Miami is getting 'China Ready'

Miami the Magic City is pushing hard to become even more of a global tourism destination than it already is. Plans include another convention center, a new harbor terminal that can handle the largest cruise ships and a Chinatown.

"All of our facilities will become home to any of the Chinese that we hope to serve and take care of and welcome to our shores," Bruce Orosz, chairman of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), told hundreds of local tourism industry leaders at its annual meeting on Tuesday.

A group of us from China Daily were invited to the meeting after the paper recently started to circulate in Miami. People were coming up to us and saying "ni hao" with a smile, and many we talked to seemed to be in a secret competition to see who had the closest China ties.

Boxer Steve Geffrard said he's going on his first trip to China trip next month to fight a Russian opponent in Shenzhen. Jerry Libbin, CEO of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, has been to China six times to promote Miami's inbound culture-based tourism.

John Cuddihy, CEO of Trigate Lomas-Connect, has been to the country more than 20 times, helping his Miami clients produce and deliver content for Chinese television. Recently, he's been talking with the Shanghai Media Group to make a new TV series called Ni Hao, Miami.

Kevin Luong of Cross Culture Tours, a US-based travel agency targeting Chinese tourists, also attended the meeting.

He said that because Miami is lesser-known than the US' Northeast and West Coast cities, and there is no direct flight from China to southern Florida, Miami hasn't been a popular destination for Chinese travelers' first trip to the US.

But now his company is adding Miami to their East Coast tours, so tourists can mix their metropolitan and political visits to New York and Washington with a little beach and sun.

The GMCVB is geared up for its approaching peak season, as winter grips the northern parts of the world.

"China, we welcome you as a partner. We are China ready," Orosz said to guests sitting comfortably in the newly renovated Hard Rock Stadium under an 80-degree blue sky.

Cuddihy sees leisure tourism as a step toward further cooperation between China and Miami, including medical tourism and real estate investment. Many of his clients in those industries are also eyeing China, he said.

Wayne Pathman, chairman of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, hopes to cooperate with China on combating rising sea levels.

Orosz's wife Kathryn hopes to see more Chinese students at Miami's universities, as she was used to seeing at her alma mater, UCLA.

It will take some time before Miami becomes a travel and investment destination for Chinese comparable to New York or California, but the first steps have already been taken - Miami is China Ready.

hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 10/28/2016 page14)