Rabbie’s Small Group Tours has signed a partnership with Chinese travel giant, CTrip, designed to bring more Chinese tourists to Scotland.
The partnership is expected to be worth £20 million over the next 10 years.
It will see the Chinese online travel agent, which acquired Edinburgh-based Skyscanner in 2016, sell the whole range of Rabbie’s tours departing from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, London, and Dublin from this month.
As part of its drive to attract Chinese customers, Rabbie’s has already hired two China-based staff and two mandarin-speaking tour guides in the last year.
Rabbie’s founder Robin Worsnop said "This is an exciting development. I visited the CTrip headquarters and received such a warm and friendly welcome."
The number of Chinese tourists to Scotland increased 192% between 2007 and 2016, and this trend is expected to rise as a new direct flight between Beijing and Edinburgh starts this year.
Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said: "I met with CTrip earlier and the company’s investment in Scotland is a great example of collaboration between Scotland and China in the key areas of tourism and the economy.
"I welcome this new partnership between CTrip and Rabbie’s, which will support more Chinese tourists to come to Scotland and create more opportunities to experience our unique combination of history, stunning scenery and world-class culture."
