CAISSA Touristic (Group) is one of the biggest German travel agencies dealing with travel to China. When talking about the Beijing Olympics, the Group's chairman Chen Mang said the Olympic is just like a catalyst which will bring China's development opportunities to an all-time high; and warming travel to China will not cool down after the Olympics.
Chen said the Beijing Olympics would urge lots of people who do not know China very well to travel in China; and they would summarily know China through routine travel. Recently, CAISSA has organized a "sales agent group" with airline companies and tourism retailers: those working in the front lines selling Chinese travel packages can enjoy traveling to China themselves. For those who have been to China and know something about Chinese culture, this is a great chance for them to go to China again. They will not only visit the Olympic stadiums, but will also participate in a series of travel programs.
Chen is much more confident about travel to China after the Beijing Olympic. He said that people usually think that during the Beijing Olympics, tourists from all over the world will come around and cause a short-term travel peak in China, just like the "golden week" period. However, tourism insiders have a different opinion. Before and during the Olympic period, there are shortages of accommodation, food and traffic in host cities; and the travel cost increases significantly. Therefore, travel and the Olympic may not get their peak at the same time; and there will be an obvious delay in travel to get there. He underscored this as a situation common for nearly all Olympic host countries.
Chen considers the Olympic a global feast through which Beijing is focused on and China will gain a better reputation within the international community. Undoubtedly, there must be many people who want to experience Olympics on site, but not all of them can be in Beijing. Many people are interested in ancient China and modern Olympic stadiums such as the "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube." We can say that the Olympics inspire many people's Chinese dream; and those people will go to China to see their Chinese dream after the Olympics. So, there will be an upsurge in travel to China during that time.
As a European tour operator which manages travel to China, CAISSA has developed a series of new products and movements to seize this great opportunity. On September 5 this year, direct flight between Beijing and the German capital Berlin will resume. At that time, CAISSA will cooperate with Hainan Airlines to organize a "German reporters' group" to visit China after the Beijing Olympics. Reporters who are in charge of tourism from national and local mainstream media will take the first flight from Berlin to Beijing flight on Hainan Airlines.
The group will start in Beijing by introducing the Beijing Olympics to Germans and stir up their interest in traveling in China by interviewing the organizer of the Beijing Olympics and visiting Olympic stadiums. In addition, CAISSA breaks the routine of travel in China: it not only innovates on the route, but also adds sightseeing, exploration and culture which make travel in China much more connotative and custom-made.
For example, tourists can taste and watch the popular tea ceremony, tea foods and the art of tea; take in a temple fair and folk art performance; and taste the local food on the "kang" of Chinese common people. These are all opportunities for an average foreigner to experience all aspects of Chinese society; and to learn about the essence of local conditions and customs in different places.
By people's Daily Online
