Session 2: Spotlight on China
China is now the UK’s 3rd largest export market and last year 46% of visits from China to the UK were made by 16-34 year olds. So how do you tap into this lucrative and growing market? Our expert panel of speakers will bring you up to date on how to connect and communicate with these high value travellers. How to drive business, manage expectations work through cultural differences and deliver a stand out product/service.
Arnold Ma, Founder, Qumin
Arnold Ma is the founder of Qumin, a speaker, a writer, a podcast host, and a technophile.
The official line is that ‘Qumin delivers creative marketing campaigns based on Chinese audience behaviours’.
But over a steamed bun in Camden Town, he’ll tell you that his bigger purpose in life is to ‘Open The World To China’. And his belief is that only Digital can make that happen quickly.
You’ll find him on LinkedIn, WeChat, Instagram and 9gag. He still wears flip-flops to work.
Gary Grieve, Managing Director, Capela Training
Gary is the founding director of Capela, a languages graduate with over 20 years experience in marketing and general management for the travel industry.
He trains in sales, marketing and business skills and has been an accredited WorldHost (customer service) trainer since 2011 and a qualified China Welcome trainer since 2013. Recently he has run a number of country-wide training programmes, online and offline, as part of VisitEngland’s Discover England Fund to develop international tourism markets in the regions.
Hongwei Zhang, Head of UK Chinese Student Marketing, Student.com
Hongwei Zhang is an experienced marketeer with over eight years experience working with Chinese students looking to study abroad. As part of his role at Student.com, Hongwei specialises in building a UK student community, building brand awareness and creating successful regional social media strategies. In addition, Hongwei has experience working across the Chinese, UK and US markets to build business partnerships and manage targeted lead-driven campaigns. As one of the original members of the Student.com to work in the London office, Hongwei has played an instrumental part in the EMEA offering at Student.com, helping the team build the business. Holding a Masters in Finance and Capital Markets and a degree in Accounting, Hongwei is passionate about utilising technology in marketing.
Mark Henebury, Sector Specialist – English Language Training, Department for International Trade
Mark joined the DIT in September 2018 as the English Language Training specialist in the Education Sector Team.
Prior to this he was Head of International at Loughborough College where he worked on in country projects, in amongst others, India, Qatar, China and Vietnam, including English teacher training, curriculum development and quality insurance.
Sarah Chidgey, China & Hong Kong Lead (Education), Department for International Trade
Sarah has been the China and Hong Kong lead for the UK education portfolio since September 2017. In this role Sarah works with UK providers in a number of education sub-sectors helping them to better understand the opportunities in China and Hong Kong in order to grow their international presence and promote UK education globally.
