As the Chinese inbound travel market continues to evolve and
grow at a breakneck pace, two major U.S.-based Chinese travel companies have
formed a partnership that leverages their buying power, inventory and
operations in an attempt to help them compete against low-cost Chinese inbound
travel suppliers.
“Unfortunately, not all the companies that carry Chinese
travelers from A to B are professional,” said Bob Gilbert, executive director
of the new group, the Grand Travel Alliance, which is bringing together some of
the largest independently owned, U.S.-based Chinese travel companies, beginning
with the founding members, San Francisco-based America Asia Travel Center and
Las Vegas-based Chinese Host.
Gilbert noted that in the growing China inbound group-tour market,
it is common that “buses aren’t licensed, drivers go way above the hours they
should do, they do forced [shopping] stops. The other more professional
companies, that’s not how they operate. We wanted to show that there are
different players in this tour operator game and that there are companies that
do things the right way.”
The Grand Travel Alliance hopes to bring these companies
together similar to the way airlines have created codesharing alliances. The
alliance is in the process of developing a China-facing booking platform that
will ultimately sell products to travel agents and consumers in China that are
offered by all the Grand Travel Alliance members, a network expected to grow to
include like-minded Chinese travel companies throughout the U.S.
The idea was fueled in part by the recent evolution in the
Chinese inbound travel market away from the mass-market group tours that were
initially offered and toward a more independent FIT travel mindset. Gilbert
said that increasingly savvy and well-to-do Chinese travelers don’t necessarily
want to be herded around on bargain- basement bus tours anymore. They want
greater flexibility and to be able to piece together more customized travel
itineraries.
Thus, the Grand Travel Alliance members are hoping to sell
them the different travel components they offer — hotels, tours and
transportation — in one dedicated marketplace aimed at this next generation of
Chinese travelers.
“The alliance is a game-changer in the market, and the
members respect and compliment each other very well,” said David Huang,
president of Chinese Host. “We can all retain our independence and leverage our
collective strengths. In addition, we have invested heavily in developing the
alliance proprietary booking engine connecting alliance members with each other
as well as with leading travel producers in China.”
Both America Asia Travel Center and Chinese Host are
registered with the National Tour Association’s (NTA) China Inbound Program,
which was established in 2008 when the China National Tourism Administration
appointed the NTA to assemble a list of U.S. operators approved to work with
Chinese tourists.
But with growing pressure from a fast-paced and rapidly
expanding inbound Chinese travel marketplace — 2.2 million Chinese travelers
visited the U.S. in 2014, a number expected to grow to 5 million by 2020 and
make China this country’s No. 1 inbound travel market — Gilbert said that
companies such as America Asia Travel Center and Chinese Host are taking
matters into their own hands to distinguish themselves from the competition.
“There is this intense pressure on these companies that have
been here for 20 years by companies that are out there to make a quick buck,”
Gilbert said. “Now, they have the ability to level the playing field.”
The Grand Travel Alliance expects to launch its website and
booking platform within the next several weeks.