The China Outbound Travel & Tourism Market (COTTM) has signed a new partnership with the International Forum on Chinese Outbound Tourism (IFCOT). COTTM is taking place 14-16 May 2007 at the China World Trade Center in Beijing (CWTC) and will be preceded by the high-profile conference attracting travel industry experts from across China and the rest of the world.

IFCOT is widely recognised as the leading authority on the Chinese outbound tourism market and is now in its third successful year. The conference programme will focus on a wide range of issues including outbound tourism trends, future challenges, commercial opportunities and government policies affecting the outbound market in the short and long term.

Dr Wang Xinjun, Secretary General of the IFCOT Organising Committee, commented about the partnership: The Chinese outbound tourism market is growing at an astonishing rate. We`re delighted to cooperate with COTTM for the 2007 event, which will surely enable both of us to provide a bigger platform to the attendees with the most up to date expert insights and practical advice. Some of the leading authorities on China outbound tourism will be taking to the stage to share their expertise on the latest market forecasts.

The Third International Forum on Chinese Outbound Tourism is supported by: China National Tourism Administration; China Tourism Association; China Association of Travel Service; UNWTO; and PATA.

Matt Thompson, Project Director for COTTM, said: We`re very excited about our partnership with this prestigious forum. We believe it`s increasingly important to share knowledge and therefore a strong educational element to our event is a very good development for the outbound market. IFCOT and COTTM complement each other well with a great combination of the educational and business-to-business platforms. Both these components will help travel industry professionals to learn about the market and maximize the commercial opportunities available to them now and in the future.