China´s economy might be slowing down a bit, outbound tourism keeps on booming like before. Chinese tourists spend more per capital than any other natonality. In 2015 120 million Chinese spent in total over 100 billion US dollar, a double digit growth compared to 2014.
While there are some sure winning among the top destinations, Chinese tourists are fast looking for new trends, and the government is able to steer tourist stream to other countries, when political strubbles occur. Both Japan, France and Taiwan had now and then those political problems. And then there are the side-effects of terrorist attacks.
The outbound tourism industry is booming, and some of the speakers at the China Speakers Bureau are able to give you some guidance is how to deal with China and the Chinese tourists, although all speakers have a slightly different focus.
Wei Gu, CFA, is one of the most followed China commentator. Based in Shanghai, she enjoys a front-seat view of the rapid developments of Chinese businesses and finance, as well as wealth and luxury trends.
Before founding Weini Media Ltd in 2016, Wei has worked for 18 years in top-tier global media and Chinese media, most recently as a columnist for the Wall Street Journal. Her weekly column “People’s Money” garnered 600,000 page views in a year for WSJ.
Wei wrote until 2013 commentary about China’s economy and finance for Reuters Breakingviews, and has reported from Hong Hong, New York and Shanghai.
Wei has appeared on CNN’s current affairs program “On China”, Fox, CNBC China Central TV, Phoenix TV and Reuters TV. She has won journalism awards from the Overseas Press Club of America, the New York Financial Writers Association, and New York Foreign Press Association.
Wei Gu
Appearing on a panel at ILTM talking about trends in Chinese wealth and travel.
Zhang Lijia is a rocket factory girl-turned writer, journalist and social commentator. She is the author of acclaimed memoir “Socialism is Great!” relating her decade long experience working at a missile factory in Nanjing in the 80s. Her journey from a factory worker to an international writer reflects the dramatic transformation that China has undergone.
Based in Beijing, she is on top of the changes in China´s capital, its culture and changes in the position of women. Early 2017 she will publish a novel on prostitution in China, based on her grandmothers experiences, Lotus: A Novel
She is an impassioned and humorous speaker.
Mention the name Rupert Hoogewerf in China and its likely to be met with a blank expression. But say the word “Hurun”, and it’s an all together different story. For the last ten years, Hurun, or as he’s known in his native England, Rupert Hoogewerf, has been responsible for compiling China’s annual rich list – the Hurun Report.
Back in 1999, whilst asking young Chinese university graduates about their role models, Shanghai-based accountant Rupert began to notice a pattern. Time after time, the graduates would talk about making money, but when it came to naming the Chinese business leaders who inspired them, they would draw a blank. Struck by this, and curious to know who was leading the explosive growth of China’s private sector, he teamed up with two Shanghai university students to compile the China Rich List.
Paul French is founder of market research company Access Asia. As a China specialist he has been quoted in a wide variety of publications including the FT, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal Asia, the South China Morning Post and the LA Times. Paul studied history & economics in London and also has a M.Phil in Socialist Theories & Economics from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He studied Chinese at the City Literary Institute in London.
In 2012 he published the very popular book “Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China.”
Shaun Rein is the Managing Director of the China Market Research Group (CMR), the world’s leading strategic market intelligence firm focused on China. He is one of the world’s recognized thought leaders on strategy consulting in China.
He is the author of the book The End of Copycat China: The Rise of Creativity, Innovation, and Individualism in Asia, published in 2014, setting the agenda for China´s economic developments.
Earlier he published the bestseller “The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that will Disrupt the World” published in March 2012 by John Wiley & Sons in the US.
