“We are excited to bring the 83^rd IATA AGM to China, hosted by Xiamen Airlines.

China is a major player in the aviation industry. China’s airlines are among the top in the world in terms of passenger traffic. And the country is at the forefront of deploying technology and digitalisation to improve efficiency. Hosting the AGM in China will allow the leaders of the global aviation industry to witness first-hand the impressive development of the Chinese market,” said IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh.

“Xiamen Airlines is proud to host the IATA AGM and to welcome our industry colleagues to our home base of Xiamen. China is a vast and culturally diverse country, with many dynamic cities and regions beyond its best-known gateways. Located on China’s southeast coast, Xiamen is an historical port and interface for commerce between China and the rest of the world,” said Xiamen Airlines Char Zhao Dong.

“The opening of Xiang’an International Airport later this year demonstrates how Xiamen is growing its importance as a transportation and business hub. AGM guests can look forward to discovering the rich culture, warm hospitality, coastal beauty, and a relaxed lifestyle that create the distinctive spirit and vitality of Xiamen,” said Xiamen Airlines CEO & President Xie Bing.

The decision to host the 83rd IATA AGM in China was made at the 82nd IATA AGM in Rio de Janeiro, which concluded on 7 June. This is the third time China will host the global gathering of aviation’s top leaders, and the first time it will be held in Xiamen. The AGM was previously held in Shanghai (2002) and Beijing (2012).

(Source: IATA)

The post Xiamen Airlines to host 83rd IATA AGM appeared first on TTR Weekly.

Messe Berlin China, the organiser of the China International MICE Exchange (CIMX), announced this week that Egyptair will participate in CIMX 2026 as the Official Airline Partner for the new-generation international B2B trade show dedicated to MICE and the business travel sectors. 

“CIMX has been created to bring together the partners, destinations and decision-makers shaping the next phase of China’s MICE market,” said CIMX Director Nikolaos Swoch. “The partnership with Egyptair combines international travel access with professional business exchange — an essential driver for the further development of China’s meetings, incentives and business events sector.”

As Official Airline Partner, Egyptair will receive prominent visibility across official CIMX communications, onsite branding and delegate touchpoints.

For Egyptair, the partnership provides a targeted platform to engage with China’s corporate travel, meetings and incentive travel market. As Egypt’s national carrier, Egyptair connects China with Egypt and onward destinations across the Middle East, Africa and Europe through its international route network.

About CIMX
The China International MICE Exchange (CIMX) is the premier new trade show designed to drive innovation, facilitate connections, and create business opportunities in China’s MICE and business travel markets.

CIMX brings together global MICE and business travel suppliers with top-tier buyers from China and around the world, promoting meaningful collaboration and growth.

CIMX 2026 will take place from 3 to 5  November 2026, in Beijing, alongside the CIMX Conference.

About ITB China 
ITB China 2027 will take place from 25 to 27 May 2027 in the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre. ITB China is the B2B travel trade show focused on the Chinese travel market, bringing together top buyers and industry professionals from around the world. 

About the ITB global brand family 
For more than 50 years, the name ITB has stood worldwide for  networking and trendsetting events. ITB China, the premier marketplace for China’s travel industry, is scheduled for 25 to 27 May 2027, in Shanghai. 

ITB India will take place in Mumbai from 2 to 4 September 2026. 

ITB Asia will be held in Singapore from 21 to 23 October 2026, covering the APAC market. 

The inaugural ITB Americas will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico, from 10 to 12 November 2026, covering the American market. ITB Berlin, the world’s leading B2B trade show for the travel industry, will take place in Berlin from 16 to 18 March 2027.

(Source: Messe Berlin China)

The post CIMX names Official Airline Partner appeared first on TTR Weekly.

The new service complements the existing Almaty-to-Guangzhou route, which has operated five times a week since March 2025. Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in southern China, is one of the country’s largest cities and is a major industrial, trading and transport hub.

Flights from Astana to Guangzhou operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, departing from Astana at 1845 and arriving in Guangzhou at 0430 local time. Airbus A321LR aircraft serve the route with a flight time of six hours and 45 minutes.

Additional services to Guangzhou strengthen Air Astana’s long-term commitment to developing connectivity between Kazakhstan and China. This commitment began with its first flight between Almaty and Beijing in December 2002. 

During the 2026 summer season, the Air Astana Group will increase frequencies on most of its existing routes to China, including services from Almaty to Urumqi, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Sanya and Yining, as well as from Astana to Beijing and Urumqi. As a result, the number of flights between Kazakhstan and China will reach 51 per week, the highest level in the airline’s history.

(Source: Air Astana Group)

The post Air Astana expands routes to China appeared first on TTR Weekly.

Hosted 26 to 28 May at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre in Shanghai, the Visit Maldives team aimed to strengthen the Maldives’ visibility with the Chinese travel trade and reinforce engagement with key industry stakeholders, including tour operators, travel agencies, online travel platforms, and MICE planners. 

During pre-scheduled B2B meetings with international travel trade partners, Visit Maldives presented the latest destination updates, including tourism products, connectivity developments, and travel experiences tailored to the Chinese market. 

The Maldives stand facilitated discussions across key segments, including luxury travel, family holidays, honeymoon travel, wellness, diving, and cultural experiences. It also featured destination promotional materials and digital content highlighting the Maldives’ diverse tourism offerings, supporting direct engagement with trade visitors throughout the event. Industry stakeholders are provided with updated destination information and insights into seasonal travel products and experiences.

China remains one of the most important source markets for the Maldives, contributing significantly to overall tourist arrivals and long-haul travel demand, reflecting its strong potential for further growth and strategic importance to the destination.

(Source: Visit Maldives)

The post Maldives targets China’s luxury travel market appeared first on TTR Weekly.

The partnership allows international travellers to book cross-border bus tickets connecting Hong Kong with Macao and major cities in Mainland China’s Greater Bay Area using 12Go’s platform, enhanced by GoByBus.hk’s local expertise.

It combines GoByBus.hk’s specialised expertise in Hong Kong–Macau-Mainland China coach services with 12Go’s regional booking infrastructure. 

Travellers can now enjoy real-time schedules, instant e-tickets, secure payments, and direct bus routes, removing the need for multiple platforms or border hassles.

“This collaboration marks a significant step forward in simplifying cross-border travel for foreign passengers,” said GoByBus.HK Chief Business Developer Ken Yung. “By partnering with 12Go, we can offer even more reliable, user-friendly ticketing options for popular routes such as Hong Kong to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and beyond to foreign users. Our goal is to expose the foreign user to enjoy a convenient cross-border travel experience in our hometown.”

Partnership benefits

Expanded Network: Access a wider range of bus operators and schedules instantly.

Seamless Booking: Online ticketing with e-tickets delivered via email.

Competitive Pricing: Enjoy attractive fares and exclusive promotions.

Optimised Experience: Mobile-friendly platform for planning trips on the go.

GoByBus.hk is committed to providing the most up-to-date route information and online ticketing infrastructure. At the same time, the partnership with 12Go strengthens its position as the primary platform for Hong Kong–Mainland China-Macao bus travel.

About GoByBus.hk
GoByBus.hk is an online platform for cross-border and intercity bus travel. Users can check schedules and reserve tickets with multiple operators across Hong Kong and Mainland China.

About 12Go
Founded in Singapore in 2012, 12Go provides secure and efficient transportation booking services across Asia for both B2B and B2C customers.

(Source: GoByBus.hk)

The post Greater Bay Area bus rides sell on 12Go appeared first on TTR Weekly.

Featuring 445 rooms and suites, the Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai Eastern Hub sits at the heart of the Shanghai Eastern Hub International Business Cooperation, a landmark of China’s high-level opening-up strategy. 

Positioned between Shanghai Pudong International Airport and the future Shanghai East Railway Station, the hotel is just 13 km (a 23-minute drive) from the airport and only 4 km (an 8-minute drive) from the under-construction railway station.  

Dining and bars

A collection of dining and social venues offers guests both culinary enjoyment and cultural ambience. The all-day dining restaurant showcases blue-and-white porcelain art installations as a visual. ‘Jin Yan’, the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, offers seven private dining rooms and presents the essence of Shanghai, Jiangsu–Zhejiang, and Cantonese cuisines, making it an ideal venue for corporate banquets and family gatherings.  

Meeting and events

The hotel offers over 6,700 sqm of meeting and event space, including a pillarless conference hall, a viewing theatre, and eight multifunctional meeting rooms.  

Jin Jiang International Hotels Chief Executive Officer Mao Xiao commented: “The opening of Radisson Blu Hotel, Shanghai Eastern Hub marks an important step in our continued commitment to supporting Shanghai’s high-level opening-up and contributing to the development of the Shanghai Eastern Hub International Business Cooperation Zone as a new benchmark gateway for international connectivity.”

(Source: Radisson)

The post Radisson Blu opens in Shanghai appeared first on TTR Weekly.

H World CEO Jin Hui commented: “As we enter 2026, H World continues to advance brand-led, high-quality growth. In the first quarter, we opened 537 new hotels in China, well on track to meet our full-year gross opening target of approximately 2,200 to 2,300 hotels. Our blended H World China ADR increased 4.5% year-over-year and drove a 3.0% year-over-year increase in blended RevPAR.”

For the first quarter, hotel GMV reached RMB26.4 billion, up 17.4 % year-on-year. Revenue from manachised and franchised hotels grew 20.3% year-on-year to RMB3 billion, underscoring the strength of the company’s asset-light model and sustained demand from partners.

Adjusted EBITDA reached RMB1.9 billion for the quarter, a 24.2% increase year-on-year.

As of 31 March 2026, H World’s worldwide hotel network in operation totalled 13,215 hotels and 1,303,563 rooms, including 13,095 hotels under H World China and 120 hotels under H World International. 

The group’s geographic coverage increased to 1,461 cities in China, up from 1,394 cities as of 31 March 2025, reflecting continued expansion across regional markets and momentum in penetrating lower-tier destinations.

H World remains focused on the mass market, with economy and midscale hotels as the core of its portfolio. The continued upgrades of Hanting and JI Hotel, together with the launch of Hanting Inn, a new economy hotel brand, have further strengthened the group’s competitiveness in the economy and midscale hotel markets, reinforcing H World’s leadership in China’s mass-market hospitality segment.

Expanding APAC presence 

H World also continued to open new hotels in APAC as part of its regional expansion. With Singapore as its operational hub, the group is extending its footprint into key Southeast Asian markets, including Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. 

In Q1 2026, the first overseas JI Hotel 5.0 officially opened in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Located in a prime area of the city, the hotel carries forward JI Hotel’s signature Eastern-inspired design, reflecting H World’s growing ability to bring its brands to international markets.

As of 31 March, H World Group operates six hotels in APAC, with a pipeline of approximately 10 additional hotels.

Supported by its standardised brand system, digital operating capabilities, and supply chain advantages, H World aims to continue its growth momentum across APAC.

H Rewards, the group’s loyalty programme, saw growing consumer engagement in the first quarter, with room nights booked by members increasing 10.7% to 60 million.

“Looking ahead, we will continue to pursue high-quality hotel network expansion, strengthen our brand positioning, enhance member-centric sales capabilities underpinned by the H Rewards membership program, and further deepen our technology and AI development,” Jin Hui said.

About H World Group
Originating in China, H World Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT) (HKEX: 01179) has developed into a leading hospitality group with a presence across diverse market segments, from economy to upper-midscale and lifestyle hotels. H World’s brands include HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel, Zleep Hotels and Steigenberger Icons. In addition, H World holds the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel in the pan-China region.

The post H World Group on asset-light expansion path appeared first on TTR Weekly.

The clear shifts and questions will be explored in both the conference programme and the exhibition during ITB China, which will convene from 26 to 28 May at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre.

Quoting Youth Travel Trends 2026, published by the WYSE Travel Confederation in November 2025, ITB China assures the “outlook for youth, student, and educational travel remains broadly positive”. 

However, expectations are evolving rapidly. Rigid, checklist-style itineraries focused on city sightseeing are losing relevance, while authentic, participatory experiences with a strong sense of place are increasingly in demand.

This transformation is clearly visible in outbound educational travel. Programs centred primarily on school visits, landmarks, and museum entries are becoming less compelling on their own. Instead, the focus is shifting toward integrated thematic learning journeys, where classroom learning, local observation, interactive assignments, and group-based activities are combined into a cohesive educational experience.

Market expansion meets sharper differentiation

StudyTravel Magazine observed a similar trend between late 2025 and early 2026. Across junior programmes, summer schools, young adult programs, and tailor-made short-stay group formats, supply continues to expand. Yet the key change is not only volume growth. Short-term programs are becoming more flexible, themes more focused, and target groups more precisely defined by age and interest.

New decision logic: Outcomes over itineraries

As a result, decision-making has become more specific for schools, parents, and students. The critical questions are now: why this theme, why this combination of destinations, what participants will actually do during the program, and what tangible outcomes they will take away. These criteria are increasingly more important than the length or density of sightseeing schedules.

At the ITB China 2026 Conference, educational travel will be a dedicated topic within the broader discussion of travel product and experience design.

Beyond the conference programme, educational travel will also be a key highlight in the ITB China 2026 exhibition area, bringing together exhibitors, including destinations with educational tourism offerings, schools, universities, museums, and research institutions.

(Source: ITB China)

The post ITB China explores educational travel trends appeared first on TTR Weekly.

The partnership will support the airline in further strengthening its presence in the Chinese market and deepening engagement with travel trade, corporate, and MICE partners.

Malaysia Airlines will showcase its expanded China network and digital travel experiences at ITB China 2026, further strengthening its long-term commitment to the China market.

Malaysia Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer of Airline Business Dersenish Aresandiran said: “Being named the Official Airline Partner of ITB China 2026 is a proud milestone… As we expand in Shenzhen and Changsha with new services, this partnership is a key way to deepen our engagement with travel agents, corporate customers, and MICE partners, and to strengthen tourism and business links between China and Malaysia ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026. 

Messe Berlin (China) Deputy General Manager, Lydia Li Dof commented: “We are delighted to welcome Malaysia Airlines as the Official Airline Partner of ITB China 2026. Leveraging its Kuala Lumpur hub, the airline’s participation will introduce strong international air connectivity to the show and create more practical opportunities for collaboration across travel trade, corporate travel and MICE segments, further supporting the growth of two-way tourism between China and Malaysia.”

Malaysia Airlines continues to accelerate its expansion in China, strengthening both its route network and engagement with key customer segments. Following the resumption of its flights to Chengdu in January, the airline will launch daily flights from Shenzhen to Kuala Lumpur on 2 July, followed by new services from Changsha to Kuala Lumpur on 9 July.

With these additions, Malaysia Airlines will operate flights to nine destinations in Greater China – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Changsha, Hong Kong, and Taipei – with up to 74 weekly frequencies. By number of destinations served, China will become the airline’s second-largest international market.

At the same time, Malaysia Airlines is placing greater emphasis on high-value travellers and industry partners, supported by products and services such as MHcorporate and Bonus Side Trip programme, further enhancing its offering across both business and leisure travel segments.

The post Malaysia Airlines partners with ITB China appeared first on TTR Weekly.

Using an A320 aircraft with 180 seats, the airline operates four weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with a flight time of three hours and 40 minutes.

The new route is an important addition to the airline’s Southeast Asian network, mainly serving leisure travellers seeking budget-friendly options between the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and Phuket, a popular resort island in southern Thailand. 

Flight Schedule 

9C8781 departs Shenzhen (SZX) at 0555 and arrives in Phuket (HKT) at 0840. (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday).
9C8782 departs Phuket (HKT) at 2320 and arrives in Shenzhen (SZX) at 0405 (plus a day)  

Shenzhen is a major hub for Spring Airlines, and the route to Phuket complements flights to Bangkok and Phuket, Thailand, from other hubs such as Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Based on current flight logs and schedule filings, the route is part of the airline’s Spring/Summer 2026 schedule expansion, which officially took effect on 29 March 2026.

While the airline’s other regional routes to Singapore and Japan had earlier restarts, the Shenzhen-Phuket direct connection was scheduled to capture the 2026 post-Songkran and early-summer travel demand.

Spring Airlines is scaling up its presence on the Shenzhen (SZX) to Phuket (HKT) route, aiming for daily flights by the end of September.

This daily schedule is designed to coincide with the start of the peak travel season on Phuket Island, which kicks in October. The expansion is part of a broader optimisation pursued by Chinese LCCs this year that focuses on turning existing successful routes, such as the Shenzhen-Phuket flights, into high-frequency corridors rather than on opening new routes to new destinations.

(Source: FlyTeam, Spring Airlines)

The post Spring Airlines flies to Phuket appeared first on TTR Weekly.