Tag Archives: business

The China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge 2014

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chinaukchallenge• Do you have an idea for a business venture involving the UK and China?
• Do you want a share of the £5,000 in cash prizes?
• Do you want expert advice and comments on your business idea?
• Do you want to build your international network of contacts?

Then join the China-UK Entrepreneurship Challenge 2014!

The China-UK Entrepreneurship Competition aims to encourage new business ventures between China and the United Kingdom and is intended to simulate the real-world process of entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds from early-stage investors and venture capital firms. The competition is part of the PMI2 (Prime Minister Initiative II) Connect project, supported by British Council and the Confucius Institute programme funded by Hanban.

The competition is open to university teams – students and post docs – both in the UK and China. Teams will be selected to participate in this competition for:

• £5,000 cash prizes
• An investment opportunity of £250,000 for the best business plans

Initial registration, proposal submission and selection deadline is 5pm Monday 14 April 2014.

For more information, visit the China UK Challenge website.

If you have any queries, please contact the organisers directly. If you do enter, please contact Mark Ridolfo, as there may be funding available to support any travel required.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis on Spain’s rising tourism levels

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Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Director of the E-Tourism lab at Bournemouth University, has commented on Spain’s record year for tourism.

His views went on to feature in 13 media outlets including Reuters, Yahoo News and CNBC Online.

Sunseekers avoiding the unrest in Egypt and Turkey flocked to Spain in record numbers last month, setting the country up for its best-ever year for visitors and giving a boost to its ailing economy.

Professor Buhalis put the rise of private rentals in Spain down to the economic crisis. He says that because people have less money they are choosing smaller accommodation and less established airlines for their holidays.

“What’s happening … because of the economic crisis is that people are preferring smaller airlines, smaller hotels and they are paying less,” he said.

Professor Buhalis’ work was also featured in the Business section of the Bournemouth Echo, with a feature on a social media seminar he will run in November.

The seminar will look at how social media is increasingly influencing consumer behaviour, with travellers relying on the guidance of others.

Professor Buhalis said: “Travellers will, more and more, rely on the advice of other travellers as against advertising, guidebooks and printed material” and suggests “marketers should use social media to try to stimulate conversation and encourage interaction”