Speakers Confirmed for China Travel Market Forum (Hawaii)

NTA's second-annual China Market Forum is one of the highlights of Contact this August 15–17, on Hawai‘i, the Big Island. The forum will build on last year's important discussions and will include this lineup of speakers: 

• Tony Ong, vice president and chief information officer of Beijing Hua Yuan International Travel Service, has served the organization in its Hong Kong, Switzerland, Paris and Beijing offices. Beijing Hua Yuan International Travel, established in 1985, is the largest wholesaler for the China outbound market. Ong's accomplishments there include overseeing travel business development and the formation of online operations, developing a supplier's network, and handling government groups and corporate MICE groups. He will be one of the panelists for Ask the Top China Operators and Packaging Travel for the Chinese Traveler.

• Skylar Jiang H.Y. is the assistant general manager of CYTS (China Youth Travel Service) Group China, one of the largest travel companies in China, with revenue in 2012 exceeding US$1.6 billion. It is the only publically listed travel service company in the country. Jiang has 11 years of experience in outbound tourism from China and is a well-known host for many Chinese TV and radio tourism programs. Jiang will also be one of the panelists for Ask the

Top China Operators.

• Mark (Liang) Wang is the deputy general manager of inbound tours and general manager of the America & Pacific department for the China Travel Service, a company with more than 64 years of history. Wang majored in tourism at Beijing Institute of Tourism and began his career as a tour guide. Mark has been working for CTS for more than 10 years; he has gained rich knowledge of the Western and Chinese mentalities, bridging the gap between the two cultures. Mark will be one of the featured panelists for Ask the Top China Operators.

• Isabel Hill serves as director of the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries at the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Hill and her team work to promote policies that foster the competitiveness of U.S. travel and tourism industries, in collaboration with the private sector and federal agencies. She leads the United States team of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade Tourism Working Group. Hill is a familiar face to many NTA members, having served on a panel of North American tourism leaders at the 2011 convention in Las Vegas. Isabel is the speaker for the Market Overview seminar.
• A fourth speaker is Judy Zhou, a journalist with Travel Weekly China, based in Beijing. She will also serve as a panelist.

These experts will be able to answer all your questions about how to best meet the needs of both the Chinese traveler and operator. Visit the China Market Forum page on the Contact website to read more about them and the seminars they are featured in! 

Tour operators, don't miss this great educational opportunity; register for Contact '13 and be sure to check out the full descriptions of each seminar here.