The European Travel Commission (ETC), in partnership with the European Tourism Association (ETOA) and several European destinations, hosted three pan-European familiarization trips to foster inbound tourism to the European Union from China on the occasion of the EU-China Tourism Year (ECTY). All FAMs took place simultaneously in three separate rounds in March 2018, October 2018 and March 2019. In total, 200 qualified tour operators and media representatives from first and second tier cities across China had the opportunity to experience European destinations through and beyond its famous gateway cities.
The Chinese tour operators were organised into 20 clusters that followed different transnational itineraries based on their singular interests and product portfolio. These destination clusters included 22 countries in the macro-regions of the Adriatic, the Balkans, the Baltic, Benelux and Central Europe. The FAMs were scheduled to take place in conjunction with the Partnerships in European Tourism conferences and workshops between tourism-related European companies and Chinese operators hosted by ETC, ETOA and the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Association (ECTAA).
