Serving up Britain's magical history tours

Company introduces Chinese visitors to the heritage and diversity of the United Kingdom

Rose Zhang grew up in China reading English classics such as Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She imagined that British society would be as traditional and conservative as the novels - but that changed when she arrived in Britain in 2014.

"The longer I live here, the more I realize that the UK is an inclusive, multicultural society. It seamlessly merges heritage with innovation and it has a unique capacity to include other diverse cultures and make them a part of the British culture," says Zhang.

A promotion activity which China Travel Services UK Ltd helped its client, Hainan city government, organize in London. Provided to China Daily

Today Zhang works as deputy director of China Travel Service UK, a tourism agency that enables her to show the best of British culture to her Chinese compatriots.

Zhang and her team design holidays that demonstrate Britain's diverse culture, including everything from Highclere House - better known as Downton Abbey from the TV series - and Jane Austen's hometown in Hampshire, to famous British schools and beautiful golf courses.

"I am a true believer in the ancient Chinese proverb 'It's better to travel 10,000 miles than read 10,000 books'. I believe that traveling must be accompanied by taking the time to get to know and feel the culture and heritage of places one travels to," she says.

She also loves talking about her company's slogan, "Perfecting the art of travel", explaining that her team treats its travel services with dedication, as if working on a piece of artwork.

What gave Zhang such confidence is perhaps her company's long history and proven track record. China National Travel Service Group Corp was founded in 1928, and over the years it has built a network of subsidiaries in more than 50 cities in China and 20 countries worldwide.

China Travel Service UK became the first China-oriented travel services company when it was established in 1986 in London. At the time, China was just beginning to open up to the world and attracted many British travelers.

"British customers are very loyal, and once they have a good experience, they trust us and decide to travel with us on subsequent trips," Zhang says, adding that the feedback she often receives from returning customers makes her realize the power of the company's brand.

For instance, she recently received a phone call from a British customer, whom Zhang quotes as saying: "My mother used to be your loyal customer. She is now 80 years old and can no longer travel. Now I have to travel to China with my child, and my mother insisted that I contact you and use your service for the trip."

Stories like this are many, Zhang says, but she also realizes that the tide of travel has turned. In fact, when she was sent by the company to work on the UK team in 2014, the British operation was experiencing a particularly difficult time.

The number of British travelers to China was falling. The appreciation of the yuan over time made China holidays less attractive to British customers, compounded by many British households' reduced disposable income in the years following the financial crisis. Meanwhile, China's rapid improvement of its domestic travel infrastructure and English language capability means British travelers have less need for organized tours.

The dwindling revenue from British customers became a big challenge to China Travel Service UK. But this coincided with a growth in the number of outbound Chinese tourists, and Zhang led the company's strategic shift to serve the UK's inbound Chinese tourism market.

"Because of this significant market growth, suddenly the UK's China-facing tourism market encountered many challenges. After the London 2012 Olympics, the demand for quality travel services was far outstripping supply, and many new players came into the market, including less-experienced Mandarin-speaking tour guides," Zhang says.

Consequently, many Chinese visited the UK in large group tours but did not always have a great experience. Zhang says that most package tours lacked in-depth sightseeing opportunities and consisted of long bus journeys as the groups hopped between London and Edinburgh within two weeks.

"Working in this industry, I feel it is our mission to provide the best service in helping our customers see the most authentic United Kingdom," she says.

To differentiate itself, China Travel Service UK focuses on tailor-made tours with such themes as castles, stately homes, literature, golf, art and antiques, festivals, training and school visiting, corporate events and conferences.

China Travel Service also uses its knowledge of the UK's geography to design smart routes that significantly reduce the number of hours spent on bus journeys, thereby maximizing visitor entertainment. It also includes more uncommon destinations, such as the northern English city of Chester, one of the best preserved walled cities in Britain.

"What we present to Chinese travelers is a multifaceted UK, one that was at the heart of the global Industrial Revolution but has now transformed into an advanced industrialized and modern country, while still keeping elements of its history and heritage across its landscape," she says.

Zhang recently designed a tour for a British carmaker, which brought a group of its Chinese dealers to the UK for a holiday.

"Visiting the UK headquarters of this car company was an obvious part of the trip but, in addition to that, we also focused the trip on other elements that reflect the history and heritage that gave birth to this car brand, so that its Chinese partners were better acquainted with the brand's values and ethos," she says.

China Travel Service UK's trips are rather pricey. A two-week tailor-made tour can cost ￡1,800 ($2,380; 2,045 euros) per person or more. Despite the high cost, the tours have proved popular. Since 2014, the team's revenue derived from inbound Chinese tourists has grown at a rate of 30 percent annually.

According to British government statistics, the number of visas issued to Chinese visitors last year increased by 20 percent compared with 2015 - to more than 480,000 - and they spent more than ￡513 million in the UK in 2016.

China Travel Service UK is also assisting the managing group's strategy of achieving tourism industry "vertical integration". In China, the group has extended its sectors to include travel agency and services, destination management, hotels and transportation.

Following the same strategy, China Travel Service UK is now also providing visa services and hotels. It entered the UK's hotel sector in 2015 by acquiring the British hotel management company Kew Green, which owns 45 hotels and manages 11 more.

"After the acquisition, we worked with the Kew Green team to create services that can better satisfy the needs of Chinese customers, such as providing Chinese breakfast and Chinese-language signs in hotel rooms. ... We have also assisted in the opening of Chinese restaurants inside these hotels to provide familiar dishes to Chinese travelers," Zhang says.

Looking to the future, she says her group hopes to continue serving its traditional customers while recruiting new ones.

"We hope that our quality services can connect between China and the UK, and become a bridge to help the two countries' people understand and appreciate more of each other."

cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily European Weekly 11/03/2017 page30)