THE CHINESE TOURISM INDUSTRY
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7025 million tourists in the world,
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650,000 Chinese tourists in 2012 in France
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4-5 million Chinese tourists within five years
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They spent over 200 million euros just in shopping
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The highest spend is € 1,500 per visitor
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These figures are increasing from 10 to 15% per year
According to the last report from China Outbound Tourism Development 2009-2012 there have been more then 70 million Chinese tourists traveling abroad just in 2011, with an increase of 22%.
China has already surpassed Japan and become the No.1 outbound tourism market. According to World Travel Organization, and there will be an estimate of 100 million Chinese people travelling abroad by 2020.
GO ONLINE TO REACH THE CHINES TOURISTS
The internet is now an indispensable tool for the Chinese travelers.
If the want to go on holidays abroad, 50% of them will be choosing a destination online. The first reflex they will have, is to search and seek for information on the web, also they will book a hotel or a flight online too.
Before taking the final decision, they will look at the social networks. Read reviews, view travelers’s pictures, check out on forums the reputation of the travel agency and its services and then ask its virtual network.
There is a lot of solutions and possibilities to attract the attention of the Chinese travelers using digital tools :
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Having a website in Chinese
Internet in China is increasing its influence, both large and small brands utilize the internet to promote their businesses.
Having a website in Chinese is probably the first action required to make yourself known to your customers.
Because of the language barrier, many Chinese netizens do not speak English so they need to be able to navigate on your Website easily ; to look for information about you.
Your Website in Chinese is Step One.
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Use social networks
Having a strong presence on social networks increases the chances of your brand to be shared between users. The interaction on social networks with potential consumers is vital.
Chinese Internet users spend the majority of their time on social networks, like Weibo an Wechat (91% of the chinese netizens).
You should also post a lot of multimedia on your social networks : Attractive pictures, videos of fantasy-like images are used by agencies to attract customers looking for a holiday, but also to raise awareness about their vacation destination.
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High rankings on Baidu
Being referenced on Baidu is one of the first steps to attracting Chinese tourists.
Baidu is the leading search engine in China with 70% Market share, and therefore has the text book monopoly over the whole market.
Chinese tourists will look up keywords related to any given destination they may have chosen in order to find the content related to it.
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Go mobile
Mobile-Internet development has undoubtedly contributed to China’s outbound tourism boom. Chinese increasingly go mobile with a 50% increase in mobile bookings when compared to last year.
This means that the Chinese are less likely to call for the services of travel agencies than in the past.
Many companies have also launched smartphone apps adapted for Chinese travelers, providing services like car rentals and restaurant reviews, which remove the language barrier and facilitate independent travel.
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Find cyber celebrities
Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) refers to those people who influence a lot of Chinese netizens with their large, established online communities. These leaders are well respected and have a strong influence on large numbers of fans. Their movements are followed and talked about by millions of Internet users.
Celebrities are typical key opinion leaders. And their influences are always used or sold to companies to promote their brands. In this case, the influence of Yao Chen was used to promote the tourism of New Zealand.
Conclusion
An agency with qualified professionals with the experience and knowledge necessary will develop an effective social media marketing strategy. If you want to develop a marketing strategy focused on Chinese outbound Chinese tourists, don’t hesitate to contact us, we can help you to attract tourists.