How worldwide OTA can generate leads in China?
If you run an Online Travel Agency (OTA) and want to generate leads in China, you are entering one of the most competitive and fastest-moving markets in the world. Chinese outbound travel has fully recovered from the pandemic. Ctrip reported a 313% jump in international travel bookings in early 2023 when China reopened, and growth has continued steadily since. In April 2026 the market is large and active, but it rewards only those OTAs that have built a real presence on Chinese platforms.
Chinese travelers are not passive buyers. They research extensively before booking, they compare options across multiple platforms and they trust peer reviews more than advertising. An OTA that wants leads from China needs to show up where Chinese travelers are looking, speak their language and earn their trust through content and reviews. Here is how to do it.
Step 1: Create Accurate, High-Quality Chinese Content
Chinese travelers are careful. They read descriptions closely and notice mistakes. A rough machine translation of your English content will not build confidence. You need properly written Chinese text that answers the specific questions Chinese travelers ask: what is included in the price, what is the cancellation policy, what do other Chinese travelers say about the experience.
Your website also needs to work well on mobile. The vast majority of Chinese internet users access the web on smartphones, and a slow or poorly formatted mobile site will push visitors away immediately. Speed matters too: a website that loads slowly because it is hosted outside China will frustrate users and hurt your conversion rate. Consider hosting a version of your site on a Chinese server or using a CDN optimized for China.
Step 2: Be Visible on Baidu
Baidu holds around 70% of the Chinese search market. If your OTA website is only optimized for Google you are invisible to the majority of Chinese users searching for travel options. Baidu SEO works differently from Google SEO: it favors websites with Chinese-language content, local hosting and strong Baidu-specific backlinks. Getting this right takes time but the organic traffic is valuable and consistent.
Baidu PPC (paid search) is faster. You can appear at the top of results for specific travel keywords immediately once you have set up an account. For OTAs that want quick visibility while their SEO develops, PPC is a practical option. Our Chinese digital marketing team manages both Baidu SEO and PPC for international OTA clients.
Step 3: Use Video to Drive Interest
Short-form video is the primary way Chinese travelers discover new destinations and travel brands. Douyin has over 700 million daily active users and travel content is among the most shared categories on the platform. An OTA that publishes regular Douyin content, whether destination highlights, traveler stories or booking tips, builds brand recognition over time and attracts users who are actively thinking about travel.
Video does not have to be expensive. Authentic clips perform well on Douyin: a real traveler’s experience, a behind-the-scenes look at a destination, or a short tip about the best time to visit. What matters is consistency and relevance, not production value. For larger campaigns, partnering with Chinese travel KOLs to produce content for your brand reaches audiences that would never find your own channel.
“International OTAs that invest in Douyin content consistently outperform those that rely only on paid search in China,” said Jon Wang, analyst at GMA. “Chinese travelers trust recommendations from creators they follow more than they trust advertising. When a KOL they like books through your platform and talks about the experience their followers pay attention. Building that association takes time but it creates a kind of trust that search ads cannot replicate. OTAs entering China should think of video content as infrastructure, not a campaign.”
Step 4: Build a WeChat Presence
WeChat is where Chinese travelers go to plan, discuss and share travel experiences. An OTA with a WeChat Official Account can push promotions, share destination content and maintain a direct communication channel with Chinese customers. WeChat mini-programs can even integrate a booking flow directly inside the app, removing the friction of switching to a separate website.
The key with WeChat is consistency. An account that posts quality content regularly builds followers who trust the brand. When those followers are ready to book they remember your name. For practical guidance on setting up and running a WeChat channel for travel brands see our WeChat marketing services page.
Case Study: A European OTA That Cracked the China Market
Thomas Bauer had built a solid OTA business in Germany over eight years. His platform, Wanderbook, specialized in small-group cultural tours across Europe, with itineraries designed for travelers who wanted more depth than a standard package holiday. Revenue was 4.2 million euros in 2022, almost entirely from German and Dutch customers.
Thomas had always assumed China was too complicated. The language barrier, the different platforms, the regulatory requirements: it felt like a market for big companies with big teams. Then he met a Chinese business traveler at a tourism conference in Berlin who told him bluntly that his tours were exactly the kind of thing wealthy Chinese travelers in their 30s were looking for, but they had never heard of Wanderbook because it did not exist in Chinese.
Thomas hired a Chinese digital marketing agency in late 2023 with a clear brief: make Wanderbook visible and credible to Chinese independent travelers planning a European trip. The agency started with a Chinese-language website version, a Baidu PPC campaign targeting searches for “Europe small group tour” and “European cultural travel” in Chinese, and a Douyin account with three destination videos per week.
After 60 days the Baidu campaign was generating around 340 qualified visitors per week to the Chinese site. Conversion was low at first, about 0.8%, because there were no Chinese reviews to build trust. The agency set up a Mafengwo listing and reached out to Chinese travel bloggers to offer hosted tour places in exchange for reviews. Within three months, 14 reviews had appeared across Mafengwo and Ctrip. The Ctrip listing became the most visited page on the Chinese site.
By month six Wanderbook was taking an average of 22 bookings per month from Chinese travelers. Average booking value was 1,840 euros, higher than the German average of 1,450 euros. By end of 2024 Chinese customers accounted for 14% of total bookings and the trend was consistently up. Thomas expanded the Chinese team to two part-time staff and began translating more itineraries.
The most important lesson Thomas took from the experience: Chinese travelers were not different from his German customers in what they wanted. They wanted quality, authenticity and trust. What was different was where they looked for it. Once Wanderbook showed up in the right places in the right language, the product sold itself.
Sources on Chinese Outbound Travel
According to Ctrip, international bookings by Chinese travelers in 2025 exceeded pre-COVID levels for the first time, with Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East as top destinations. Research published by People’s Daily confirms that over 60% of Chinese outbound travelers research and book their trips entirely through Chinese digital platforms, with Ctrip, Baidu and WeChat as the three most used tools.
OTA China Lead Generation: Summary Table
| Channel | Role in Lead Generation |
|---|---|
| Baidu SEO/PPC | Visibility in search |
| Ctrip listing | Booking platform presence |
| Mafengwo | Reviews and traveler trust |
| Douyin | Discovery through video content |
| WeChat Official Account | Direct communication and loyalty |
| KOL/KOC partnerships | Authentic third-party recommendation |
How GMA Can Help
GMA works with international OTAs and travel brands that want to generate leads from Chinese consumers. Our services include:
- Douyin (TikTok China) campaigns
- WeChat Official Account management
- Baidu SEO and PPC
- RED (Xiaohongshu) influencer marketing
- Chinese website design and localization
- KOL/KOC partnerships
About GMA
GMA is a Shanghai-based digital marketing agency that helps international brands reach Chinese consumers. Since 2012, GMA has worked with tourism boards, hotels, real estate developers, luxury brands and more. The team covers Douyin, WeChat, Baidu, RED and Chinese website design. If you want to grow your OTA business in China, GMA has the expertise and the platform knowledge to help you get there. Visit our services page to learn more.
Claire is a content strategist at GMA with 6 years of experience in Chinese digital marketing. She writes about tourism, branding, and how to reach Chinese consumers online.
