China remains the world’s largest market in outbound tourism when measured by trips and expenditures, thanks to increased flexibility in international travel requirements (visas), rising disposable incomes and strong interest in overseas experiences. According to a 2018 report published by McKinsey:

• Nearly 140 million outbound trips were made by Chinese travellers in 2018 (a 6.5% increase from the previous year) with that number expected to reach 160 million by 2020.

• More than 70% of Chinese tourists travel with family and friends with the average expenditure per trip at around $2,000 USD.

• Chinese outbound tourism market expenditures are expected to grow by 5.4%, reaching more than $315 billion USD in 2020.

These figures underscore the lucrative Chinese travel market and the growing opportunities it presents to the global tourism industry. As a result, businesses such as tourism organizations, hotels, and retailers are exploring new, game-changing ways to attract outbound Chinese tourists. With the proliferation of smartphone ownership in China, it’s no surprise tourism organizations are starting to direct their marketing efforts to mobile strategies that target the Chinese market. One such strategy is by leveraging China’s most popular messaging app - WeChat.

With its prominent 1.8 billion user base and design versatility, Tencent’s WeChat launched tools that have made it easier for tourism boards to advertise and put content on WeChat in order to reach its vast ecosystem. Let’s take a closer look at some of these strategies:

WECHAT MINI PROGRAMS

MyHelsinki

WeChat Mini Programs, essentially a lightweight app that operates within WeChat, have become increasingly popular among the Chinese with more than 600 million users, of which 34% are active users. The great thing about Mini Programs is that users do not have to download a separate app, with all the actions taking place entirely within the WeChat interface instead.

The city of Helsinki recently partnered with Tencent to launch an exclusive mini program within WeChat called MyHelsinki that offers locally-sourced travel recommendations to Chinese travellers wanting to live like a local. It also helps them get around the city and integrates WeChat Pay to allow users to pay for everything within the app. With MyHelsinki, Chinese tourists do not need to be concerned with language barriers and can explore the city in a seamless, stress-free manner.

The mini program also utilizes MyHelsinki’s open API, allowing for more flexible data sourcing that can be filtered based on categories or distance for example and is available in four languages - Finnish, English, Swedish and Chinese. What this means is that the mini program will provide more in-depth, AI-fuelled recommendations and tailored services that fit the needs of Chinese tourists wherever they go in the city, be it coordinates, opening hours of stores, description texts or photos of different places, events or activities.

Visit Seattle and Tourism Vancouver

Visit Seattle, in partnership with local businesses, cultural destinations and community partners, has also developed their CityExperience WeChat Mini Program that serves as a digital city guide for the more than 200,000 Chinese travellers who visit Seattle annually. The program is available in written and audible Mandarin and highlights Seattle’s points of interest, attractions, hotels, and excursions, even making itinerary recommendations.

In the case of Tourism Vancouver, they are rolling out Canada’s first official WeChat city app to provide real-time services to outbound tourists from China. The app will feature interactive itineraries, check-in features, and location-based information curated for Chinese travellers, making it accessible for them to learn about the city’s hidden gems and shopping destinations. The application will also include details of shops such as opening times, address, contact information, and interactive maps for how to get there.

WECHAT BRANDED GUIDE

Discover Madeira

We recently created a WeChat branded guide for Discover Madeira to help Madeira Island in Portugal increase exposure to Chinese tourists looking to plan a trip there. The guide, translated into Chinese, provides information on the archipelago including food recommendations, points of interests, excursions, sea activities and Porto Santo. Branded guides are a great way for businesses that are smaller in scale or may not have the bilingual, in-house expertise, to dip their toes into the Chinese market.

It is evident that businesses in the tourism sector have reckoned the rising dominance of WeChat and its powerful built-in capabilities, with many of them already jumping on the bandwagon to explore marketing opportunities.

As an integrated marketing agency well-versed in WeChat marketing, we can help make that happen by saving you the time to navigate through the nuances of setting up a WeChat account and crafting tailored content that would help your business make a splash in the Chinese market. Contact us today at info@catalystagents.com for a free initial consultation!