Polish Tourism Organisation attended Beijing International Tourism Expo, the first major trade fair to be staged in Beijing since the pandemic outbreak. The September event merged offline and online components, making it possible to showcase the offer of companies who could not come to China.

Combined with China International Fair for Trade in Services, this year’s edition successfully gained even more attention among attendees and media. The event sent a clear message that the situation in China is stable and the virus transmission is under full control, bringing a lot of hope to industry members expecting imminent recovery of international tourism.

The expo merged offline and online components, making it possible to showcase the offer of companies who could not come to China. Polish Airlines LOT and the Amberroute travel agency, sub-exhibitors of the Polish stand, were virtually joined by Warsaw Tourism Organisation, Małopolska Tourism Organisation, Wielkopolska Tourism Organisation and FunClub, Tarifa and VisitPoland travel bureaux.

The expo-centred week of the Beijing-based International Office of Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna - POT) culminated in another major event - China (Guangdong) International Tourism Industry Expo in Guangzhou. This was POT’s already third time at the Expo that, despite the highly specific character of 2020, has enjoyed unflagging interest of potential visitors to Europe. The event also served as an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences with other European tourism organisations during the European Destination Exchange session.

Poland’s Chopin heritage tourism was one of the key products promoted at the Expo by POT’s International Office. Due to the 210^th anniversary of Frederic Chopin’s birthday, the 10^th anniversary of Chopin Museum opening in Warsaw and the 18^th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition (eventually rescheduled to October 2021), the Office conducted a number of operations in the Chinese market intended to introduce the Chinese audience to tourist highlights related to the composer. In addition, the presentations given during trade events made it possible to reach representatives of the tourism industry.

In the context of expanding the current tourism offer with natural sights and spa hotels in the vicinity of major urban centres, wellness tourism was selected as the second promoted product. As a result of the pandemic’s impact on the expectations of Chinese tourists, next season is expected to place a great emphasis on getting close to nature, fresh air and relaxing and medical treatments. Already now tour operators are planning to dedicate about 40% of new itineraries to wellness tourism.