With international travel virtually ruled out for the foreseeable future – one expert predicted that global air traffic won’t return to previous levels until 2023 – the tourism industry will have to turn their attention to domestic travellers if they hope to survive. 

For those businesses and regions that have been heavily reliant on Chinese tourists, this does not necessarily mean revamping your entire operation. There is likely a very underserved sector right at your doorstep – the local Chinese community. In this article, we’ll be looking at ways that tourism businesses can target domestic Chinese travellers in their marketing.

Domestic Chinese tourism marketing tips

1

Tap into the right social media platforms

You may think that domestic Chinese would use the same social media platforms as non-Chinese people, but many of them in fact use Chinese social media platforms like WeChat.

As China’s biggest social media platform, WeChat is certainly the best place for businesses to start their foray into Chinese social media. Its wide-ranging capabilities offer a world of opportunities for reaching out and catering to customers:

• Content marketing: Tourism businesses can engage followers with blog posts, photos and videos showcasing their destination and offering advice to travellers visiting their region.

• Mini programs: Businesses can create lite apps such as booking apps, online stores or interactive guides.

• Relationship building: Businesses could set up group chats where travellers could ask locals for advice about what to do or see in the region.

• Targeted advertising: WeChat (and other Tencent products) have highly sophisticated advertising targeting, including an ‘overseas targeting’ feature, which you can use to target ads to users in specific countries.

• WeChat Pay: In China, WeChat Pay is regularly used to pay for goods and services, and it is fast growing in popularity in Australia too. Chinese travellers will particularly appreciate being given more options for contactless payment, which is far more hygienic than cash.

2

Set up a Chinese website

Chinese expats also tend to stick with the search engines they’re used to, particularly if they feel more comfortable communicating in their native language. This is why it’s worth setting up a Chinese website that is optimised for Chinese search engines like Baidu and Sogou.

Setting up a Chinese website sends a clear signal to this demographic that they are considered important to your business. Your website also integrates seamlessly with WeChat – indeed, most people don’t realise that when you click on WeChat menu items, it opens a page from your mobile-responsive website. 

3

Curate local experiences for this demographic

Today’s Chinese travellers are more savvy, independent and adventurous than ever. They would therefore appreciate itineraries and sightseeing trips that both showcase your region’s strong points and allow for some self-discovery. Niche tours for interest-based activities, such as wine or beer tasting tours, golfing getaways and ocean fishing voyages, are also increasingly popular amongst the Chinese. 

4

Use videos to show customers what to expect

Videos are a great way to show Chinese travellers what they can expect, and help them to picture themselves on that holiday. Seeing a video of a child feeding a kangaroo by hand, for example, is much more compelling than just seeing a photo of kangaroos. 

5

Use KOLs to get your messaging across

Key opinion leaders, or KOLs, have been shown to gain a lot of traction with Chinese users, so if resources allow, tourism businesses could get a KOL to visit the region and post photos and videos of themselves enjoying the local offerings. 

As KOLs from China won’t be available for some time, businesses will have to look closer to home. Are there any prominent Chinese-Australian citizens, or Chinese immigrants/expats with significant social media followings with whom you could partner?

6

Engage in local forums and partner relevant media

When it comes to targeting the very specific demographic of domestic Chinese travellers, you need to be where they are. This means engaging on local forums and social media channels that are frequented by this audience, as well as partnering with relevant media, such as local Chinese-language newspapers, magazines and news websites. 

Use ads to engage in some offline-to-online (O2O) marketing, using QR codes to gain social media followers or direct people to your WeChat mini program. 

7

Develop campaigns around popular Chinese festivals

Chinese people often make an effort to be with their families around important Chinese festivals, but with international travel bans making this impossible, Chinese travellers will likely be using this time to do some domestic travelling instead. To take advantage of this, and give Chinese travellers a small taste of what they might be missing, tourism businesses could develop campaigns and create events around popular Chinese festivals, such as Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival.

8

Be mindful of ways in which travel will have to change

COVID-19 will change the way we travel for months, and perhaps even years, to come. Of utmost importance to domestic Chinese travellers will be their safety. Travellers might want to know, for example, how businesses are ensuring the hygiene of their facilities is being maintained, and what new safety measures are being introduced to activities. This type of information helps reassure travellers that they and their families will stay healthy while travelling.