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Beijing Tourism Administration wins World Travel Market Global Travel Award

The Beijing Tourism Administration (BTA) has secured a prestigious World Travel Market Global Award in recognition of its success in establishing the city as a globally competitive business and leisure destination.

World Travel Market Chairman Fiona Jeffery presented the award to Anny Wu, assistant director of the BTA marketing department, at today’s WTM 30th Anniversary VIP Opening & Reception Ceremony.

WTM’s Global Media Network, comprising of key travel industry media around the world, put forward organisations and individuals which have contributed to their region’s travel and tourism industry. The BTA was nominated by Travel Weekly China. Liz Lee, publisher of RBI Asia Group, who jointly presented the award with Jeffery and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

The success of the 2008 Olympics has been used by the BTA as a springboard for tourism development, with the lessons learnt from hosting such a large-scale event proving particularly useful. Currently there are about 2,000 domestic and international conferences held in Beijing every year, of which 140 are large-scale international conferences, generating a direct economic income of more than RMB6 billion (£550m) and indirect income of RM 54bn (£5bn).

The BTA has recently secured events such as World Travel & Tourism Council Summit and The World Congress of Cardiology, both scheduled for 2010.

Following the 2008 Olympics, the Beijing municipal authority earmarked resources and backing for the development of Beijing into a world’s top tourist city and a centre for meetings, incentives and exhibitions. The BTA helped introduce a number of initiatives, such as preferential tax rates for events. It can also provide funding for local interests looking to host important international conferences.  

It also provides the traditional representation services such as a global marketing networks, relationship building and training.

World Travel Market Chairman Fiona Jeffery said: “The 2008 Olympics was an undoubted success, and credit must be given to the Beijing Tourism Administration for continuing to work to promote their city once the Games had ended. I know that the whole travel industry is excited about the future of Beijing as a leisure and business destination.”
Every year, World Travel Market Global Awards are presented. The other 2009 winners are: Air Canada, Gianfranco Battisti of Italian National Rail Company, Latin American tour operator CVC – Group, the Algarve Tourism Board, Mexican marketing body Consejo de Promocion Turistica , Moscow-based tour operator Capital Tour, Spice Jet Airlines, Carnival Corporation and Marco Livadiotti of Universal Touring Company, Yemen

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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.

Almost 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on London’s ExCeL Centre every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.

WTM, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.

WTM is owned by the world’s leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a portfolio of other travel industry events including Arabian Travel Market and International Luxury Travel Market.

RE holds more than 500 events in 38 countries throughout Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific covering 47 industry sectors including aerospace & aviation, healthcare, manufacturing and sport & recreation.

In 2008 RE, part of the Reed Elsevier group, brought together more than six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.