It’s no news Chinese travellers drive the World’s tourism industry. From hotels to tourist attractions and shopping centers, there are plenty of opportunities for businesses looking to lure more spending from this elite group of travellers. However, Chinese travellers don’t just stop at the next destination or side attraction that pops up when they’re planning their trip. Like any other group, they have preferences, and finding out what makes an appealing destination to them is what you want in an ever-competitive business clime. Here are 5 key ways to make your destination top on the list for outbound Chinese tourists.
1. Make The Most of Review Sites
For many travellers booking the next flight from China, review sites are crucial places for destination ideas and suggestions. And there are plenty of them. Mafengwo, Trip.com, and Qyer are ideal places to shine the light on your business and make it the most appealing of the lot. On Mafengwo, for instance, you need to ensure your business makes the Place of Interest list and has plenty of positive reviews to back up. And it’s no reminding this makes it vitally important to treat every visitor who makes it your destination the most professional way possible. Sadly, many businesses ignore or don’t give their best shot on their Mafengwo accounts, thus missing out on the huge potentials of this strong form of online advertising. With your account setup out of the way, you can focus on doubling down on your visitor experience for more positive reviews and improved listing.
2. Leverage Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs)
Having a Key Opinion Leader to your brand is another effective way to appeal to the budding Chinese traveller. Why? Because KOLs are favorite personalities of your target market, and with many of them enjoying a massive follower base, it’s no rocket science why travel tips and destination suggestions from this group of influencers can be a game-changer for your business. You ideally want to attract a KOL to your destination and give them a feel of why your destination is the best place to visit. If you do things right, you can be sure they’ll project your business to their massive audience on their blogs, social media channels like WeChat and Weibo, or review sites like Mafengwo, Qyer and CTrip accounts, all key platforms for Chinese tourists. A KOL may also decide to set live stream their experience with your business, which is arguably the best way to make the most of real-time visitor experience, and present lasting imagery of your destination to potential tourists.
3. Take Your Business To Weibo and WeChat
Social media platforms are really powerful channels to take your business to potential Chinese tourists. Weibo and WeChat, for example, are easily the first-choice platforms the Chinese use for their shopping and daily traveling decisions. So be sure to complement your strategy by boosting your presence on these platforms.
4. Turn to The Chinese Travel Trade
While online advertising in China is important for your tourism business, The Chinese Travel Trade drives travel bookings from China directly, so it only makes sense to have a go at it too. This channel is great if your destination is already a popular choice for tourists. What you want to do here is make your business one of the featured destinations on the Chinese Travel trade. One way to go about this is by making a trip to China and meeting key operators whose contacts are relevant for your business. However, this may be a little capital intensive as follow trips are important to solidify long term relationships. Another workaround would be to hire a Chinese representative to do the marketing heavy lifting and promotion.
5. Optimize Your Website For Search
For long term organic growth, search engines remain crucial for any business and it’s no different for those targeting Chinese travellers. For the Chinese market, Baidu is the foremost search platform. While publishing high-quality content is what you want, it’s just as important to make your destination visible, and SEO is how to get started. By consistently producing content with the search intent of your target visitors in mind, and maximizing organic with SEO, you stand a better chance of putting your business first before potential Chinese visitors. Ads and promotions are also great ways to bring your business closer to Chinese tourists and have them visiting your destination on their next outbound trip.
To Wrap up
It takes time and effort to successfully market your tourism business to Chinese tourists, but the payoff isn’t any less. Getting started, make sure to put your best foot forward on review sites like Mafengwo, C-Trip, and Qyer. Social media channels like WeChat and Weibo are just as important. By leveraging KOLs, building strong relationships on the Chinese Travel Trade, and putting organic search to full use, you stay in good position to maximize exposure and ensure your destination makes the checklist of Chinese tourists on their next outbound trip.