China

Co-authored by Brian Davies, Managing Partner, Movéo Integrated Branding

The clichéd image of a Chinese consumer riding a bicycle and buying little except rice is fast being swept away. Chinese people -- in the Peoples' Republic of China, Taiwan and overseas -- are now the largest purchasers of luxury goods. And domestic Chinese brands, such as Haier and Lenovo (a sponsor of the 2008 Olympics), are coming onto the world stage.

On the B2B front, opportunities are opening up everywhere. Domestic enterprises, like Telecommunications companies ZTE and Huawei, are growing from their Chinese bases. Meanwhile, foreign multinationals are seeking to expand their business in China and capitalize on the opening of markets following China's accession to the WTO.

Just a generation ago, most goods in China were simply produced and distributed -- there were few actual brands (e.g. "Product 'A' came from factory No. 306"). Of course, a handful of products did tap into the fervor of the Cultural Revolution, such as Red Lantern radios and Panda cigarettes. And while Chairman Mao frequently mentioned Zhangxiaoquan scissors and Ostrich ink, he did so as a proud head of state, not as an endorser.

Three times a week, when Qantas flight QF 192 takes off from Beijing to Sydney, there is more on board than merely people and cargo. The plane also carries the ambitions of Chinese business people looking for global growth, affluent PRC travelers connecting with their families and having fun, tired but invigorated international business people returning home, as well as a hold full of increasingly value-added Chinese exports. The flight captures some of the trends that are driving the international dimension of the phenomenal growth in China's travel and tourism sector.

The return flight QF 191 from Sydney to Beijing, and indeed flights inbound from all over the world, carry almost as many growth stories as there are passengers. By 2020, the UN World Tourism Organization predicts that China will be the leading inbound destination in the world with 130 million tourists, and the fourth largest outbound destination with 100 million tourists.