5 Interesting Strategies Being Used to Attract Chinese Travellers

We previously talked about how Chinese travellers have been crowned the world’s biggest tourism spenders, as the UNTWO reported that Chinese travellers spent a record $102 billion on international travel back in 2012 (last year’s spend has not yet been recorded).

Business Insider shared a few interesting strategies being employed by tourism organisations to capture this lucrative market.

1. Hiring Chinese Police Reinforcements (France)

Unlike many other travellers, Chinese tourists are drawn to luxury goods, as it is 20-30% cheaper to buy them in other global cities. As a result, they often end up in fashion capitals like Paris, France.

The trouble is they often carry large amounts of cash, making them an easy target for pickpockets and muggers. To make them feel safe, Chinese police have been recruited in Paris to help patrol popular tourist areas.

2. Relaxing Visa Requirements (USA, Britain)

Strict visa requirements are often a deterrent for travellers when they plan their next holiday destination. To be more appealing, the USA and Britan have reduced the paperwork involved.

In fact, Britain has put a “supper priority” visa application in place for Chinese business visitors, and allowed visitors to apply for a UK and Schengen visa at the same time, instead of applying for two separate applications.

3. Hiring Chinese Ski Instructors (Canada)

They aren’t all about luxury – some Chinese travellers are increasingly interested in getting a taste of adventure while on holiday.

In Canada, the main attraction is skiing. To accommodate this niche market, they have hired Chinese-speaking ski instructors at its ski resorts.

4. Using Chinese Celebrities (New Zealand)

When Yao Chen, a famous actress, decided to get married in New Zealand, the New Zealand tourism authorities were quick make her the face of its “100% Pure NZ” campaign in China.

This is a smart move, as she boasts over 66 million followers on Chinese social network Weibo.

5. Hosting Chinese Movie Shoots (Thailand, Mauritius)

A lot of Chinese travellers have been visiting Thailand recently, thanks to a film called “Lost In Thailand” released in 2012. In fact, the number of Chinese visitors to Thailand more than doubled in the first 9 months of 2013 because of it.

Mauritius is now hosting a co-production between China and Japan called “Five Minutes To Tomorrow”, no doubt hoping for the same tourism boost.

What you can do to accommodate Chinese travellers

As a tour operator, it’s important to appeal to this market.

Make sure that you have:

Tours tailored to specific interests of Chinese travellers (luxury, adventure, shopping).
An online booking form that can be translated into Chinese.
Partnerships with travel agents in China to send you customers and advise you on recent trends.

You may also want to hire tour guides who can speak Chinese and run specific tour groups if you notice you have a large Chinese customer base.

If you don’t have a booking form that supports Chinese translation, Rezdy supports the Chinese language (traditional & simplified), so you can start capturing your share of the Chinese traveler market. It will also manage your bookings from overseas agents.

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