PATA TASK FORCE APPRAISES HANGZHOU 

26 July 2002

A Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Task Force inspected Hangzhou, China (PRC) July 15-20. The Task Force will deliver its assessment of Hangzhou’s international tourism prospects by mid-September 2002.

The four-person Task Force was asked to evaluate the present tourism products in Hangzhou; advise on a marketing structure for international tourists; make recommendations on how to strengthen cooperation with neighbouring provinces (especially tourism promotion in the Yangtze river delta); analyse Hangzhou’s human resource base; and offer guidelines on developing environmentally-friendly products and services.

The Task Force was commissioned by Hangzhou Municipal Government and the Hangzhou Tourism Commission. The city, 180 kilometres south of Shanghai on the Changjiang River, was acclaimed by Marco Polo as one of the most attractive cities in the world. Hangzhou is also hailed as one of the seven cradles of Chinese civilisation. The modern city, with a population 1.7 million, is set in a landscape dominated by lakes, rivers and hills.

The city’s administration has ambitious plans. By 2010 it hopes to attract 1 million foreign tourists annually with an average stay of 2.7 days generating approximately US$980 million a year. City rulers hope to attract 34 million domestic tourists a year by 2010. Apart from natural attractions, Hangzhou offers many heritage points of interest such as temples, pagodas and cultural performances.

After completing an inspection of the Hangzhou region, Task Force Chairman, Mr. Tim Robinson, a Consultant for London-based law firm, Nicholson, Graham & Jones, said: "We believe Hangzhou has two key assets. First, the variety of existing attractions such as natural beauty, history and culture. Second, the enthusiasm of those involved to develop international tourism. The challenge is to create a future tourist policy which combines these to make Hangzhou an internationally-recognised destination."

Other Task Force members include: 

* Mr. Glenn McCartney, Lecturer, Institute for Tourism Studies, Northern Ireland
* Dr. Zadok S. Lempert, CEO, The Panorama Group, Zurich
* Mr. Stephen Yong, Director-Northeast Asia, PATA. 

PATA has set up over 30 task forces in the last 27 years. During the last 12 months, task forces have reported on southwest Thailand, Chang Island (Thailand), Macau SAR, Hanoi (Vietnam), Penang (Malaysia) and Banten and Lampung provinces in Western Java (Indonesia).

A PATA-member destination can request a task force by writing to PATA headquarters. PATA President and CEO, Mr. Peter de Jong, said: "As a 51-year-old Association we have an immense breadth and depth of experience and dozens of tourism experts we can call on to join a task force. An in-depth, well-considered task force report is a major benefit for national, state and local tourism offices."

A task force’s terms of reference are always tailored to suit the destination’s priorities. Emphasis can be placed on marketing, human resources, air access or environmental and cultural impact, to name just a few.