Social Media influences Chinese travellers
Social media is how Chinese travelers decide where to go
Before any Chinese traveler books a hotel or buys a flight, they spend hours online. They check Xiaohongshu for travel notes, watch Douyin videos of the destination, ask friends on WeChat, and read reviews on Mafengwo. By the time they open Ctrip to book, the decision is already made. Social media is not a supporting tool in Chinese travel planning. It is the main one.
This is very different from Western markets where most travel planning starts with a Google search or a recommendation from a travel agent. In China, the process starts on social platforms, and if your hotel, city, or tourism business is not present there, you simply do not exist in the consideration set.
The key platforms Chinese travelers use to plan trips
Xiaohongshu (RED)
Xiaohongshu is where Chinese travelers write detailed travel notes. Think of it as a mix between Instagram and a travel blog. Users post photos, videos, and written reviews of hotels, restaurants, and attractions. For younger Chinese travelers aged 18-35, Xiaohongshu is the first place they check when planning any trip. A single popular post about your property can bring thousands of new followers and dozens of booking inquiries.
Douyin
Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) influences travel decisions through short videos. A 30-second clip of a stunning view, a local food market, or a hotel breakfast can go viral and put a destination on the radar of millions of people within days. Many Chinese tourists say they chose a destination specifically because of a Douyin video they saw in their feed. Read more about Douyin marketing for tourism businesses.
WeChat is the Swiss Army knife of Chinese social media. Travelers use it for group chats with friends, to share trip photos in Moments, and to contact businesses directly. For hospitality and tourism businesses, a WeChat Official Account allows you to send messages, share content, and handle booking inquiries all in one place. Read our guide to WeChat marketing for more details.
Mafengwo and Ctrip
Mafengwo is China’s travel review platform, very similar to TripAdvisor. Chinese tourists read and write detailed reviews here before and after their trips. Ctrip is the main OTA for flight and hotel bookings. Both platforms matter, but they come later in the process, after social media has already shaped the decision.
According to China National Tourism Administration (cnta.gov.cn), over 85% of Chinese outbound travelers consult social media content before finalizing their travel plans. Reviews from peers have 6 times more influence than paid advertising on final booking decisions.
What Jon Wang says about social media and Chinese travel decisions
“The travel planning cycle for a Chinese tourist is now almost entirely social. They see a video on Douyin, save it, then go check Xiaohongshu for more information, then ask friends on WeChat if anyone has been there. By the time they search on Ctrip, 80% of the decision is done. If you are only visible at the Ctrip stage, you are competing on price alone. If you are visible at the Douyin and Xiaohongshu stage, you are competing on experience and emotion, which is a much better position.” Jon Wang, GMA analyst.
Case study: A Japanese ryokan that built its Chinese audience from scratch
Kenji Tanaka owns a traditional ryokan in Hakone, Japan. The property has 12 rooms and a private hot spring, and it has been in his family for three generations. Before 2023 the ryokan had almost no Chinese guests, not because it lacked quality but because it had zero presence on Chinese social platforms. Chinese tourists who came to Hakone discovered it by accident.
Kenji’s daughter, who had studied in Shanghai, suggested working with a Chinese marketing agency. She knew how much Chinese tourists researched their stays and she had seen Xiaohongshu posts about Japanese ryokans get hundreds of thousands of views.
The agency started with a Xiaohongshu content strategy. They visited the ryokan for two days with a Chinese photographer and produced 40 pieces of content: the wooden interiors, the kaiseki breakfast, the outdoor bath at night, the views of Mount Fuji. The content felt authentic because it was. No staging, no product shots, just real documentation of the experience.
They posted the content through 4 KOC travel accounts with a combined audience of 180,000 followers. Within the first week, two posts entered the Xiaohongshu “hot” section and received over 400,000 views combined. The ryokan got 62 new booking inquiries in the first 10 days.
They also set up a WeChat Official Account and created a mini-guide in Chinese covering how to get to the ryokan from Tokyo, what to expect from a traditional ryokan experience, and answers to common questions. This guide reduced the number of basic inquiries and helped guests arrive feeling prepared and excited.
Douyin came next. They created a series of 15-second videos showing one detail of the ryokan experience each week: the folding of the futon, the preparation of the bath, the arrival of the kaiseki tray. Simple, quiet content that matched the tone of the place. The account reached 22,000 followers in 6 months.
Results after one year: Chinese guests went from 1% to 34% of total occupancy. The ryokan is now booked out 6-8 weeks in advance for weekends, where previously mid-week and weekends had similar occupancy. Revenue per available room increased by 27% overall. And the Xiaohongshu reviews from Chinese guests have become the best marketing tool the ryokan has, bringing new inquiries every week with zero paid promotion.
Five things that make Chinese social media different from Western platforms
- Detail matters: Chinese travel posts are longer and more specific than typical Instagram captions. Users expect room photos, price information, transport directions, and tips.
- Peer trust is everything: A review from a real traveler with similar tastes carries far more weight than a brand’s own content.
- Video first: Douyin and WeChat Video have made video the default format for discovering travel content.
- Algorithm-driven discovery: Chinese platforms use strong recommendation algorithms. One viral post can bring more traffic than months of paid ads.
- Mobile only: Nearly all Chinese social media usage happens on mobile. Your content and booking experience must work perfectly on a phone screen.
According to Mafengwo (mafengwo.cn), the most-saved travel posts by Chinese users include very specific information like restaurant names, hotel room numbers with the best views, and train connection times. Generic destination content performs much worse than specific, personal recommendations.
How GMA Can Help
GMA helps tourism businesses build their presence on Chinese social platforms and turn that visibility into real bookings. Here is what we offer:
- Douyin (TikTok China) campaigns: Short video content that puts your destination or property in front of Chinese travelers at the start of their planning process
- WeChat Official Account management: A proper brand presence in China’s most used app, with content, booking links, and customer service
- Baidu SEO and PPC: Visibility when Chinese travelers search for destinations, hotels, and travel tips
- RED (Xiaohongshu) influencer marketing: Real travel content from Chinese creators who build genuine interest in your property
- Chinese website design and localization: A Chinese-language site built for speed, mobile use, and local search
- KOL and KOC partnerships: Work with the right Chinese travel voices, from large influencers to micro-creators with highly engaged audiences
About GMA
GMA (Chinese Tourist Agency) is a Shanghai-based digital marketing agency founded in 2012. We help tourism boards, hotels, real estate developers, and luxury brands reach Chinese consumers through the platforms that actually matter. Our team combines Chinese market knowledge with international strategy. See what we can do for you on our services page.
Article written by Claire, content manager at GMA. April 2026.
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