Baby Ace: Britain invests in direct flights between Beijing and Birmingham to entice 650,000 Chinese tourists to indulge in British culture

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Britain invests in direct flights between Beijing and Birmingham to entice 650,000 Chinese tourists to indulge in British culture

By

Ray Massey, Transport Editor

As China’s burgeoning middle classes begin to enjoy the finer things in life – indulging in British culture appears to be high up on their to-do list.

The huge influx of Chinese tourists to London has even prompted the start of direct charter flights for tourists to begin between Beijing and Birmingham.

They will be the first direct holiday charter flights between China and any British airport outside of London and help tourism chiefs achieve their target of welcoming 650,000 Chinese visits a year by 2020.

Extra passengers: There is a joint initiative between Birmingham Airport, China Southern Airlines, Chinese package tour specialists Caissa Travel Management and Birmingham-China specialist agency United Travel

And, one of the most popular attractions for the Chinese, is the Bard – with tourist chiefs saying Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon were high on the list of ‘must sees’ for Chinese tourists.

Also high on the tourist trail are Warwick Castle and the upmarket designer-label Bicester Village shopping complex.

Britain’s second city – Birmingham – is also a draw, they insisted.

Organisers say the joint initiative between Birmingham Airport, China Southern Airlines, Chinese package tour specialists Caissa Travel Management, and Birmingham-China specialist agency United Travel, demonstrates the enormous demand for more flights between the two countries.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s birthplace: One of the most popular attractions for the Chinese, is Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon

Caissa, one of China’s leading travel specialists, is to sell a range of organised package tours to Chinese visitors seeking to explore ‘world class tourism attractions’ in the Midlands, the North of England as well as London.

Ahead of the first flights the airport is investing in Chinese terminal signs, staff ‘cultural awareness’ training, mandarin speaking front of house staff, and specific web-pages translated into mandarin, as well as a dedicated VAT refund facility for passengers to use before jetting back home.

Direct flights between Birmingham and Beijing are possible following a £40million investment by Birmingham Airport to extend the runway, which will open next month.

The summer programme involves direct flights from Beijing into Birmingham between July 22nd and August 6th.

China Southern Airlines will operate a 248 seat A330-200 aircraft on the route.

A Birmingham Airport spokesman said: ‘The runway extension will provide airlines with unlimited take off range, allowing jets to fly direct to China, and puts Birmingham in an ideal place to become an alternative gateway to the UK for flights from China and beyond.’

Birmingham Airport’s chief executive Paul Kehoe said: ‘Three years’ collaborative working has established relationships in China to promote the many jewels that the Midlands has to offer, such as The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Warwick Castle, Bicester Village and the vibrant city of Birmingham itself.’

British bargains: A Chinese tourists grabs a piece of British culture by searching for bargains in Clark

British bargains: A Chinese tourists grabs a piece of British culture by searching for bargains in Clark’s shoe shop

‘There is an alternative gateway into the UK for those wanting to visit Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick and Birmingham – destinations that make this country great.’

China is currently one of the fastest growing visitor source markets for the UK tourism industry at a rate of 20 per cent year-on-year over the past few years with the market trebling over the past decade and forecast to grow even more.

In 2012 the Chinese visitor market was worth £15million to the West Midlands economy alone with Birmingham now the fourth most popular destination for Chinese visitors in England.

The deal follows a three-year strategic cooperation agreement between the British Tourist Authority and China’s Caissa Travel – a large integrated tour operator.

The partnership is part of the VisitBritain ‘GREAT China Welcome’ campaign announced during Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to China in November 2013.

Chen Xiaobing, chief executive of Caissa Travel, said the aim was to grow Chinese tourism in the UK.

‘Birmingham is not only the UK’s second largest city, but it is also an important tourist destination.

‘A number of ‘seat only’ tickets and package holidays, flying direct, are also available for UK residents wishing to visit China.

Ann Leung, director of United Travel said: ‘We are constantly receiving enquiries from business travellers and tourists wishing to visit China, and students and Chinese people wanting to travel home. We are therefore incredibly proud to be part of this important initiative.’

Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: ‘China is a hugely significant market for Birmingham and the West Midlands, so we look forward to the prospect of even more Chinese visitors coming to the city using this new, landmark route’.

Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain said: ‘Britain is attracting more Chinese travellers than ever before. The Birmingham route will encourage Chinese visitors to explore new areas of Britain and help to achieve our target of welcoming 650,000 Chinese visits a year by 2020.’

Culture Secretary Maria Miller said the announcement was ‘great news’ noting: ‘China is a vital trade and tourism partner for us and opening up this new route will encourage even more Chinese visitors to fly to our country and experience more of what our great nation has to offer outside of the capital – from tourist attractions to shopping, culture to heritage.’