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Brand Malawi ‘sold’ at China tourism exhibition

 

The Department of Tourism in conjunction with the Malawi Mission in Beijing, China, participated at the 15th China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market (COTTM) 2018 fair held at the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre from 16th to 18th April, 2018.

Government has identified tourism as one of the key sectors that can help bring in more forex in the country apart from agriculture.

Led Malawi delegation: Katopola

Of late, China has also emerged as a country with a lot of potential to bring more tourists to African countries including Malawi.

The event connects Chinese holiday buyers to holiday sellers as the fair is a business-to-business (B2B) outbound travel show for the Chinese market.

According to the director of Tourism, Isaac Katopola, who led the team of Malawi participants, the fair attracted over 200 exhibitors from over 90 countries.

Said Katopola: “Since the Malawi Government switched its diplomatic ties to Mainland China in 2007, tourism in Malawi has benefitted from increased numbers of Chinese visitors from a very insignificant number to over 7 000 in 2016. This figure is bound to grow to over 10 000 by 2020 due to various promotional activities in this lucrative market.

Chinese investors also continue to invest in hotels and other facilities in Malawi in order to cater for the specific needs of the growing numbers of Chinese travellers as well as the local market.”

Malawi’s participation at the fair follows the successful undertaking of tourism road shows in the first tier Chinese cities of Shanghai and Beijing.

During the tourism road shows, Malawi Tourism made a presentation on its major attractions, and other tourism opportunities to over 70 Chinese Tour operators and media, according to Katopola.

He said the Chinese tour operators have been encouraged to either open tour companies in Malawi or form partnerships with Malawian based tour companies to develop tour packages.

A statement from the Department of Tourism seen by Business News reveals that during the road shows and the COTTM fair, Malawi is being represented as a destination that is rich in diversity, compact in size and rich in hospitality with an authentic and original African travel experience.

“The experiences being highlighted include the following five product lines: Lake Malawi with clean sandy beaches, biodiversity and ecotourism Islands; growing wildlife tourism; other natural attractions like mountains, scenery and areas of outstanding natural beauty: authentic cultural experiences, heritage; and lastly as a growing destination for Conferences and Events,” reads the statement,” reads part of the statement.

Participants at the Malawi Tourism Stand included Department of Tourism, Malawi Embassy in Beijing officials, Polaris Safaris and Tours, a leading Chinese tour company based in Malawi and Elite Travelling Company (ETC), a China-based Marketing Representation Company for Malawi Tourism.

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