The Hilton Worldwide program inspired by the Chinese word for “welcome” enables travelers to book participating hotels with confidence, knowing the properties will meet cultural needs and expectations of Chinese travelers abroad. Fifty hotels in twelve countries representing top destinations for Chinese travelers currently offer the program.

In developing Hilton Huanying, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, the flagship brand of Hilton Worldwide, pairs its expertise as the global leader of hospitality and more than two decades of experience in China with research; feedback from Chinese guests, travel agents and tour operators; and a beta test in the United Kingdom, the United States and Korea. Hilton leaders are touring Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou this week as part of a sustained campaign to educate Chinese consumers and tour operators about the new Hilton offering.

“Hilton Huanying is an extension of our brand promise to ensure every guest feels cared for, valued and respected,” said Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts. “This is an incredibly exciting time for our brand as we grow our presence within China and welcome the growing number of outbound Chinese travelers exploring key destinations around the world.”

Considered widely as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and leading hospitality markets, China will achieve 83 million outbound departures with an average annual growth rate of 9% according to the statistics from China National Tourism Administration.

“The continuous heating up of China’s outbound tourism indicates the enhancement of Chinese people’s living standards and a strong momentum of the country’s economic growth. I’m glad to notice that the international hotel groups have paid close attention to and got well prepared for welcoming the influx of Chinese travelers abroad,” said Dao Shuming, Director of Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration. “The Hilton Huanying program, based on a deep understanding of Chinese culture and lifestyle, provides the thoughtful amenities and dedicated services for Chinese tourists during their stay overseas. It’s the real tailor-made ‘welcome’ red carped rolling out for Chinese travelers outside of China.”

Hilton Huanying extends authentic experiences with amenities, service standards and dedicated Hilton team member training in destinations popular among Chinese visitors including San Francisco, New York City, Hawaii and Vancouver in North America along with London, Tokyo and Sydney. Chinese travelers will find familiar comforts in three key touch points of the on-property experience - arrival, guest room and breakfast at Hilton. Elements of the Hilton Huanying experience include a front desk team member fluent in Mandarin; guest room amenities such as a selection of Chinese teas and teakettles, slippers, and a dedicated television channel with Chinese programmes; and breakfast items including congee, dim sum, fried rice and noodles. Travelers can now visit www.hilton.com/huanying or www.hilton.com.cn/huanying to view more details about Hilton Huanying.

Hilton Worldwide continues its rapid expansion in China and is scheduled to have 100 properties operating in China within the next five years, 40 of which are in the Hilton Hotels & Resorts portfolio. The brand currently has 11 hotels in China and recently opened two properties in Guangzhou and one property in Xi’an. Additional Hilton Hotels & Resorts properties are scheduled to open in Nanjing and Dalian by the end of this year.

City.Mobi

Also in China today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Shanghai.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Shanghai.city.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide