CHINA. Two leading travel retailers, DFS Group and King Power International Group of Companies (Thailand), have been named among the first overseas companies to receive the new Chinese Outbound Tourism Quality Service Certification (QSC), initiated by the hugely influential China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
The QSC programme was introduced at a press conference in Beijing this week, attended by CNTA and China Association of Travel Services (CATS) officials; representatives from leading Chinese travel groups and outbound tour operators; national tourism boards from over 20 countries and regions; and delegates from overseas tourism suppliers.
CATS Secretary General Jiang Qikang said that the QSC criteria will support the implementation of China’s new outbound tourism law introduced on 1 October 2013, which is designed to protect Chinese travellers abroad, enhance the quality of outbound tourism services, and improve the behaviour of Chinese tourists overseas. As the only criteria implemented by the Chinese government to certify overseas tourism service quality, it is of critical importance to foreign companies catering to Chinese tourists, Jiang said.
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DFS Group Executive Vice President Strategy and Market Development Jim Beighley received the QSC, recognising the travel retailer’s high-quality approach to Chinese travelling shoppers (Photos courtesy of CNTA) |
“The China tourism law is going to change the game,” noted one senior source in the travel retail community. “QSC”¦ effectively identifies those companies that are approved by CNTA for meeting the requirements of the new tourism law.”
Certified suppliers will be;
– issued with QSC certificate and membership labels;
– officially recommended to Chinese outbound tour operators and travel agencies;
– officially introduced and promoted to Chinese outbound travellers
The CNTA’s QSC programme is organised by China Association of Travel Services & Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting. The latter has been charged with executing it.
The QSC criteria, introduced by Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting CEO Dr Wang Xinjun at the media conference, is based on strict assessments on serving Chinese travellers abroad, including service capability; the provision of Chinese speaking staff; and other convenience services.
Among over 500 applicants, some 121 suppliers from 20 countries or regions successfully attained QSC qualification after assessment. Leading luxury travel retailer DFS Group had its 14 galleria stores certified, as did Thailand’s largest duty free player King Power, for its downtown Bangkok and Pattaya stores, respectively. The first released list also covers businesses such as travel agencies, tourist attractions and restaurants.
DFS Group Executive Vice President Strategy and Market Development Jim Beighley said: “DFS is a vigorous supporter of the CNTA’s QSC programme. Through continuous efforts, we hope that Chinese travellers and the Chinese travel trade will come to know more about the QSC programme so they will be able to select services and products from quality tourism suppliers.”
“We recognise the idea of QSC and are willing to strongly support the programme,” said Tourism New Zealand Acting General Manager, Asia Market David Craig. “To date we have issued a number of letters of recommendation for businesses in New Zealand seeking QSC and we anticipate that overall numbers will increase as awareness grows.”
China Comfort Travel Group President Dong Ruping said that Chinese travel agencies welcome the implementation of the QSC programme. He said that in order to guarantee the quality of overseas travel and shopping experiences, tour operators can now select certified QSC companies as their partners and recommend such suppliers to Chinese travellers, when arranging shopping tours or optional programmes.
According to an Ivy Alliance customer survey across 25 provinces and cities, most Chinese tourists want to know about overseas tourism suppliers before their trips. They tend to opt for stores, hotels, travel agencies and restaurants that have been acknowledged as quality suppliers, the survey found. By 2014, there will be over 100 million annual Chinese overseas trips, CNTA said. “With more and more certified QSC suppliers released, there is no doubt that the QSC suppliers will be more favoured by Chinese travellers and buyers,” it noted.
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Ms Zhang Xinhong, Deputy General Director of the CNTA’s Department of Tourism Promotion and International Liaison, welcomes attendees to the event |
*NOTE: All the key stories on China’s travel retail industry – and on international travel retailers selling to Chinese travellers – are covered in The Moodie Report China, published in bi-lingual, e-Zine format every two months. To receive your free subscription, please e-mail Sinead.Moodie@TheMoodieReport.com
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