Visitors try out virtual reality glasses at a big data center that opened on Aug 1 in Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Xinhua

Kenya eyes more Chinese tourists

Kenya's tourism marketers on July 30 promised to bring more Chinese tourists to the East African nation after a visit by Chinese business magnate Jack Ma. Kenya Tourism Board said travel agents have termed the visit by the billionaire a major boost and endorsement to their campaigns, that seek to woo Chinese travelers into Kenya. KTB Chief Executive Officer Betty Radier said in a statement issued in Nairobi that China was now listed among the top 10 tourist source markets the country believes have potential for further growth. Radier noted that KTB will invest more resources in strategic marketing initiatives aimed at attracting high-end consumers. "By end of April this year, we had received 14,029 visitors from the country compared to 10,407 recorded in the same period last year, an increase of 34.8 percent," said Radier. Last year, the market posted 47,860 arrivals up from 29,790 recorded in 2015, indicating a growth of 60.7 percent, she said. Radier said family travel, resulting from the government's visa waiver for children under the age of 16, is among the factors contributing to the growth of the market.

Appliance and electronics world expo

The Appliance and Electronics World Expo 2018, one of the world's biggest platforms for displaying the frontier technologies of smart living, will be held in China in March. Xu Dongsheng, secretary-general of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, the event's main organizer, announced on July 31 that AWE 2018 will be held from March 8 to 11 in Shanghai. More than 1,000 companies are expected to participate in the expo, including overseas brands such as Siemens and Samsung and domestic brands like Midea and TCL.

"We are expecting about 100 brands to debut their most important and latest technologies and products during the expo next year," Xu said.

The expo will have 10 pavilions covering 130,000 square meters and is expected to attract more than 250,000 visitors from China and abroad, including tens of thousands of purchasers.

Didi teams up with Taxify

Didi Chuxing, the world's leading mobile transportation platform, announced on Aug 1 a strategic partnership with Taxify, a leading ridesharing company in Europe and Africa. Under the partnership, Didi will invest in and cooperate with Taxify to support the latter's further growth and innovation across its diversified markets. Launched in Estonia in 2013, Taxify is the fastest-growing ride-hailing company in Europe and Africa, offering taxi and private car-hailing services to more than 2.5 million users across 18 countries. Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of Didi Chuxing, says the partnership will contribute to cross-regional smart transportation linkages between the Asian, European and African markets.

International trade fair scheduled

The 2017 China International Fair for Investment and Trade will be held from Sept 18 to 21 in Xiamen, Fujian province, after the 9th BRICS Leaders Summit. A special exhibition will display commodities from BRICS countries and a seminar will be held to discuss the investment opportunity of cross-border e-commerce in those countries, according to a news conference held in Beijing on Aug 2. The guest country this year is Georgia.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/04/2017 page24)