A Walloon in China and the future of Chinese tourism into Europe

In this episode of Conversations on Asia,  I talk to Ms. Ludivine Destree about her experiences in China promoting tourism into Europe. Ludivine is currently working for the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) as Business Manager. She was the Chairwoman of the China Chapter of the European Travel Commission (from November 2017 to November 2020) and the Chief Representative of the Greater China Region of the Wallonia Tourism office (from August 2015 to August 2021). She has worked, lived and studied in China for many years.We start the conversation by discussing first the current situation in Beijing and then we take a look at the impact of Covid in China. On the second half, we dive right into the topic at hand. I learn from Ludivine what it entailed promoting tourism into Europe in China. We talk about the impact of Covid on the tourism industry and how things have changed since the pandemic as the pre-pandemic hopes of economic activity that a growing Chinese tourism into Europe could bring have cooled off. Finally, we assess how a pandemic-caused reduced Chinese tourism abroad and also a currently non-existent foreign tourism into China may widen the gap of understanding between China and some parts of the world.This episode was recorded on 22nd of May, 2022. 0:00 Introduction 1:50 The situation in Beijing 12:59 Travel restrictions and the Shanghai-induced fear 16:29 More foreigners leaving the country? 20:00 Does the dynamic Zero Covid policy still remain viable? What about foreign vaccines into China? Could China open its borders any time in the near future? 25:02 The impact of Covid on foreign companies operating in China and foreign talent attraction/retention 29:15 The overall economic impact 31:07 Introducing Wallonia to China 35:16 The future of tourism in Covid times and the China factor 40:58 The current situation for European regional tourism representatives offices in China and their tourism outreach activities 45:04The Golden Times, big expectations around Chinese tourism into Europe, and the arrival of dark clouds with Covid 54:43 The importance of tourism and the current widening gap of understanding between China and the World