Quicksilver Group News
July 7th, 201113th Cairns and Great Barrier Reef branded shop opens in China
With confidence growing in the China market, Quicksilver Group Michael Healy opened the 13th Cairns and Great Barrier Reef specialist retail travel shop in Chengdu last week. Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan Province and is the most prosperous city and economic/cultural centre of Western China.
In 2005, a Quicksilver led group of tour operators launched the first branded shop with the theme of “Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef” in the Southern China city of Guangzhou with the aim of promoting Queensland’s world heritage icons of the Reef and Rainforest. Following the success of this launch, an expanded group joined forces and with assistance of Tourism Australia, TTNQ and TQ and began a program to introduce further branded shops in key cities that have the potential to deliver business to our region. With an initial focus on southern China, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef shops were strategically placed in the cities of Shenzhen, Shanghai, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Nanjing, and Hangzhou. In 2009 a branded shop was opened in the Northern China city of Beijing and late last year in Shenyang, a NE province.
Michael Healy, Group Director Sales and Marketing Quicksilver Group said, “It’s a fantastic achievement that a group of Cairns operators have now collaboratively branded 13 retail shops in China.”
The new Chengdu travel shop is located in a busy tourist area in the city centre with exposure to 60,000 people per day. Working with Chengdu China Youth Travel Service(CYTS) the visual exposure will promote awareness and information about Australia and the Cairns and Great Barrier Reef region. Chengdu is an inland city, and they enjoy beach and island holidays. Reef and rainforest hues will entice and capture the booming tourism industry of which Cairns is set to capture a significant market.
Michael Healy, who opened the retail travel shop said, “To grow this market we need to make sure Cairns is visible and easy to book. Our aim is to work with Chengdu CYTS to help grow demand to visit Cairns and ensure their customers have access to the best experiences from hotels to touring options. We will also be working closely with their sales staff receive professional and knowledgeable training about the products the group has to offer.
Six local tourism operators and a representative from TTNQ travelled to China for the opening of the shop on 24th June. Tourism Queensland International Director China, Grace Pan China, also joined the celebrations.
Cairns tourism operators partnering with Quicksilver and Great Adventures reef cruises, are Hot Air Ballooning, Skyrail, Kuranda Scenic Rail, Wildlife Tropical North Queensland, Rydges Hotel Group, Seawalker, Scooba Doo and GBR Helicopters.
