dragon trail interactive · 2019-06-14 · most popular country in the world for chinese...

China – The Future of Travel

Dragon Trail Interactive

Scotland China Ready Conference | June 2019

2 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2019

Dragon Trail Interactive

Dragon Trail Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing and solutions agency for

the travel industry that helps travel and tourism organizations reach and engage with

affluent Chinese consumers and the travel trade through outstanding digital initiatives.

The company is 100% focused on the global travel industry, 100% focused on

marketing to affluent Chinese consumers and 100% focused on leveraging digital

solutions to reach client goals. In addition to providing integrated consumer marketing

services, Dragon Trail continuously develops proprietary technology applications and

platforms through its team of in-house engineers, including B2B travel marketing

platforms for mobile channels.

We are proud to work with major international brands, such as VisitBritain, the Thyssen-

Bornemisza Museum, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, PromPeru, Small

Luxury Hotels of the World, Air Canada, and the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group.


About the Speaker

Sienna’s work for Dragon Trail Interactive centres on

creating educational resources on Chinese outbound

tourism and the Chinese digital landscape, including

articles, reports, and webinars. She is co-author of the

book, China, the Future of Travel. She has a master’s

degree in Chinese Studies from London’s School of

Oriental and African Studies and is a proficient

Mandarin speaker.

Sienna Parulis-Cook

Communications Manager

Agenda

• Key developments in Chinese tourism

• Travel trends and market segments

• Attracting Chinese FITs: social media, influencer marketing, and more



Key Developments in Chinese Tourism


Rise of the Chinese Independent Traveller

• VisitBritain data shows that China is on par with the market average when it comes to travelling as part of a package tour

• Independent Chinese travellers tend to be highly educated and younger, and they spend more time and money in a destination

Package

tour, 44%

FIT, 42%

Customized

tour, 14%

Source: Ctrip, China Tourism Academy


Chinese Travellers – Traveller Evolution

Shopping, Sightseeing Experiences

As spending on shopping has decreased, spending on dining has increased. Educational and

cultural tourism is on the rise; nature and adventure tourism is strong; and experienced Chinese

travellers want to get off the beaten track.

我去过I’ve been there

我买过I’ve bought it

我体过I’ve experienced it

Chinese Outbound Tourism to Britain


337,000 Chinese arrivals in 2017, up 29% from 2016. 349,000 visits were forecasted for

2018, with record-breaking numbers reported for the beginning of the year. Scotland

received 8% of Chinese visitor nights between 2015-2017.

Top 5 Cities 2015-2017

1. London (144,000 nights)

2. Edinburgh (35,000 nights)

3. Manchester (23,000 nights)

4. Cambridge (14,000 nights)

5. Oxford (13,000 nights)

(Statistics from VisitBritain)


Travel Trends and Market Segments

Family Travel


Family tourism is an important and growing

market segment, and Chinese parents put

strong emphasis on the educational value of

travel for their children. This includes:

• Visiting prestigious universities

• Attending educational programs,

such as summer camps

• Visiting attractions with educational value,

such as art museums

Cultural Tourism


• According to VisitBritain, visiting museums or

art galleries is the no. 4 most popular activity

for Chinese tourists to Britain. Chinese visitors

are also more likely than the market average

to visit museums or galleries (56% vs. 48%).

• According to Chinese travel website Qyer,

97% of Chinese travelers to Paris are interested

in museums, monuments, and other cultural

attractions, compared to just 55% who go to

shop.

• Top museum WeChat accounts include the

Louvre, the British Museum, NYC’s MoMA, and

the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.

Nature Tourism


• Visiting parks or gardens is the no. 3 top activity

for Chinese tourists to Britain.*

• Chinese tourists are more likely than the market

average to visit national parks (18% vs. 11%); parks

and gardens (54% vs. 50%); and the countryside or

villages (26% vs. 18%).*

• 34% of Chinese visitors say the countryside/natural

beauty is a motivation to choose Britain as a holiday

destination, compared to a 22% market average.*

• ETOA and ETC’s 2018 survey found that 25% of

Chinese visitors to Europe wanted to “enjoy nature”,

compared to just 13% of visitors from the US.

*Data from VisitBritain

Edinburgh Tourism WeChat post on cherry blossoms, April 2019

Food Tourism


WeChat posts by

Japan and Dubai

Dining in restaurants is the no. 2 top activity

for Chinese tourists to Britain, behind shopping

(VisitBritain)

92% of Chinese outbound travellers want to try

the local cuisine (Ctrip)

61% say food influences their choice of travel

destination (Chinese International Travel Monitor)

14% increase in spending on food by Chinese

outbound tourists in 2017 (Mafengwo)

Car Hire


• According to two industry reports (Tuniu

2018 and Zuzuche 2017), the UK is the 7th

most popular country in the world for

Chinese self-driving tourism.

• Self-driving tourists tend to be aged 30-49,

and travel with family (mostly children, as

well as couples) or friends.

• Self-driving tourists want more

independence, and to get off the beaten

track. The most popular routes include

beautiful scenery.

• Local tourism organizations can provide

suggested routes to help Chinese travellers

discover new and special destinations.WeChat posts on self-driving routes from

Destination Canada


Social Media and Influencer Marketing

Steps to Attract Chinese Visitors


1) Do you have a Chinese name?

2) Are you listed on Chinese travel/review

websites? What are visitors saying about you?

3) What’s your Baidu ranking like?

Websites to Know

• Ctrip (China’s leading OTA)

• Baidu (China’s leading search engine)

• Mafengwo and Qyer (independent travel

websites)

• Dianping (listings/review website)

Chinese Social Media


WeChat

• China’s no. 1 mobile app and social

media platform with 1 billion active

users

• Started in 2011 as a chat platform

• WeChat Moments = social news feed

• Official Accounts

• Mini-Programs

• WeChat Pay



Weibo

• 462 million monthly active users

• Young (majority under 30)

• More viral than WeChat

• Well suited to KOL/celebrity content

• Short video content very popular



Video Channels

Long Form

• Tencent Video

• iQiyi

• Youku

Short Form

• Douyin (Chinese TikTok)

• Kuaishou

• Miaopai (Weibo)

Live Streaming

• YY

• Yingke

• Yizhibo (Weibo)

Short

Video

Users

78%

Chinese Internet Users

Total:

829 million



Xiaohongshu/RED

• Shopping & lifestyle app

• 150 million registered users

• Primarily used by affluent

women from first-tier cities

(Beijing, Shanghai,

Guangzhou, Shenzhen),

born in the 1990s

Chinese Travel Review Websites


Mafengwo: 100 million registered users

Qyer: 80 million registered users, more outbound-oriented

Listings, travel diaries, Q&A forum, professionally written guides, some OTA services


Trends and Strategies for Digital Marketing

Encouraging Word of Mouth Marketing


• Monitoring/reposting

• Asking for/incentivising reviews

• Asking questions on social media

• Competitions

• QR code

Working with Local Chinese


• Callouts to contribute UGC online

• Local Chinese resident/student

groups on WeChat

• Chinese staff/interns

• Auckland’s WeChat mini-

program: live chat with local

residents

Influencers: KOLs


@考古资讯 an archaeology expert with 70,414 fans, helped retweet Jordan Tourism Board’s archeological discovery posts.

Travel blogger and astronomy photographer Ye Ziyi has over 134,000 followers on Weibo and 30,000 on WeChat. She travelled in Peru for two weeks, shooting a travel documentary and short film series for PromPeru

Video: 2019’s Biggest Trend


• Watching video is the second most popular

online activity after instant messaging. 78% of

Chinese internet users watch short videos.

• 68 million videos are posted each day on

WeChat Moments

• 4 billon short video views each day on Weibo,

with a 175% increase in video views from the

Sina Travel channel in 2018

• Users of Douyin increased by over 550% in 2018

• No longer “cool to have” – video is a must-have

channel for brand awareness and engagement

Other Steps to Attract Chinese Visitors


How to Be Chinese-Friendly

• Provide Chinese-language materials (brochures, audio guides, signs)

• Chinese-speaking staff

• Chinese amenities (warm water/electric kettles, Chinese tea, slippers)

• Payment acceptance: UnionPay, Alipay, WeChat Pay

• Digital presence: Website, social media, online listings


Learn More

Visit www.dragontrail.com for

information on the latest trends in

Chinese outbound travel and

digital marketing, watch the

China Outbound Travel Pulse

video series, sign up for our

monthly webinar and newsletter,

follow our weekly WeChat

rankings and more.

You can also follow us on

LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

http://www.dragontrail.com/

Sienna Parulis-Cook

Communications Manager

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.dragontrail.com

www.twitter.com/dragontrail

www.linkedin.com/company/dragon-trail

HelloDragonTrail

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.dragontrail.com/

http://www.twitter.com/dragontrail

http://www.linkedin.com/company/dragon-trail

dragon trail interactive · 2019-06-14 · most popular country in the world for chinese...

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