Social media are critical for attracting Chinese tourists

In 2019, there were more than 150 million outbound trips from China, which means there was the number one travel force in the world before the pandemic. In 2019, 70% of holiday bookings were made online. How do Chinese holidaymakers plan their holidays in 2023 when the world economies expecting their return? How do they find information? How do they share their experience with their friends? The vast majority use only one media for this: Social Media. WeChat, Weibo, and specialised tourism platforms like Tuniu you name it. They often like to share their experience in almost real-time. Let’s have a better understanding of how Chinese tourists use social networks.

Chinese tourists spend 8 hours per week on social networks

Before the trip

Chinese tourists will first look for information on specialised tourism platforms like Tuniu to find the country they would like to go to. Following this, they will go on OTA to do their booking.

Hotel Registration & Chinese OTA Agency

Ctrip is the leader of the OTAs (online travel agencies) with a whopping 50% market share in 2022. Before booking a trip, Chinese people will always look for information. They like to discuss with their friends about trips to get direct advice from them. For that, they use the two flagship social networks of the Tencent group: QQ and WeChat. QQ is a social media and WeChat is a messaging application, which also includes a news feed.

There are people called the KOL, key opinion leaders, who are people present a lot on Social Media. They give their opinions and ideas a lot. These people are usually followed by a large number of people because of the quality of their intervention. They are reliable people because they share their experiences as they want. They also read online magazines specialising in tourism. For the videos, they mostly use Youku, a platform that hosts a lot of videos about everything including trips.

China KOL Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to ‘Key Opinion Leaders’

During the trip

During their trip, Chinese people like to be connected. They can talk with their friends and family. For that, they use message applications like WeChat and QQ. It’s very important for them to have the possibility to keep in touch with their friends and family. They can also share their trip and experiences directly with them. They share also photos and videos of their trips.

After the trip

Because they like to have reviews about trips, it’s natural for them to post some. They post reviews on Social media like Weibo, but also Renren and Douban, the most used Social Media. That they can help their friends or even other people. They share their trips on forums like tuniu.com. Tuniu.com is the biggest forum entirely dedicated to trips. They can post photos, advice, and participate in conversations. It’s used in a purpose to help people with their future travels. Like during their trips, they like to share photos after their trips are done. The photo applications are connected to Social Media which allows them to share their photos quickly.

In 2023 social media are the perfect channel to send the right message to the right target, Chinese tourists. Video sharing, high-quality content, and high-quality pictures must all be part of your web marketing strategy to provide the emotional engagement necessary for making Chinese tourists choose your destination, tours or hotels over a competitor’s.

How to cater your Chinese tourists well?
????Expert Tips:

1. Create an Invitation Program for your Chinese guests
2. Adopt your food and services for Chinese tourists
3. Hire Mandarin-speaking staff
4. Adapt Chinese payment methods
5. Open Chinese social media and sign your guests for retargeting