The Great Lakes USA China Sales Mission started on January 7th, 2019 in Beijing, China. The sales mission lasted for five days, and it is also the first sales mission held in China by Great Lakes USA. Delegates from the six states in the Great Lakes region participated in the event to share travel information, and professionals from the travel industry in China actively participated in the event, hoping to receive first-hand information and opportunities in the Chinese outbound tourism market. Lee Anthony McCarrick, Executive Director, Great Lakes USA and Z.J. Tong, President of ChinaPro Marketing Partners led the sales mission in three big cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.

January 7, 2019 – January 11, 2019

Beijing, China

• Sales Call to FUnion International Travel Co., Ltd
• Sales Call to Trends Media Group
• Travel Trade/Media Road Show Event

Shanghai, China

• Sales Call to Ctrip.com
• Sales Call to Galaxy Tour
• Sales Call to U-Tour

Hangzhou, China

• Sales Call to AITS
• Sales Call to Fliggy.com

Shanghai, China

• Travel Trade/Media Road Show Event
• VIP/Media Luncheon

• Lee Anthony McCarrick, Executive Director, Great Lakes USA
• Janice D. Kemmerling, Acting Director, Illinois Office of Tourism
• Brett Tyler Stawar, President & CEO, Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau
• David Lynn Spiegelberg, Tourism Development Specialist, Wisconsin Department of Tourism
• John M Haas, Director, Great River County Tourism Office
• Roger Lynn Carmack, Executive Director, Great River County Tourism Office
• Pamela Rae Joy, International Marketing Manager, Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Jennifer Lynn Ollinger, International Marketing Manager, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Miriam Diaz Blumenthal, Director of Marketing and Bureau Partnerships, DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau

27+ Beijing Participants

46+ Shanghai Participants

Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou

The event was greatly welcomed by the travel industry.  Seventy-three Chinese buyers from three cities participated in the event. Through the sales mission, Great Lakes USA enriched the itineraries for their partners in the travel industries, while encouraging participants with limited knowledge in the Great Lakes region to learn more about such and hoping that they would include destinations in the Great Lakes region in their products.

During the Shanghai Travel Trade / Media Event, notable travel agencies in China like Shanghai U-tour International Travel Service Co., LTD, Jin Jiang Travel, China Travel Service Zhejiang Group Co., LTD, and America International Travel Service Inc. signed strategic partnership agreements with Great Lakes USA and become the first batch of strategic partners of Great Lakes USA in China. They plan to develop travel products and traveling opportunities in the Great Lakes area together.

The Great Lakes USA China Sales Mission received a lot of attention. It has been covered by more than 20 influential news platforms, such as Chinanews.com, Youku.com, Sina.com, Sohu.com, etc., which produced millions of media values. It has also been broadcasted by several television channels, including The Travel Channel and Shanghai Television.