The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) to prepare jointly a series of practical manuals and training modules for service providers in the travel and tourism sector.

The MoU, signed in Hangzhou China (PRC) during PATA Travel Mart 2009, paves the way for COTRI and PATA to provide travel professionals worldwide with invaluable down-to-earth ‘know-how’ for engaging successfully with specific markets.

The first of these, to be released October 8, equips travel industry professionals with the right practical knowledge so that they may respond to the rapidly growing outbound market from the People’s Republic of China. The aim is to ensure that these outbound travellers enjoy a memorable trip by providing superior customer service.

“It’s no coincidence that we have chosen early October to launch this venture,” says PATA CEO Greg Duffell. “As the people across China continue to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic it’s very clear that their desire for overseas travel is set to grow. We’ve witnessed extraordinary growth in outbound travel movements from China to destinations all over the world at a pace and in numbers that, frankly, would have been difficult to contemplate a couple of decades ago.

“But this is just the beginning. The global travel industry must now gear up to provide service at levels that this increasingly discerning market from the People’s Republic of China wants and expects – and these guides from PATA and COTRI will help achieve that.”

This first manual addresses the need for travel and tourism industry staff to recognise that visitors from the world’s most populous nation deserve appropriate consideration. Dr Wolfgang Arlt, COTRI’s editorial team leader, described the series of publications as ‘enabling you to know more about how Chinese wish and deserve to be treated’.