. Thompson predicted some 78 million Chinese will travel overseas in 2012, with the consumption generated from outbound tourism to hit a record high of $80 billion this year. litao@chinadailyhk.com By Li Tao
2012-09-11The China Chamber of Tourism and the Macao government hosted a three-day forum with the main purpose of finding new collaborations in the travel and tourism industry to foster greater economic growth globally. Executives and officials are looking into all areas of the industry and checked out ways on how to foster its growth. They examine and evaluate areas of growth from searching new budding markets to setting up successful and productive big events. A panel discussion was sponsored by China Daily on September 11, 2012 focusing on the importance of using new technologies efficiently. The impact of technology in the industry is enormous. One example that contributed to the formulation of this forum was the boom of Lonely Planet’s apps all over the world. Lonely Planet, a simple travelling guide, is a 40-year old business that contains the founders’ trip experiences across Asia from the UK to Australia. This simple business turned into a big giant and a significant multimedia business. Lonely Planet is best known for their guidebooks but it also has websites, mobile applications, e-books, and television. The company even sells all kinds of things. New Technology and media has changed the way of tourism. Travelers turn to the internet to research on potential destinations and do bookings online. They even include sharing their experiences of the trips they go to. The executive director of Ctrip.com said that consumers know more about the industry and travel businesses cannot make money from the information gap anymore. The past ten years has empowered consumers greatly. A great majority of travelers do their search online for bookings, travel guides and visas. According to John Liu, the executive vice-president and head of Greater China at Google, 85% of travelers do their research on the net and the average traveler does 55 online searches before a booking. Comparing and looking for information is very easy now and all kinds of information are available on the internet. By Rosendo Cuyasen Another topic that was discussed in the panel was the impact of Global Positioning System (GPS) on how the airlines operate and on how easy traveling has become around an unfamiliar city. Millions of people around the world have benefited from this technology. What seems to be impossible in the past has become acceptable at present like travelling from one point to another by using a virtual boarding pass, self check-in of luggage and more. After this three-day forum, executives and officials hope to establish better ties among each other and implement their plans so that continuous economic growth in the travel and tourism industry will be achieved.
2012-09-11The successful launch of The Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao this week - the first-ever mega tourism forum held in China - achieved success in connecting the Chinese tourism industry with the rest of the world, and it is expected to become a long-term program in the future. Featuring the strongest line-up of global tourism leaders ever, the Forum attracted over 1,000 delegates from more than 20 countries and cities from all over the world. Over the course of the three day event, more than 50 speakers, including government ministers, scholars and business leaders, held lively discussions covering: Mega Events & Festivals, Emerging New Markets, Media & Technology, Destination Planning and Lifestyle & Entertainment. Ablet Abdurishit, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference stated, “The Global Tourism Economy Forum created a high and international exchange platform for industry experts and leaders to meet and share experiences, discussion topics and future vision and development. I believe this will certainly create new opportunities, which will bring great cooperation for tourism and other related industries.” The goal of the Forum, “Growth Driving Growth” focused on the interdependency of tourism growth and economic growth. The common themes debated during the event included how to balance responsible growth, sustainability and the challenges of visa restrictions, technology and emerging markets’ ability to handle tourism demand with facilities and services required by a savvy and demanding consumer. In opening the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao, Secretary General, Taleb Rifai of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said “We need to ensure that the tourism sector is supported by adequate national policies and that we work to reduce existing barriers to the expansion of the sector, such as complicated visa procedures, increased direct taxation or limited connectivity.” Rifai elaborated on three challenges to be faced by the industry namely convenience in travel, tax income and a higher degree of collaboration across industries. As witnessed by the elite leaders from government and tourism industry, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Global Tourism Economic Research Centre, the Forum’s coordinating unit. The Memorandum serves as a dedication and commitment to make advanced and better use of the Forum’s discussions to the actual tourism economy. Through collaborations and research, solutions and advanced thinking will be provided for guiding the sustainable development and economic diversification of the tourism industry, subsequently leading to more employment opportunities. Highlights from the Forum included: In 2011, international tourist arrivals reached 990 million. With an expected growth of 3% to 4% in 2012, this figure is forecast to reach one billion for the first time by December 2012. For on-line travel retailer Ctrip, the opportunity for outbound and inbound Asian travel is staggeringly large. Some 70 million Chinese will travel internationally this year, said Fan Min, executive director and CEO, and the UNWTO expects that 100 million Chinese will take an international trip by 2020. Pansy Ho, secretary general of GTEF states that over the next decade Chinese will become the single largest group of tourists in the world. Ho also stated that In 1980, emerging economies accounted for about 30 percent of the tourism industry. By 2011, their share had grown to 47 percent. Zhou Li, publisher and editor of China Daily Asia Pacific, said, “The advent of the Internet and mobile technology has literally given a big shot in the arm to an industry that contributes $6 trillion to the global economy, 9 percent of global GDP and created 260 million jobs worldwide. Google’s John Liu, head of Greater China at Google noted that 85 percent of travelers do research online and they make an average of 55 online searches before booking a trip. Half of these travelers base their ultimate decision on the advice of people they know and trust. Brendan Jacobson, Global Head of Sales at Google-owned Zagat Survey, confirmed that Zagat planned to post user-generated reviews of every tourist destination in the world via Google. Huang Mengfu, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chair of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) mentioned: “In the aftermath of the international financial crisis and the global economy confronted with many challenges, the economies of many nations underwent a quiet restructuring if not transformation. With the industrial structures quickly upgrading, various new industries, notably the tourism industry, are developing at breakneck paces. At the closing ceremony, Pansy Ho, Secretary-General of Global Tourism Economy Forum, remarked: “I am very glad that the Forum succinctly covered many of the key challenges ahead. Our distinguished speakers and moderators certainly gave us plenty of food for thought on designing and formulating our next generation of tourism trends. By embracing different perspectives and new ideas, the industry and related stakeholders can formulate clear approaches for development, in turn promoting the sustainable development of the global tourism industry and boosting the global economy at large.”
2012-09-11When a Lonely Planet executive became stranded in London after a volcano erupted in Iceland in 2010, he was very likely not thinking about shifting his company’s approach to new media then. “He was very frustrated because he didn’t know London that well and he needed information. He suggested that other travelers in his position probably wanted information too,” said Anthony Dormant, general manager for Asia at Lonely Planet. To help, Lonely Planet decided to give away a handful of European city guides on its mobile apps for a few days. “We put up one Twitter post and one post on our Facebook,” said Dormant. “Within four days we had four million downloads. Some people in our business freaked out, saying: ‘What have we done? We have given away our content’.” At the time, each of those apps cost $12.99 and Lonely Planet had just given them to 4 million people. “In the days and weeks after we had given away those apps, those people were sampling our products and were coming back to buy new products,” said Dormant. “Our run rate from our mobile application business increased by 50 percent and we never looked back.” That accidental success underlined the importance for the travel and tourism industry to use new technologies efficiently. Industry leaders considered on Tuesday the use and impact of technology in the travel and tourism industry during a panel discussion sponsored by China Daily as part of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) held in Macao. The three-day forum brought together more than 1,000 industry leaders from around the world. The Macao government hosted the event that was co-organized by the China Chamber of Tourism. The event’s overall aim was to find new synergies within an industry that is an important driver of global economic growth but remains fragmented. Through the three days, executives and officials looked for ways to foster growth in all areas of the travel and tourism industry, from finding new emerging market to putting on successful and profitable mega-events. On Tuesday morning, industry leaders discussed the impact of technology on the industry. “The advent of the Internet and mobile technology has literally given a big shot in the arm to an industry that contributes $6 trillion to the global economy, 9 percent of global GDP and created 260 million jobs worldwide,” said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. Travellers are increasingly quick at adopting new technologies. A process that used to take years, now happens in a matter of months. “It’s bringing incredible disruption. It’s bringing incredible threats to a lot of businesses and incredible opportunities at the same time,” said Dormant. The free apps accident was something of a eureka moment for Lonely Planet, a 40-year-old business that started out as a simple guide narrating its founders’ experiences after a year-and-a-half trip across Asia from the UK to Australia. “It started with paper stapled together,” said Dormant. “Today, that has grown into a significant multimedia business. We are best known for our guidebooks but we obviously have websites, and mobile applications, e-books, television, and we merchandise all kinds of things.” New technology and media have revolutionized tourism and the way travelers manage their trips, from the earliest research for potential destinations to their purchase decisions and how they share their experiences. “Technology has had a profound impact on the travel space,” said Brendan Jacobson, Global Head of Sales at Zagat Survey. Few companies are experiencing the potentially explosive impact of technology as Zagat, which provides user-generated reviews of tourist destinations. Once exclusively a book that could be purchased in bookstores and covered only the US, Zagat is now fully available online and, since it was acquired by Google in September 2011, it has a target of including reviews of every such destination in the world, says Jacobson. Just a few years ago, he would have laughed at such an ambitious target. Information that once cost $20 per year to access online is now free through the company’s website or Google searches. The Zagat Survey has evolved from a collection of photocopied pages in the 1970s to the Zagat Guide in the 1980s, “but today what we are seeing is that people are consuming content across any number of platforms and devices.” The printed guides still exist, but they are now one avenue in a diversified platform of offerings all centered around the same content: from a website to reviews integrated in the navigation systems of cars. This widespread availability of information creates massive opportunities but it is also creating a shift in the industry. Travel agents are increasingly pressured and often seen as irrelevant as airlines and hotels put their offerings directly in front of their customers. At the same time, said Fan Min, Executive Director and CEO at mainland on-line travel retailer Ctrip.com, an information gap is disappearing and taking business opportunities with it. Just being a travel agency is not enough. “Consumers know more and more about our industry. We cannot make money from the information gap any more,” he said. “Consumers have been empowered by technology over the past 10 years.” For Ctrip the opportunity is staggeringly large. Some 70 million Chinese will travel internationally this year, said Fan, and the UN World Tourism Organization expects that 100 million Chinese will take an international trip by 2020. While Ctrip aims to become a complete online travel platform, Fan is aware that it is increasingly difficult to program the potential needs of every customer in an online platform that is, at the end of the day, linear. Others have tried. Ctrip’s foreign competitors like Expedia and Travelocity have realized that people are needed to complement the online platform. Expedia, for example, has hired staff to man the phones and answer questions from customers, said Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor at CBS. “The powerful thing and also the challenging thing about travel is that it transcends all the demographics,” said Greenberg. “It is that powerful.” Greenberg, who is one of the most recognizable travel journalists in the world, says all this media should empower a global conversation, one that requires a common language and standards but one that is open to everyone nonetheless. “It is very easy to embrace the technology. You can do it at 3 o’clock in the morning, You can do it in your bathrobe. You don’t have to talk to anybody. Human means aren’t involved. So it is very expedient,” he said. “The question is, in the long run, how effective is it?” Judging by the experience and statistics that Google has accumulated, the potential effectiveness of the current technological leap is enormous - at least in terms of reaching travelers. The vast majority of travelers, 85 percent, do their research online, said John Liu, Executive Vice-President and Head of Greater China at Google. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the average traveller does 55 online searches before making a booking. “You search a lot. You really compare and look for information,” said Liu. “All kinds of information is available online and that gives a lot of information to the travelers.” But technology is virtually useless without the users. An overwhelming majority of travelers research and book online but one in two of them base their ultimate purchasing decisions based on recommendations from people or sources they know and trust. At the same time, while technology has come a long way towards facilitating travel for millions of people worldwide, it has also failed to make leaps that could streamline the global infrastructure of travel and tourism, and this could lead to both customer frustration and lost opportunities for growth. The vicissitudes of airline travel are a case in point. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that makes Google Maps possible and has made moving around a strange city easier for millions around the world, has also changed the way airlines operate. If a traveler is going to fly on a budget airline from point A to point B on a regular schedule, it is fine to operate completely impersonally: a virtual boarding pass, self check-in of luggage and so on. “Above a certain price point, the more complicated the itinerary, they (travellers) definitely want that conversation,” said Greenberg. The experience of Expedia and Travelocity - which had to hire people to man the phones - is a case in point. But the use of technology goes beyond ticket sales. Airplanes rely on enormous amounts of technology to fly safely, as do air traffic controllers. Unfortunately, while technology is making the world smaller for the traveller, operators and regulators have not taken advantage of widely available technology to eliminate barriers. “The GPS was a revolution for the airlines,” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, a former airline executive, Vice-Chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council and Vice-Chairman of the GTEF. “What is the pilot doing now? The pilot is just looking at the computer (to ensure it) is doing the right thing.” The challenges of air traffic control is another problem. “We have terrible resistance from governments and from air traffic controllers to get those systems (changed),” said Baumgarten. In China, the military looks after air traffic control. The US has no airline policy. The corridors that airplanes fly now, were designed decades ago, basically at a time when airplanes followed railroad tracks to determine their direction. “We haven’t advanced much further than the train tracks when you think about what we are doing today in terms of maintaining an effective, robust, on time, airline system,” said Greenberg. “They haven’t figured out how to make it work for the system itself. And until we do that... we are hurting ourselves economically whether it is in China or the United States.” The challenges of technology go far beyond the choice to adopt it or not. Technology is creating challenges in regards to customers because one thing technology does is to bring choice. And choice makes it harder for all kinds of brands, from hotels to airlines and everything in between, to earn consumers loyalty. For content providers, the questions are easier to answer: Quality content and a variety of offerings can keep customers coming back. For airlines, the question is a bit more difficult. One approach has led to a proliferation of rewards programs, but these have not always been successful. Frequent flyer programs have, at times, taken a life of their own as customers acquire miles but not always use them to buy plane tickets with a particular airline. The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce supported the GTEF, which was coordinated by the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2012-09/12/content_15751370.htm
2012-09-11It was by accident that Lonely Planet, the famed purveyor of travel guides, hit a new high in its mobile content platform. It happened in 2010 after an executive became stranded in London as an Icelandic volcano spread ashes across Europe and grounded all flights. “He was very frustrated because he didn’t know London that well and he needed information,” says Anthony Dorment, general manager for Asia at Lonely Planet. To help, Lonely Planet decided to give away a handful of European city guides on mobile apps for a few days. “We put up one Twitter post and one post on our Facebook. Within four days we had four million downloads,” he says. “Our run rate from our mobile application business increased by 50 percent and we never looked back.” That accidental success underlined the importance for the travel and tourism industry to use new technologies efficiently. Industry leaders reflected on the use and impact of technology on the travel industry during a China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable held as part of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) in Macao on Sept 11. “The advent of the Internet and mobile technology has…given a big shot in the arm to an industry that contributes $6 trillion to the global economy, 9 percent of global gross domestic product and created 260 million jobs worldwide,” said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. Travelers are increasingly quick at adopting new technologies. A process that used to take years now happens in a matter of months. “It’s bringing incredible disruption. It’s bringing incredible threats to a lot of businesses and incredible opportunities at the same time,” says Dorment. New technology and media have revolutionized tourism and the way travelers manage their trips — from the very earliest research of potential destinations to their purchase decisions and how they share their experiences. “Technology has had a profound impact on the travel space,” says Brendan Jacobson, global head of sales at Zagat Survey. Few companies have experienced the potentially explosive impact of technology as much as Zagat, which provides user-generated reviews of tourist destinations. Once exclusively a book that covered only the US, Zagat is now available online. Since it was acquired by Google in September 2011, it has the target of including reviews of all destinations across the world. The printed guides still exist, but they are now one option on a diversified platform of offerings centered on the same content: From a website to reviews integrated in the navigation systems of cars. This widespread availability of information is creating massive opportunities, but it is also creating a shift in the industry. Travel agents are increasingly pressured and often seen as irrelevant as airlines and hotels put their offerings directly in front of their customers. The information gap is disappearing and taking business opportunities with it, says Fan Min, executive director and CEO at Chinese mainland online travel retailer Ctrip.com. Just being a travel agency is not enough. “Consumers know more and more about our industry. We cannot make money from the information gap anymore,” he says. “Consumers have been empowered by technology over the past 10 years.” For Ctrip, the opportunity is staggeringly large. Some 70 million Chinese will travel internationally this year, says Fan. The UN World Tourism Organization expects 100 million Chinese will take an international trip by 2020. While Ctrip aims to become a complete online travel platform, Fan is aware that it is increasingly difficult to program the potential needs of every customer on an online platform that is, at the end of the day, linear. Others have tried. Ctrip’s foreign competitors like Expedia and Travelocity have realized that people are needed to complement the online platform. Expedia, for example, has hired staff to man the phones and answer questions from customers, says Peter Greenberg, travel editor at CBS News. “It is very easy to embrace the technology. You can do it at 3 o’clock in the morning. You can do it in your bathrobe. You don’t have to talk to anybody. Human means aren’t involved. So it is very expedient,” he says. “The question is, in the long run, how effective is it?” The vast majority of travelers — 85 percent — do their research online, says John Liu, executive vice-president and head of Greater China at Google. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the average traveler does 55 online searches before making a booking. “You search a lot. You really compare and look for information,” says Liu. “All kinds of information are available online and that gives a lot of information to travelers.” But technology is virtually useless without users. An overwhelming majority of travelers research and book online, but one in two of them base their ultimate decisions on recommendations from people or sources they know and trust. At the same time, while technology has come a long way toward facilitating travel for millions of people worldwide, it has failed to make the leaps that could streamline the global infrastructure of travel and tourism. If a traveler is going to fly on a budget airline from point A to point B on a regular schedule, it is fine to operate completely impersonally: A virtual boarding pass, self check-in of luggage and so on. “Above a certain price point, the more complicated the itinerary, they definitely want that conversation,” says Greenberg. The experience of Expedia and Travelocity — which had to hire people to man the phones — bears that out. While technology is making the world smaller for the traveler, operators and regulators have often not taken advantage of it. “We have a terrible, terrible resistance from…governments and from air traffic controllers to get those systems (changed),” says Jean-Claude Baumgarten, vice-chairman of World Travel and Tourism Council and vice-chairman of GTEF. The corridors that planes fly now were designed decades ago, basically at a time they followed railroad tracks to determine their direction. “We haven’t advanced much further than the train tracks when you think about what we are doing today in terms of maintaining an effective, robust, on-time, airline system,” says Greenberg. “They haven’t figured out how to make it work for the system itself. And until we do that... we are hurting ourselves economically, whether it is in China or the US.” The challenges of technology go far beyond the choice to adopt it or not. It is creating challenges because it brings choice. And choice makes it harder for all kinds of brands, from hotels to airlines and everything in between, to earn consumers’ loyalty. For content providers, the challenge is easier to meet: Quality content and a variety of offerings can keep customers coming back. For airlines, it is a bit more difficult. One approach has led to a proliferation of rewards programs, but these have not always been successful. There are 17.5 trillion unredeemed reward miles out there that will never be redeemed, says Greenberg. Still, to thrive in today’s competitive markets they have to figure out ways to retain customers, he adds. Zagat is moving out of its comfort zone and into the world with local language content that will kick off this year. Lonely Planet, for its part, is pushing deep into multiple markets, including China, where it has been successful with its one-year-old weibo site that has 130,000 followers. Its Lonely Planet magazine has launched in Chinese this year as a complement to Chinese-language international guides and even Chinese-language domestic city guides, says Dorment. To go forward, companies need innovation and the mindset to embrace the opportunity, he adds. “(And) not being afraid to fail… and taking a bit of a risk.” Global Tourism Economy Forum Media & Technology Date: Sept 11, 2012 Venue: Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre Panelists Brendan Jacobson Global Head of Sales, Zagat Survey Fan Min CEO of Ctrip.com International Ltd Peter Greenberg Travel Editor, CBS News Anthony Dorment General Manager Asia, Lonely Planet Dr John Liu Corporate Vice-President, Head of Greater China, Google Inc Jean-Claude Baumgarten Vice-Chairman, World Travel and Tourism Council Moderator Alexander Wan Senior Adviser, China Daily Asia Pacific By Alfred Romann
2012-09-11Industry leaders to shed light on How new media and technology are reshaping the travel & tourism industry 11 September 2012, HONG KONG/MACAU – New media and IT technology has profoundly impacted the travel & tourism industry and will continue to reshape the industry in the years to come. The online sales of the travel & tourism industry now grow at a double-digit pace globally, with the momentum continuing to rise, thanks to the emerging new media and technology such as social networks. China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable (www.chinadailyapac.com/roundtable ) brings together a group of prominent leaders from the travel & tourism industry to share with the audience their insights and views on the game-changing role of new media and technology in the industry. The panel discussion is part of the Global Tourism Economy Forum.Macau 2012, which is held at Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre from 9-11 September 2012. Under the theme “Media and Technology in The Travel & Tourism Industry”, the speakers will hold discussions on how the internet and social networks have created a new operating environment for players in this industry. Commenting on industry challenges and opportunities, speakers will also shed some light on how businesses have adapted to the fast-changing world and the ever changing consumption patterns of travelers in the aftermath of the new web-based technology. Panel expect speakers include: Anthony Dorment – General Manager for Asia, Lonely Planet Peter Greenberg – Travel Editor, CBS News Brendan Jacobson – Global Head of Sales, Zagat Survey Min Fan – Executive Director and CEO, Ctrip.com International Ltd Sandeep Bahl - Regional General Manager of Asia, Air New Zealand John Liu – Corporate Vice President, Head of Greater China, Google Inc. Moderator: Alexander Wan – Senior Advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable With the support of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions (http://www.asianewsnet.net), the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries.
2012-09-11Hong Kong and Macao economies have benefited tremendously from the robust inbound tourism, which remained the only bright spot of the major components of Hong Kong’s services exports in the first half of the year amid a slowing global economy. According to Hong Kong’s Half-yearly Economic Report 2012, during the first six months of this year, resulting from a worsened external trading environment, Hong Kong’s total goods’ exports remained weak; exports of services likewise decelerated and recorded only a modest growth. “The inbound tourism was the only bright spot, thanks to thriving growth of the mainland visitors.” The government said in the report. Hong Kong’s exports of travel services totaled HK$112.8 billion in the first half of this year, increased 9.9 percent from a year ago, accounting for 24 percent of the city’s total service exports. The inbound tourism sector’s performance continued to put up a robust show in the first half, with the total number of visitor arrivals surging by 15.5 percent over a year earlier to 22.3 million. Of the figure, mainland visitors surged by 22.7 percent to 15.6 million in the first half, accounting for 69.8 percent of the total visitor arrivals. But the other markets were much weaker, especially in the second quarter. Of all the visitors, the same-day visitors soared by 25.3 percent in the first half, much faster than the 6.8 percent growth in overnight visitors. As a result, the share of same-day visitors of total arrivals expanded from 46.8 percent a year earlier to 50.8 percent in the first half. Supported by the strong incoming visitors’ growth, the average hotel room occupancy rate in Hong Kong stayed at a high 87 percent level in the first half of 2012. In parallel, the average achieved hotel room rate rose further by 12 percent over a year earlier to HK$1,446. Meanwhile, according to the Macao Government Tourist office, the total number of visitor arrivals was 13.58 million in the first six months of this year, increasing 2.5 percent from a year ago; and among the visitors, 59.7 percent were from the mainland. The percentage of overnight visitors increased marginally from 46.2 percent in 2011 to 47 percent, driving up the city’s hotels’ average room rate by 9.1 percent to MOP$1,418.6 ($177). Macao’s hotels’ occupancy rate over the period was 81.58 percent, 0.42 percentage lower from a year ago. According to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau Macao SAR, for the first six months of this year, the accumulated gross revenue from fames of fortune was MOP$148.73 billion, representing a 19.8 percent increase compared with the same period in 2011. Gaming expense in Macao accounts for a major part of visitors expenditure, official data shows. In the first quarter of this year, the total visitor expenditure was MOP$77.28 billion, 19.8 percent more than it was a year ago, out of which, MOP$67.04 billion was gaming expenses, and around MOP$10.24 billion were expenses related to accommodation and other expenses. sophiehe@chinadailyhk.com By Sophie He
2012-09-11Balancing act for govt and business As one of the world’s most populous countries and with a massive economy to boot, it comes as no surprise that China is also one of the world’s biggest consumers of energy and raw materials. The rapid pace of growth and development in the past 30 years has taken a toll on the environment. Recent Chinese estimates put the annual costs of pollution approaching 10 percent of the country’s GDP. With a burgeoning urban population and plans to quadruple its economy by 2020, China is facing a huge energy challenge. Beijing recognizes the importance of sustainable development. For several years now, China has been investing in green technologies. According to a World Wildlife Fund report, China ranked first in clean technology (cleantech) growth, with sales in 2011 reaching 57 billion euros ($70 billion), a substantial increase from 13 billion euros in 2010. The report ranks China as the first in absolute ranking for sales from manufacturing cleantech, ahead of the US, Germany, Japan and South Korea, with a “remarkable growth of 29 percent per year”. To bring home the importance of creating a sustainable economy, one of the key goals outlined in China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) is to protect the environment and improve its energy efficiency. While the government has set the direction for developing green initiatives, the implementation at the local level is just as important, said business leaders. “You don’t stop at the central government; the provincial and municipal governments have to take over the ball and run with it. That’s the challenge,” said Oon Jin Teik, Group Executive Vice President and CEO China, of Singapore-listed Hyflux Ltd. Oon said the public-private-people partnership is crucial for the industry to “help influence and urge the government to come into the picture” to ensure the success of any sustainable project. He was speaking at a session titled China as a leader in green technology, moderated by Alexander Wan, senior advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific. Juliet Jiang, senior vice-president of China’s Broad Group, recalled the Chinese government’s initial less-than-enthusiastic sentiments about the company’s non-electric air conditioners using natural gas and waste heat, with zero carbon di-oxide emission. “But now, they are very supportive,” she said. The government’s policies are often retrospective, said Gao Jifan, CEO of China’s Trina Solar. This is because China’s structural landscape is different from Europe or the US. The Chinese State-owned enterprises are still the dominant players in many fields. The photovoltaics industry has been facing great challenges in the past few years, said Gao. They include oversupply, trade barriers, mass competition and general losses across the industry. But he is confident that solar energy is sustainable, not only as a clean source of energy but also as an industry. Gao believes that solar energy can escape the restrictions of the power grid. It is independent of the power grid, he said. As long as there is a roof, every family can harness the power of the sun. “In Germany, many people have turned to solar energy instead of relying on the power grid. That should be the way to go,” Gao said. The industry players are confident that clean and green technologies that are sustainable are the way of the future. The Broad Group, for example, has stuck its head out in introducing the Broad sustainable building (BSB). The largely pre-fabricated building derives its sustainability from eight aspects. It is earthquake resistant, conserves energy and uses construction materials free of formaldehyde, lead, radiation and asbestos. In addition, it is durable, saves on material and uses recyclable construction materials. Besides, it leaves no construction wastes and helps in air purification. In January, the Broad Group erected a 30-storey BSB hotel in Dongting Lake in Hunan, China in just 15 days. Jiang told a disbelieving audience at the FutureChina Global Forum that constructing the hotel was like “playing Lego on site”. Although the foundation is constructed the traditional way, 93 percent of the hotel was pre-fabricated. Most of the tiling, wiring and pipe work was done in the factory. “We did not have even one death,” Jiang proudly told the audience, alluding to the dangers of the construction industry. “Not even one fingernail got hurt.” Plus the site was dust-free and there was no welding. Where water is concerned, Hyflux’s Oon noted the Chinese government’s recognition that action was critical, given the severe water shortages in China and increasing consumer demand for quality and clean water. He believed that public sector investment, which has been strong, will play a bigger role in the coming future. Industrial players are aware of the challenges facing them in promoting and using green technologies. Gao reminded the audience that climate change is a global issue and most governments are working to address the issue. “Many industries and companies have to change their ways of doing things — of production, of manufacturing, and of living,” he said. “The key issue is how to conserve energy. It’s not just limited to solar energy, construction and water usage. It will become a social trend.” The main challenge then is to find a balance between sustainable environment, and industrial and economic development. And it is a challenge that will involve the government, public and private sectors. http://www.chinadailyasia.com/news/2012-07/13/content_115221.html
2012-07-10(2012年4月19日,香港)香港友好協進會與中國日報今天非常榮幸於香港四季酒店四季大禮堂合辦「第一屆中國政經論壇」。約三百位來自香港及中國內地的政府官員、商界及金融界專家共聚一堂,令是次論壇熠熠生輝。 Author: 第一屆「中國政經論壇」群英會聚同探 「全球挑戰和機遇」 (2012年4月19日,香港)香港友好協進會與中國日報今天非常榮幸於香港四季酒店四季大禮堂合辦「第一屆中國政經論壇」。約三百位來自香港及中國內地的政府官員、商界及金融界專家共聚一堂,令是次論壇熠熠生輝。 是次論壇主題為「全球挑戰和機遇」,主要探討在全球經濟及政治發生巨大轉變的時代背景下,中國如何面對隨之而來的挑戰,把握新機遇,將其轉化為優勢的策略。 各演講嘉賓將詳細討論困擾美國的經濟不穩定、歐洲債務危機及其導致的動盪等議題。 是次論壇設有兩個討論環節,各演講嘉賓將與我們分享他們對「全球挑戰和機遇」的獨特見解。香港友好協進會會長陳永棋表示,環球經濟仍充斥不明朗因素,期望透過是次論壇,匯集香港和內地金融界及商界精英,從全球挑戰中找出機遇。 「中國政經論壇」策劃委員會主席、全國政協委員方黃吉雯認為該主題能夠針對「全球經濟危機,尤其是在歐洲經濟受著主權債務影響下」深入探討。 中國日報亞太分社社長兼總編輯周立表示,中國日報期待能「將本次論壇所聚的真知灼見,通過多種渠道傳遞出去,分享給全世界更多的人」。 是次論壇的演講嘉賓包括:原中國銀行業監督管理委員會主席劉明康、中投國際(香港)有限公司董事長劉遵義教授、國務院發展研究中心副主任盧中原、香港上海滙豐銀行有限公司亞太區顧問(業務策略及經濟)梁兆基、中國國際金融有限公司董事長李劍閣、太盟投資集團集團主席兼首席執行官單偉建、中國銀行(香港)有限公司發展規劃部經濟及政策研究主管謝國樑。 ─完─ 關於香港友好協進會 香港友好協進會成立於一九八九年,由本港一批全國政協委員會和全國人大代表發起成立。成立的宗旨是一團結香港社會各界愛國港人士,支持「一國兩制」方針,擁護基本法,推動香港平穩過渡、順利回歸;參政議政、促進兩地交流合作,支持國家改革發展;支持特區政府依法施政,維護香港繁榮穩定。 關於中國日報 中國日報是中国的國家英文報紙。中國日報亞太分社的總部設於香港,旗下有《中國日報香港版》、《亞洲版》等多份出版物以及以中國日報亞太網www.chinadailyapac.com為核心的新媒體平臺。同時,還擁有亞洲領袖圓桌論壇等品牌活動。 關於中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇」旨在搭建一個由亞洲國家和地區的政、商、學界領袖和社會精英參與的高端對話和交流平臺,圍繞亞洲地區經濟、商業、產業和社會發展等具有戰略影響的重要議題展開討論和分享見解,以增進中國與亞洲和西方國家的交流和理解。
2012-04-19