Carlson Companies, one of the world's leading companies in marketing, travel and hospitality, is trying hard to expand its business in China where travel-hungry people enjoy at least three weeklong holidays each year.

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Carlson Companies, said she found that travel and entertainment is becoming part of local people's everyday life, especially for the younger generation.

Nelson said that her companies are going to sign an agreement with their partner in Shanghai to set up a joint venture to provide a floating hotel for tourists.

"We are going to provide Chinese travelers with the choice of several cruise lines or floating hotels that will travel along the Chinese coastline and rivers," she said. "This is a very hot product. It serves young travelers who need relaxation and entertainment after work on a short break or a big holiday."

There are several overseas companies operating along the Yangtze River, especially in the Three Gorges.

On April 10, the Swiss Viking Company celebrated the maiden voyage of its first luxury cruise along the river.

Nelson said her company did not worry too much about competition as each firm has its own advantages and services to attract tourists, who could make a good choice in the market.

On the other hand, such competition meant the business had to provide new products for visitors to keep a competitive edge.

Nelson named some of the well-known brands in her company, including Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises and Cruise Holidays, hoping more young Chinese people can enjoy their services while gaining a new, deeper understanding of their world.

In addition to the above brands, Carlson travel and tourism brands include Regent International Hotels, Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson, Park Inn hotels, T.G.I Friday's and Pick Up Stix restaurants.

Carlson Marketing Group, Carlson's marketing company, also has a hand in travel and tourism, through many travel and incentive programs they manage for clients.

In January 2003, Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) and China Air Service Limited (CAS) formed a Beijing-based operation, which was approved purely on the basis of an outbound air-ticketing license, allowing it to issue tickets directly, providing maximum transparency of revenue to clients.

CWT is a world leader in business travel management with offices in more than 140 countries and annual sales of US$11 billion.

"Our major competitors have partners who are leisure tour agents looking to diversify into corporate travel. We, however, are unique because of our long-term expertise in the corporate travel market segment," said Geoffrey Marshall, CWT's president.

This joint venture opened offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou last March as a significant amount of investment in the two cities is being made by foreign multinational corporations in all market segments, creating strong opportunities for increased corporate travel management.

"In the past year, the joint venture has made significant progress, in particular, the establishment of a national call center for our client General Electric servicing travelers from 28 cities, the first one in the Chinese market," Nelson said.

In addition to Carlson Hotels and Carlson Wagonlit travel, Carlson is also famous for its restaurant or casual-dining business with brands such as T.G.I. Friday's, which is very popular among young people.

Nelson said her company will set up more restaurants in Chinese cities as young people in Asia enjoy T.G.I. Friday's food, drink and friendly environment for leisure after work.

During her recent visit to China, Nelson met with Sun Gang, vice chairman of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), and talked about the cooperation between her company and Chinese enterprises in the tourism industry.

Nelson said that she believes her company will work to help China achieve its objective of becoming the world's leading tourism and travel destination by 2020. Carlson Companies will bring overseas tourists from all over the world to visit China.

Carlson and other travel agencies are in talks with related US departments, trying to make it easier for Chinese travelers to enter the United States, Nelson said.

"Carlson has worked to build bridges and relations between people since its very beginning. In fact, the association between our brands and the Asia-Pacific predates the existence of our company itself," Nelson added.

Nelson leads a privately owned multibillion-dollar travel, franchise and marketing conglomerate, whose system-wide sales under the brands (including franchise sales) totaled US$20.9 billion last year.

(China Daily June 24, 2004)