How to Partner with Chinese Tour Companies in 2025?
Chinese tourists are coming back in large numbers. Over 155 million outbound trips are projected for 2025, and the money these travelers spend is real. Hotels, tour operators, and destinations that want a share of this need to understand one basic thing: Chinese travel agencies work very differently from Western ones. Partnering with them takes a specific approach.
Here is what works in 2026.
10 Tips to Partner with Chinese Tour Companies
1. Use Social Commerce and Influencer Marketing
Chinese travelers, especially Gen Z and millennials, plan trips on Xiaohongshu and Douyin, not on Google or TripAdvisor. Partnering with influencers to create short content showing unique experiences or cultural activities is one of the most direct routes to Chinese tour operators’ attention. Over 43% of travel agents report high conversion rates through these platforms.
2. Use AI Travel Tech
Tools like DeepSeek and Atlas now handle personalized itineraries and real-time booking. Younger Chinese travelers expect these services. Partners that offer smart digital experiences have a real edge over those that don’t.
3. Use B2B Travel Trade Platforms
Platforms like Dragon Trail’s Travel Trade Marketing Hub connect international suppliers with Chinese travel agencies via WeChat and WhatsApp. They simplify product training, marketing, and sales support without requiring you to have people on the ground in China.
4. Focus on Niche Markets
Several travel segments are growing fast:
- Wellness: Yoga retreats, eco-friendly stays, hot springs
- Silver travelers: High-quality, safety-focused tours for retirees with large disposable incomes
- Luxury and cruise: Young affluent travelers looking for exclusive, personalized experiences
5. Plan Around Chinese Holidays
Chinese travelers plan around Chinese New Year (8 days in 2025) and Golden Week. Create specific packages for off-season destinations like New Zealand skiing during China’s summer. These windows generate huge search volumes on Chinese platforms.
6. Support Alipay, WeChat Pay, and Tax-Free Shopping
With China continuing to ease visa policies and expand tax-free shopping access, your services need to support Alipay and WeChat Pay. Highlighting instant VAT refunds matters. Destinations with visa-free access, like the UAE and Central Asia, get a lot more bookings simply because the process is easier.
7. Offer Flexible, Independent Travel Options
Younger Chinese tourists don’t want rigid group packages. They want small-group or solo trips with customizable itineraries, low-cost carrier options, and tech-enabled self-guided tours. Offer these alongside your standard packages.
8. Go to the Right Trade Events
Shows like ITB China and COTTM connect international suppliers directly with Chinese tour operators. COTTM 2025 in Beijing brought together 150 exhibitors and over 3,000 Chinese buyers in pre-scheduled meetings. These events save months of cold outreach.
9. Offer Chinese-Language Support
Chinese travel agents give priority to partners who offer Mandarin-speaking staff, Chinese menus, and culturally adapted experiences. This is not a nice-to-have, it directly affects whether they recommend you or not.
10. Show Your Commitment to Sustainability
Chinese travelers, especially the younger demographic, care more about eco-friendly travel than they did five years ago. Prefabricated hotels, carbon-neutral tours, and local environmental initiatives can strengthen your pitch to Chinese partners.
Top Tourism Expos in China for 2025-2026
- ITB China (May, Shanghai): Premier B2B event for global suppliers targeting China’s outbound market. Pre-arranged meetings and strong travel tech focus.
- COTTM (April, Beijing): Dedicated to outbound travel, connecting international destinations with Chinese tour operators. Over 45 countries exhibited in 2025.
- Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) (June, Beijing): Combines B2B and B2C, with growing focus on wellness travel and digital tourism.
- Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF) (May, Guangzhou): South China’s largest trade fair, ideal for tapping Guangdong’s high-spending market.
- China International Travel Mart (CITM) (November, Shanghai): Focuses on inbound and domestic tourism but attracts major agencies nationwide.
Chinese Travel Agencies Work Differently
Most Chinese people don’t speak English, and they prefer not to, even if they can. Their main communication channel is WeChat, not email. Google is blocked. They use Baidu.
TripAdvisor exists in China but has little relevance. Chinese travelers use Mafengwo and Qyer for reviews, and Ctrip or Qunar for booking. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are blocked. Sending mass emails to Chinese partners reads as spam. Use WeChat, and if you want to send product materials, develop an HTML5 ebrochure, not a PDF.
How to Partner with a Chinese Travel Agency
The first rule is simple: be findable online in China. If Chinese partners can’t find you on Baidu, Xiaohongshu, or WeChat, you look like a scammer. In a market where trust is earned through visibility, having no online presence is the same as having a bad reputation.
China has a long history with fraud and loose regulation. This is why Chinese businesses and consumers rely heavily on brand reputation, which they call guanxi in its social form. In the digital age, guanxi translates directly to online reviews, mentions, and presence across Chinese platforms. Chinese partners will check you online before agreeing to anything. If the results are thin or negative, they won’t engage.
A few practical points:
- Your website needs to work in Chinese and load quickly in China (which means hosting matters)
- Use WeChat as your main communication channel, not email
- Prepare an HTML5 ebrochure rather than a PDF, which can be shared easily across Chinese platforms
- Use Chinese social media platforms to build your online presence before reaching out
What Chinese Tourists Want Now
Chinese travelers have changed a lot over the past 20 years. Today, most prefer to travel independently or in small groups rather than on rigid package tours. They still spend significantly, but the focus has shifted toward local food, culture, and real experiences, not just shopping. Free-independent tourist (FIT) packages that handle flights and accommodation while leaving activities open are increasingly popular.
If your tour packages don’t reflect these preferences, you will struggle to find Chinese partners willing to sell them.
GMA Services: Douyin, RED, and WeChat Marketing
At GMA (Gentlemen Marketing Agency), we help tourism businesses build partnerships with Chinese operators by getting the digital foundations right first:
- Douyin: Short video campaigns and KOL seeding to put your destination in front of Chinese travelers at the discovery stage
- Xiaohongshu (RED): Content, community management, and reviews that Chinese travel agents check before recommending you
- WeChat: Official account setup, ebrochures, and direct communication tools for Chinese B2B partners
We’ve worked with destinations, hotels, and tour operators since 2012. Contact us to talk about your China partnership strategy.
Oliver Verot is the founder of GMA (Gentlemen Marketing Agency), a Chinese digital marketing agency based in Shanghai. He has worked with tourism and hospitality brands on China market entry and growth since 2012.
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My expert tips Dead Chinese Tourist agency
Speak in broken Chinese: You don’t need to hire a professional translator or learn proper Chinese business etiquette. Just throw in a few random Chinese words and hope for the best. (LOL)
Assume all Chinese tourists are the same: All Chinese tourists are exactly alike, right? So don’t bother tailoring your services to different types of Chinese tourists or their preferences.
Offer outrageous discounts: Because who needs profits when you can give away your services for pennies? And don’t worry, the Chinese tour companies won’t think you’re desperate or desperate at all.
Make unrealistic promises: Promise the world and more to your Chinese tour company partners, and then underdeliver. They’ll be sure to appreciate your honesty and integrity.
Ignore cultural differences: Don’t bother learning about cultural differences between your country and China, or respecting Chinese cultural norms. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
Thanks for all the information we are a tourism company in Tanzania. Located in Arusha city, a tourist hub in Tanzania where all safari destinations set off from. We are not a scam but we are looking forward to receiving Chinese travellers and guide them through the most attractive sites in Tanzania for example; Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Consevation Area, Tarangire National Park, Arusha National Park, and many more to mention but a few.