May 2, 2018 — The European Travel Commission has chosen ForwardKeys, given its established track record on Chinese travel reports and insights, to supply four reports over the next twelve months to measure the success of the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year. The reports will provide a most detailed and in-depth picture of Chinese travel to Europe by analysing more than 17 million flight booking transactions a day.

ETC is the non-profit organisation responsible for the promotion of Europe as a tourist destination in third markets. It is an independent body that brings together 33 National Tourism Organisations, with the long-term aspiration of building a unique public and private forum to create benefits and eliminate disadvantages for

the travel industry in Europe.

Chinese outbound travel has been burgeoning in recent years, creating a huge potential market for businesses. ForwardKeys’ unique set of data sources and analytical tools allows it to successfully measure and predict the timing of travel flows from China to Europe and the rest of the world. ForwardKeys’ previous work has supplied businesses with key information, helping them to seize opportunities at crucial moments, such as the Chinese New Year, when travel peaks.

Initiated by the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker and the Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang at the 2017 China-EU Summit, the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year (ECTY) is designed to support businesses and bring commercial and cultural success between Europe and China. Among its major aims: promoting lesser-known destinations; improving travel experiences; increasing economic cooperation and hastening EU-China visa and air connectivity.

Laurens van den Oever, Forwardkeys chief marketing officer, said: “We are delighted to be working with the ETC on such an important project. We believe that the kind of details we will be providing represents a world first for Chinese market and gives us the opportunity to refine and define new analytical tools.”

Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of the European Travel Commission, said: “We are confident that ForwardKeys’ breadth and depth of sources, as well as its unique access to Chinese travel data, will effectively support us in demonstrating the level of success of the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year.”

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