"Travel Professionals Lined Up to Talk to Us". RH Travel Team Visits China

Delegation from RH Travel, Inc. recently embarked on an eventful journey to Shanghai, where they participated in the prestigious tourism trade fair, ITB China 2023, and the Envision 2023 Global Conference, hosted by Trip.com Group, a global travel service powerhouse. Dino Molter, the Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO) of RH Travel, shares insights on the success of this voyage and its significance.

Q: Dino, you spent an entire week in China. Was it easy to carve out time from your demanding schedule? Did the journey halfway around the world to Shanghai prove worth it?

A: Well, every member of our delegation, led by Igor Kopmar, the CEO and founder of RH Travel, ventured to Shanghai with a clear mission. Our itinerary was packed with both business and exploratory pursuits. We held numerous fruitful meetings, established valuable connections, discussed long-term strategies, and absorbed the mesmerizing essence of Shanghai. So, traversing the ocean there and back was undeniably a worthwhile endeavor.

Q: Was the primary goal of your visit the ITB China 2023 trade fair?

A: I'd say that the tourism trade fair served as the crescendo in a series of events leading up to ITB China 2023. Hosting the exhibition became a convenient occasion for global travel industry giants with headquarters or regional bases in Shanghai to convene and gather their most esteemed partners.

For instance, on September 8th, we were invited to Travelport's exclusive networking event. 

• Travelport is renowned as a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, ranking among the top three global distribution systems (GDS), alongside Amadeus IT Group and Sabre Corporation.

The evening was an informal cocktail party, offering a platform for mingling with leaders and change-makers in the travel industry, hailing from travel agencies, airlines, hoteliers, and tech companies.

Q: Your company was certainly a distinguished company!

A: Absolutely, rubbing shoulders with industry experts was a rare privilege. Nevertheless, the September Summit, an annual supplier meeting hosted by Trip.com Group, our trusted and long-standing partner, was the grandest and most impressive of all. 

• Trip.com Group is a leading global online travel services company. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, the company is known for providing a wide range of travel-related services to individuals and businesses worldwide. Its services include online hotel reservations, flight bookings, vacation packages, car rentals, and more. Trip.com Group operates a portfolio of well-known brands, including Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. The group's global presence and comprehensive travel services have established it as a major player in the travel and tourism industry, serving millions of travelers around the world.

The gathering, held from September 9th to 12th, welcomed hundreds of representatives from various corners of the globe. They spanned across the spectrum of Trip.com Group's suppliers, including aviation, hospitality, car rentals, and railway tours. However, you know what truly surprised us?

Q: What was that?

A: It was the revelation that RH Travel was the sole U.S.-based air content supplier present.  While other countries like Canada, Germany, India, and so on, were represented by various air content suppliers, the United States was represented by one, and that one was us.

Dino Molter (on the left) during the Trip.com event.

I must admit that the most exceptionally eventful day was September 10th. It began with a general meeting of the summit participants. Afterward, our hosts organized a tour of Trip.com Group's headquarters. In the evening, all attendees, guests, and hosts alike embarked on a dinner cruise on the Huangpu River in downtown Shanghai. The nocturnal skyline of Shanghai, as witnessed from the river, is truly a spectacle to behold.

Igor Kopmar, the CEO and founder of RH Travel, Inc.

I noticed that Igor, our CEO, was particularly taken with the Trip.com Group headquarters, which exuded a high-tech ambiance. The exterior, resembling a corporate business park, was characterized by very modern and upscale structures. It bore a striking resemblance to a neighborhood one might associate with tech giants like Google. Inside, the headquarters boasted colossal screens streaming real-time booking processes for airfare and other tourism services. It was almost like a command center, featuring a wall of video screens that conveyed live statistics and graphical representations of air and hotel bookings, city pairs in transit, and numerous other data insights. It was an impressive display, providing a live pulse on the travel industry.

Q: What were the key takeaways from the Trip.com Group's insights? Did they share their findings with you?

A: Oh, we were inundated with invaluable insights, especially during the Envision 2023 Global Partner Conference held the next day. The entire conference, which spanned the entirety of Monday, September 11th, was marked by a multitude of informative presentations. However, one address that resonated profoundly was delivered by Trip.com Group, summarizing the state of the industry and offering a glimpse into the future. I can quote a portion of it:

• "This year marks a new adventure in the global tourism industry.
  The industry is evolving rapidly after a challenging few years, and new travel trends have emerged. Since the start of the year, the industry has been experiencing significant growth as flight capacity ramps up.
  While travelers' preferences and booking patterns might have changed, their passion for travel remains high. Let's create a future filled with passion, confidence, and optimism for this industry we are proud to be part of."

Envision 2023 welcome ceremony.

Q: I'm sure many industry players, including those attending ITB China 2023, would echo those sentiments, wouldn't they?

A: I believe they would. The event brought together a myriad of influential figures in the global travel market from various nations. Perhaps we'll continue forging business relationships with some of them.

• ITB China stands as the leading B2B-exclusive trade show dedicated to the Chinese travel market. According to the organizers, "at ITB China in Shanghai, we bring together top and hand-selected buyers from Greater China with industry professionals from all over the world."

Q: Did you collect a trove of business cards?

A: We did, but we gave away even more of our own. One day felt like a marathon of meetings, moving from one to the next, meeting people here and conversing with others there. We were in high demand, setting up numerous meetings because guests and ITB China 2023 participants were eager to engage with us. They expressed interest in our business and potential collaborations.

Similarly, our interaction with Travelport was a noteworthy experience, as mentioned earlier. Travel professionals lined up, figuratively, to talk to us. The next day, Igor and I had prepared for the meeting by asking Travelport's China-based account managers to introduce us to their local customers—individuals owning OTAs and other travel businesses interested in partnering with us. They lined up to shake our hands. I had never encountered such enthusiastic engagement before.

ITB China 2023 opening ceremony.

Q: Perhaps the interest can be attributed to the fact that you came from the USA?

A: On one hand, yes, as the USA is undeniably a significant market. On the other hand, RH Travel enjoys a well-deserved reputation for excellence, which makes everyone eager to collaborate with us. Furthermore, we encountered a few surprises when we recognized familiar faces we hadn't expected to see. Despite past interactions that didn't culminate in business partnerships, there is now renewed interest and an earnest effort to rekindle collaboration, a second chance at success. That prospect excites us.

Moreover, introducing our name and products to the local community through potential partners carries substantial weight. When you sit across from someone at a table, a genuine connection often forms, which is challenging to achieve through email or video calls. Face-to-face interactions exude a unique energy, fostering trust and personal understanding. This becomes especially crucial in business dealings, particularly when language barriers may still exist.

Q: How did you communicate with your Chinese colleagues?

A: Some of them were fluent in English, while others were not. Hence, we frequently relied on translation apps on our smartphones to facilitate communication. This experience led to an important realization—nearly everything related to travel in China is mobile-centric. People conduct every aspect of their lives through mobile devices, be it their wallets, ideas, bookings, or translation tools.

Recognizing this, we have started making preparations to incorporate Chinese speakers into our team internally. At present, we are planning to establish a presence in China by hiring individuals who can bolster our operations in the country. These individuals would assist with business development, facilitate operations and customer service, and lend support to our B2B partners.

Q: What's next on the horizon?

A: Participation in forthcoming exhibitions is high on our agenda. We are currently deliberating whether to attend the World Travel Market (WTM London) in November and are almost certainly penciling in ITB Berlin for March 2024. Our plans are expansive, and as our past experiences have demonstrated, business trips of this nature broaden our network of partners, infuse us with fresh knowledge and ideas, and inspire us to achieve new milestones in our industry.