Ghana is set to capture the Chinese Outbound Travel Market to Africa in the coming years as the Tourism industry prepares to attend the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market (COTTM) 2008 in Beijing in April this year.

Outbound travel is the fastest-growing and most dynamic tourism market in the world, with China showing the most exciting potential. The World Tourism Organization predicts that China will become the fourth largest source of outbound tourists by 2020 at 100 million per year.

Although some tour operators from Ghana participated in the COTTM 2007 event, this year's edition marks Ghana's official participation with the representation of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) and more tour operators mostly members of the Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA).

This massive effort has received a lot of support from the Business Development Services (BDS) component of SPEED Ghana (Support Programme for Enterprise Empowerment and Development), a GTZ and DANIDA funded project.

It is the replication of similar support to Ghana's participation at the World Travel Market (WTM) 2007 which changed the face of international B2B Tourism deals for the tour operators in Ghana and sold the CAN Ghana 2008 to the global travel market. SPEED Ghana's main role has been to contribute to the quality and effectiveness of the participation of Ghana delegation and the tourism industry in Ghana at large in international tourism trade fairs.

COTTM, formerly known as BITTM is the only dedicated Outbound Business-to-Business travel event in China. It is a phenomenal platform where global and domestic industry professionals meet, discuss and contract the upcoming seasons. COTTM provides the essential link between the rapid development of the Chinese travel and tourism industry and the dynamic needs of the global industry.

China has made substantive progress in bilateral tourism cooperation with Africa which she believes will help promote understanding and friendship between their peoples. The Chinese government has a tight grip on its outbound market by controlling the destinations in which its citizens visit through the Approved Destination Status (ADS) policy on destination approval. Ghana is one of the countries with ADS status.

Following the Second Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2003, Ghana acquired ADS for Chinese tourists among others such as Uganda, Madagascar, Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho, and Namibia. With the new decision of the Chinese Government to extend ADS to nine African countries including Algeria, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Gabon, Rwanda, Mali, Mozambique, Benin and Nigeria, there are now 26 ADS countries in Africa. The Chinese Government will extend ADS to more qualified African countries at their request. The African side welcomes more visits by Chinese tourists and encourages more African tourists to travel to China.

Ghana already enjoys bilateral business relationships and cooperation with China as more.

Chinese road contractors and civil engineers are on several projects in the country with China's commitment to invest $600m for a hydroelectric dam in Ghana already sealed. During the FOCAC Summit in Beijing, November 2006, it was announced that the ZTE had signed two US$ 30 million contracts to provide phone equipment to Lesotho and Ghana, while Huawaei Technologies will help Ghana set up village phone networks for US$ 30 million.

The attitudinal prerequisites for a travel boom in China seem to be firmly in place - and recent qualitative research amongst consumers from this new, quietly confident middle class confirms it. They are very proud of China's progress and prosperity, believe their own PR (the fastest train in the world, an F1 race track) and are seeing tourists coming to their own country to admire it. Now it's their turn.

Curiosity, money and leisure time, a lifting of the exit barriers and more personal and national confidence are all contributing as catalysts for international travel. As overseas travel is also seen as a "badge of sophistication", it is anticipated that status anxiety will further push the travel bug to more and more Chinese.

Although Sino-Ghana trade relations have improved over the years it has been business oriented as Chinese businesses take up a share of the construction and other large-scale import trade. Beyond this business tourism, Ghana's participation in COTTM 2008 is geared towards exposing the other side off the country as a Tourism Destination. This will take on a focused approach to targeting the Chinese 'outbound Market which is presently mainly package travel. Making the Ghana Tourism Brand on the Chinese Market would require a Branded Campaign at COTTM 2008.