Canada-China Year of Tourism: Canadian delegation to conclude China trip in Shanghai

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Canadian tourism leaders are visiting China to encourage more people to visit. They're celebrating the what's being touted as a Year of Tourism between the two countries. The officials' visit began in Beijing and will end in Shanghai on Thursday. CGTN's Xu Mengqi reports.

Matching Canadian tourism companies with their Chinese counterparts. It's one of the goals of a trade mission that brought more than two dozen Canadian tourism experts to China.

MICHELE SARAN, CEO TOURISM NOVA SCOTIA“We want the Chinese travelers to realize we have a completely different experience. If they are going to Toronto and Montreal, they are going to get this incredible urban experience in Canada. But if they come to Nova Scotia which is only one hour from Montreal or two hours from Toronto, it's something completely new and unique that they haven't seen before."

BARDISH CHAGGER CANADIAN MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS AND TOURISM "In the past we've seen ministers and elected officials come to China and really build relationships, for myself as a minister of small business and tourism, I want to ensure that small businesses, many of which are in the tourism industry, also have the opportunity to come to China and start to build relationships."

Shanghai is the delegation's third stop, after Beijing and Hangzhou. And besides networking and showcasing what they have to offer, the Canadian businesses say the trip also helped them gain a better understanding of the Chinese market. Case in point - practical information on how Chinese people are used to paying for things.

DAVE LAVEAU, DIRECTOR GENERAL QUEBEC ABORIGINAL TOURISM "When I go back to Quebec to present to my communities, (I will tell them) you must have Alipay in your businesses to welcome Chinese, as an example."

According to the Canadian government, China is Canada's second-largest overseas market for tourists, and it's still growing. Earlier this month, Canada announced that it had added UnionPay—the largest and most popular payment provider in China—as a new payment option to make online visa applications more convenient for Chinese travelers.

XU MENGQI SHANGHAI "The new payment option is just one of a series of measures that Canada has undertaken recently to facilitate travel for Chinese visitors. Late last year, the country also added 7 new visa application centers in China to support the growth in demand for visas."

But China's tourism operators say, the change is not only in increasing the numbers, it's also in the choice of destination.

DENY ZHU C-TRIP PRODUCT MANAGER "Previously people did not know Canada very well so they chose more trips, say, along the eastern and western coasts. But in these two years, programs that proved popular are the more unique ones, such as the Rocky Mountains, or aurora tours."

With numerous Memorandums of Understanding signed, the Canadian minister of small business and tourism says the trade mission has been quite successful. And with China already becoming Canada's largest source of overseas tourists in the first quarter of this year, it seems the momentum will continue for at least the foreseeable future. Xu Mengqi, CGTN, Shanghai.