IPG To Host Chinese Delegation Next

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. - Initiatives Prince George will waste little time basking in the after-glow of Air China's announcement during the Olympics last week that it was designating YXS its alternate airport, to Vancouver.

IPG President, Tim McEwan, said at the time of last week's announcement, that it was the culmination of a lot of hard work...and, he says, those efforts continue.

McEwan says in the two years he's been with Initiatives, the city's economic development agency has had a very deliberate focus with its key partner, the Prince George Airport Authority, of marketing the airport to the Chinese market.

He says those efforts have entered into a regular rhythm of having an outbound mission to China, followed by an inbound mission. Next up is an inbound mission.  "We're hosting the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing Board in May," says McEwan.  "This federation is a very large trade association in China.  We signed a memorandum of understanding with them in a previous trip that we made in 2008."

He says, "The fruits of that are starting to come back to us in terms of their inbound mission -- they're very interested in the northern corridor."

McEwan says with the Prince George airport being the shortest distance between Chinese manufacturers and the large consumer market in the U.S. heartland, air cargo opportunities are huge.  But he points out that China has just granted Canada 'approved destination status' meaning Chinese nationals can now come and visit the country.  So the IPG Pres says tourism will also become a factor, "Prince George will be a gateway to some very unique northern tourism experiences, so I think things are starting to add up."

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