WASHINGTON D.C. – Brand USA – the destination-marketing organization for the United States – will host its first-ever sales mission to China, Feb. 24 to March 4.

More than 30 representatives of Brand USA's American travel-industry partners will participate in the nine-day itinerary, which includes three-day stops in each of these three Chinese cities: Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.

Along the way, members of the Brand USA delegation will meet with Chinese travel agents, tour operators, meeting and incentive planners, and media at a variety of planned events and functions.

“This mission allows us to provide a platform to showcase the United States as the premier travel destination for international travelers,” said Christopher Thompson, Brand USA's president and CEO. “As outbound travel from China steadily surges, we're finding that the Chinese are looking for new tourism experiences. In response, we want to show how the U.S. offers limitless options for travel.”

In Guangzhou, the first stop for the Brand USA sales mission, the group will convene for meetings at the USA Pavilion at the Guangzhou International Travel Fair, a major Asian trade exposition that was established 23 years ago.

The mission then moves to Beijing, where the American delegation will attend a reception and banquet that celebrates 2016 as a “U.S.-China Tourism Year.” Delegates will join a number of Chinese guests representing China's tourism industry and media outlets. Last fall, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jingping jointly designated 2016 as a “U.S.—China Tourism Year,” to pay tribute to the ongoing cooperation and steady development of tourism between the two countries. 

Shanghai, China's most populated city (23.74 million), is the final stop of the mission. As in the other two cities, members of the Brand USA group will continue to have business meetings with Chinese tourism officials. They will also attend presentations and panel discussions, networking dinners, and sessions with Chinese media outlets.

China is the sixth-largest source market for inbound travel to the U.S. Just over 2 million Chinese travelers visited the U.S. during 2014 – 20 percent more than the previous year. Brand USA officials expect China to become the number-one source market for U.S.-bound travelers within several years.

Current research, according to David Whitaker, Brand USA's chief marketing officer, indicates that Chinese travelers are gravitating away from group travel as they opt for more fly-and-drive packages that have appeal for Frequent Individual Travelers (FIT) and semi-FIT markets.

Whitaker also said that opportunities are emerging to develop business travel – known as MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) packages – for Chinese travelers. U.S. Department of Commerce research reveals that China is likely to surpass the U.S. as the number one business-travel market in 2016, generating 20 percent of global business-travel spending.

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About Brand USA

Brand USA is the public-private partnership responsible for promoting the United States as a premier travel destination and communicating U.S. entry/exit policies and procedures. Established by the Travel Promotion Act in 2010, the organization's mission is to increase international visitation to the United States while working in partnership with the travel industry to maximize the economic and social benefits of travel. These benefits include creating jobs essential to the economy and fostering understanding between people and cultures. For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visit www.TheBrandUSA.com. For information about travel to and around the United States, please visit Brand USA's consumer website at www.VisitTheUSA.com.