Chinese Web Site To Assist Bentonville Tourism
17.02.2007, 10:58
The market appears ripe for a planned Chinese language Web site meant foremost to boost tourism and trade in Bentonville.
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The Bentonville Advertising and Promotion Commission approved Thursday giving John Zhang and May Liu, a Bella Vista couple, $2,500 to cover startup costs, equipment and hiring a graphic designer.
The couple would be responsible for generating the revenue to maintain the site, and the commission advised them to ask other organizations including the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce for donations.
A Chinese company wanting to establish a presence in Bentonville might go to the planned Web site and, for example, get information on how to become a supplier for Wal-Mart, Liu said earlier this week.
"China also has a spot like a Bentonville area," Liu said, referencing her hometown of Haiyang in the province of Shandong in far east China. "I went back to China, and people said, 'Why don't you introduce us to your area, so we can visit and bring business to your area?'"
The Web site could also serve United States business people and others who speak Chinese to learn more about China and possibly do business there, she said.
Before voting to give the grant, commissioners made certain the Web site would offer similar information to www.bentonvilleusa.org, which has information about the city and shopping, dining and lodging options. The commission governs the organization called Bentonville Convention & Visitors Bureau, also known as BentonvilleUSA.
Zhang, who attended the Thursday meeting, said the Chinese site would provide a link to the commission's Web site.
The couple moved to Bentonville in August. Zhang is the learning technology manager for Wal-Mart University in Bentonville. Liu is a computer programmer and a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
A Chinese Web site makes perfect sense to Ed Clifford, president of the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce, because Chinese corporations are sending representatives to Bentonville "for obvious reasons, to help their business with Wal-Mart," he said.
"If we can convince Asian businessmen and women to bring their families once in awhile, they will eat in our restaurants and stay in our hotels. That Web site might fit in with what is happening in general," Clifford said.
Wal-Mart entered the Chinese market in 1996. As of today, there are 73 units in 36 cities, including Wal-Mart Supercenters, Sam's Clubs and Neighborhood Markets, according to www.walmartstores.com.
"The world really is flat. I mean, we are all on an equal playing field anymore. We need to compete in the Asian market just like any market for tourism," Clifford said.
Clifford believes the Chinese Web site is "a first of a bunch of them ... to make us truly an international community," he said, noting he is aware of companies from India, Korea as well as China that are looking to build business in Bentonville.
"I think this (Web site) goes a long way toward creating that image," he added.
Blair Cromwell, community and event development director for Bentonville Convention & Visitors Bureau, said she prefers for Liu develop the Web site because Liu, as a Chinese-American, knows what information is pertinent for both Chinese and Americans.
"Something we might think is necessary, they might say, 'That's not necessary,' or something that is missing on our Web site, they might need," Cromwell said.
The Bentonville Convention & Visitors Bureau at one time considered purchasing translation software so those who speak Chinese could click a button and read the Web site in that language. However, the software performs literal translations that might hinder rather than enhance communications.