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The 13th PATAcademy-HCD workshop, under the theme ‘China and Russia Outbound Tourism Markets’, is set to take place at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Engagement Hub in Bangkok, Thailand on November 25-26, 2019.

The two-day programme aims to enable participants to leverage destination, consumer and competitor’ insights to create an effective destination marketing strategy from a 360-degree perspective. The workshop will specifically focus on the Chinese and Russian digital marketing landscape, social media platforms, future market trends, and how to attract them to your destination.

“Russian and Chinese travellers play a large role in shaping the landscape of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. “According to our research, China is the number origin market for inbound travel into Asia Pacific with over 128 million international visitor arrivals (IVAs) reported in 2018, and we forecast that by 2023 that number will increase to over 173 million IVAs into 35 destinations in the region. Russia on the other hand, has seen the largest growth of outbound tourism expenditure from 2017 to 2018 at 16%, according to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Furthermore, by 2023 we forecast that Russian IVAs into 26 destinations in Asia Pacific will reach over 12 million. Therefore, both these source markets are not to be underestimated.”

Confirmed speakers at PATAcademy-HCD in November include Philip Schaetz, Managing Director – CUBE, Hong Kong SAR; Vadim Tylik, Chief Executive Officer – RMAA Group, Russia, and Vera Wong, Director of Sales & Marketing – Stargazer Company Limited, China.

The programme will begin with an introductory session from Mr. Schaetz on leveraging consumer insights to create an effective destination marketing strategy, uncovering all aspects of the destination business, competitor insights and consumer behaviour indicators from a 360-degree perspective before diving into specific key feeder markets.

“Consumers today have more choice than ever – where to travel, how to get there, how to research and book and what to do in a destination. Besides, more and more interesting destination are appearing every day coupled with new important feeder markets. As a destination marketer, it is essential to be on top of these trends and embrace them to develop or strengthen a sustainable destination marketing strategy,” said Mr. Schaetz. “In our session, you will learn how to uncover all aspects of destination businesses, competitor insights and consumer behaviour indicators from a 360-degree perspective. We will elaborate why your destination’s brand story and brand experience are of utmost importance and why consistency and relevancy in your destination’s brand communication is imperative to drive profits to the verticals within the destination.”

Ms Wong from Stargazer, a destination marketing company in China that specialises in offering marketing and sales services to destinations, attractions and hotels, will lead the session on China. The content differs from the previous PATAcademy-HCD workshops on China Outbound with a more in-depth look into the digital marketing landscape of mainland China.

If you wish to have a better understanding of China OTA, UGC, social media platforms, Chinese bloggers/KOLs and successful digital marketing campaigns, this session will be your best choice.  You will gain insights Interesting marketing campaigns will also be shared as a reference for further study. Come and join PATAcademy-HCD this November to enhance your digital marketing strategies to penetrate the lucrative market of China,” added Ms Wong.

The second day of the programme, led by Mr Tylik, will primarily focus on the Russian Federation, providing participants with statistics, analysis and trends of outbound tourism from the country.

“During our 4-hour session, we will discuss the most important topics about the Russian outbound tourism market: from overall review to key players, from the behaviour of tourists to the marketing strategies of entering and developing the Russian market. How attractive is the tourist market of Russia?  Where do Russians prefer to rest? How the Russian media and digital landscape look like? What travel marketer should know about marketing strategies for destinations and hotels to attract Russian Travelers?”, said Mr Tylik. “In today’s fast-changing society, it is very important to keep abreast of trends, especially in key markets. Russia plays a significant part in the world tourism. In 2017 (+13%) Russia raised from 11th to 8th place and get into TOP 10 again. In 2018, Russia showed the largest growth of +16%, which let her maintain the 8th place in the rating. If you manage to work with the Russian market, you will be able to enter all Russian-speaking countries (more than 10 countries).”

Over the course of two days, this interactive and intensive workshop will empower participants with practical tools and best practices, in order to form an in-depth understanding of the market. As a result, participants will be able to adapt and enlarge their portfolio of tourism and hospitality services to ensure a sustainable and successful engagement with these outbound markets.

In addition to the in-class training sessions, participants will have the opportunity to explore Bangkok from a different angle at Mahanakhon SkyWalk, Thailand’s highest observatory and rooftop bar. Located on the top of King Power Mahanakhon Building, the Mahanakhon SkyWalk is a must-see attraction in the heart of Bangkok with one of the world’s largest glass trays on the 78th floor, Southeast Asia’s fastest elevators and unrivalled 360 degree views of Bangkok’s breath-taking skyline.

This workshop is designed for stakeholders in the public and private sectors of travel, tourism, hospitality, and MICE including government officers, hoteliers, MICE professionals, travel professionals, academics and all who aim to engage successfully with Chinese and Russian outbound travellers.

Participants that complete the course successfully are awarded a PATAcademy-HCD certificate entitled “Certified Asia Pacific – China and Russia Outbound Tourism Market”.

The registration fee for PATAcademy-HCD is US$699 for PATA members, US$799 for Chapter members and US$899 for non-members. Registration fee includes training programme with materials, lunches listed on official programme and site visit. Fee excludes air ticket and airport transfer.