Nevada Lt. Gov. Hutchison to begin China trade mission

Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison leaves Wednesday on a 10-day TravelNevada trade mission to China.

Hutchison, who heads the Nevada Commission on Tourism, said the trip would include stops in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing for government-to-government meetings and sales calls to Chinese tour operators and travel agents to encourage visiting the state. The last stop will enable the delegation to participate in the U.S. Consulate’s Tourism and Food Promotion contest launch in Beijing.

The U.S. Travel Association estimates 5.7 million Chinese tourists will visit the United States in 2021, which would make it the No. 1 overseas travel market in the United States. The association said Chinese visitors spent $7,201 per visit in 2015, the highest among tourists from any country.

Hutchison’s delegation will include three Southern Nevada and two Northern Nevada tourism companies.

“Nevada long has recognized the importance of the China market and continues to build relationships that will benefit the Chinese traveler and the state of Nevada,” Hutchison said in a statement announcing the trip.

The trip comes on the heels of the 2016 US-China Tourism Year, in which both countries worked to encourage travel and tourism between the United States and China; and the December inauguration of nonstop flights between Beijing and McCarran International Airport on Hainan Airlines.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.