On August 2nd, the inaugural flight from Beijing to Nice will arrive at 8:05 AM. Facing this deadline, representatives of Nice’s merchants discussed with Rudy Sales, the tourism deputy, a joint strategy to ensure the year-round sustainability of the flight.
“We have moved from dream to reality,” declares Rudy Sales, deputy for tourism of the city of Nice. The opening of the Nice-Beijing line is an opportunity that local tourism stakeholders intend to seize. With 100,000 Chinese tourists in 2018 compared to only 20,000 ten years ago, the direct Nice-Beijing line will allow Nice and its region to embrace mass tourism. A first for the capital of the Côte d’Azur.
The main challenge for Rudy Sales and tourism stakeholders is to obtain the extension of the line’s duration. As of today, the line is seasonal and will end in October 2019. The airport institutions (Air China) and the cities of Beijing and Nice are in constant contact to open a year-round flight this time. “We are working on the sustainability of this flight and we will achieve it,” assures Rudy Sales.
What future adaptations will the city of Nice need to implement?
Digital technology has become the daily routine of the Chinese, even in everyday uses. Paying for groceries, paying for a restaurant, for example, is done via an application on their phone. The challenge is therefore to support future Chinese visitors in their consumption habits. This measure is part of an ongoing digital project initiated by Atout France and the WeChat application.
“We want to make Nice the shopping destination,” asserts the representative of Nice Étoile. China shares the top position in the ranking of countries that consume the most. In terms of figures, 2.5 million Chinese could flock to Nice thanks to the line. In this context, merchants plan to hire staff who speak Mandarin (Chinese students) and to train teams for this new clientele. It is worth noting that 75% of Chinese people make shopping a priority.
Why was the city of Nice chosen?
The story begins in 2008. Nice managed to export its culture to China through various occasions:
- The Nice Carnival in Nimbo
- Participation in the Macau Carnival
- The Nice Opera
Moreover, Nice is twinned with the Chinese city of Xiamen. On the Côte d’Azur, the Chinese economy is present with 15 registered companies. Finally, the visit of the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, in 2010 and then the current president, Xi Jinping, to Nice.
Thus, many ties unite the city of Nice with China. The establishment of this new line is the result of a friendship that should expand across space and time.
