China Ready Programming, Services & Amenities Announced For International Travelers

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Beverly Center, Southern California's premier fashion destination, unveils programming, services and amenities for the international and domestic tourism market, with an emphasis on China's business and leisure customers and Chinese students. The Center is prepared to deliver an exclusive shopping experience to the entertainment industry's favorite shopping center with existing and new retail initiatives for visitors to Los Angeles. 

Susan Vance, Beverly Center's marketing and sponsorship director, welcomes Chinese travelers with their friends and families to the United States, "We are very excited to expand our current international tourist offering to provide innovative amenities and services for Chinese visitors to Los Angeles. Chinese tourists now represent the number one overseas arrival to LAX, and this number is expected to continue to increase in the future. Our comprehensive strategic review of industry best practices and trends among Chinese tourists led Beverly Center to develop a robust, multi-year strategy to enhance our offering to Chinese customers, emphasizing our unique connection with the Hollywood and entertainment industry in Los Angeles."

BEVERLY CENTER ADDS AMENITIES TO ENHANCE SERVICE TO CHINESE VISITORS

China's global bankcard network, China UnionPay, is accepted at nearly 100 Beverly Center retailers including Apple, Burberry, Coach, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Montblanc, Omega, Prada, Saint Laurent, Tiffany & Co., Tumi, H&M, XXI Forever, GNC Live Well, Bloomingdale's and Macy's, to name a few.  China UnionPay is also accepted at all Bank of America® ATMs within the Center.  For the customer who prefers the convenience of a universal form of payment when visiting the Center, guests may also use China UnionPay cards to purchase Beverly Center American Express® Gift Cards in any denomination between $20 and $500 at the Guest Services desk on Level 6, which can be used in all stores that accept American Express.

The Center provides a multi-lingual service platform with in-language staff providing assistance and translation services in Mandarin, as well as in several languages including French, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish. (staffing hours vary).  The Center also provides a Chinese language directory detailing merchants, restaurants, Center maps and other services at the Guest Services desk, with additional translations in four languages. 

Tourists who visit Guest Services upon arrival are given a "By Invitation Only" card, offering retailer discounts, promotions and a signature appreciation gift for shopping at the Center.

In order to directly connect with China's digitally savvy consumer, Beverly Center offers Chinese language information on its website (beverlycenter.com) with the ability to book large group tours through the Travel and Tourism section translated into seven languages (Chinese, English, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish). In recognition of the fact that Chinese consumers are highly reliant on Chinese social media platforms when planning travel and shopping activities, Beverly Center has launched a Sina Weibo presence to communicate with Chinese customers and announce important milestone events such as back-to-school, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Lunar New Year and graduation.

Beverly Center is actively building relationships with key audiences and influencers of Chinese tourists, including individual travelers, group tours, business travelers, Chinese students in Los Angeles and LA-based friends and family of Chinese travelers. As part of this outreach, Beverly Center has developed partnerships with key China and Los Angeles based tourism providers and local Chinese student groups, among others. Beverly Center will also vigorously build its brand within the Chinese travel market and Chinese consumers via advertising, public relations and marketing partnerships in China. 

ABOUT BEVERLY CENTER

Beverly Center is Southern California's premier fashion destination with over 100 distinctive boutiques reflecting the diverse styles of Los Angeles, including a paramount portfolio of luxury retailers such as Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Saint Laurent and Salvatore Ferragamo. Beverly Center is an internationally known iconic Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Hollywood destination located in the heart of America's television and film industries.  The address is 8500 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048 at the intersection of the communities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.  General phone contact is 310.854.0070.  For language assistant, please contact - 00 +1+ 310.854.0071. 

For media inquiries in English or to receive a Chinese version of this press release, please contact Steve Valentine at Valentine Group Public Relations (310.489.0017 or [email protected].)

For media inquiries in Chinese, please contact Charlie Gu at China Luxury Advisors (323.434.2480 or [email protected].)

SOURCE Beverly Center