Wolfgang Georg Arlt

Founder and director of COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt FRGS FRAS is the founder and director of COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, the world’s leading independent research institute for information, training, quality assessment, research, and consultancy relating to the Chinese outbound tourism market. Having first visited the People’s Republic of China in 1978, he has more than 40 years of experience in working with China’s tourism both as a former tour operator and as a researcher and consultant.

He is professor for International Tourism Management at the West Coast University of Applied Sciences, Germany and visiting professor at universities in China, UK and New Zealand. As the director of COTRI he has worked since 2004 to provide training, quality assurance, market research and consulting with international organisations like UNWTO, of which COTRI is an Affiliate Member, WTTC, WTA and PATA, Chinese tourism research institutions, many national and regional governments and with major tourism companies all over the world.

Prof. Arlt has published a number of books and articles about China’s outbound tourism; he is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (London), Royal Asiatic Society (London), Researcher for the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Tokyo) and member of the Human Resource Development and the Industry committee of PATA Pacific Asia Travel Association (Bangkok). Furthermore he is a member of the UNWTO Tourism Experts Panel and the Expert Committee of WTCF World Tourism Cities Federation (Beijing) and a Fellow of the IACTS International Association of China Tourism Studies (Guangzhou).