First-Ever China MegaFam 2016 is a Huge Success
Fifty international travel agents took part in Brand USA’s first-ever mega familiarization tour (MegaFam) from China, giving them a firsthand view of travel destinations in the United States.
The MegaFam, which took place October 19-27, 2016, was a joint partnership between Brand USA and United Airlines which is celebrating its 30th year of service with China. The agents, hailing from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xian, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Wenzhou, were able to experience a wide array of travel opportunities in the United States.
The agents traveled in groups on five different multi-city itineraries in the United States:
- Chicago to Rapid City, S.D.
- Denver to Houston
- Los Angeles to Las Vegas
- New York City to New York State to Connecticut
- Washington, D.C. to Baltimore to Philadelphia
After their respective tours, the 50 agents converged in the Bay area of California where they shared their highlights from their respective itineraries during a MegaFam grand finale event. These trips will allow the agents to return home and share their own experiences at the destinations and encourage travelers to choose the United States as a destination location.
This first MegaFam comes as part of 2016 U.S.-China Tourism Year, which was launched between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) at a Brand USA event in Beijing, China on February 29. The initiative is to increase mutual travel trade through enhanced travel and tourism experiences, cultural understanding, and appreciation of natural resources.
China is the sixth-largest source market for inbound tourism to the United States, and Brand USA projects that it could become the largest source market for travel to the United States within three years.