HOW TO WIN WITH CHINESE TOURISTS AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR 2019 by Ashley Galina Dudarenok 2 HOW TO WIN WITH CHINESE TOURISTS CONTENTS 3 Contents Ashley Galina Dudarenok is the founder of Alarice and ChoZan. Introduction 4 Chapter 1 6 ChoZan - your business school for digital China. A Market Overview • Presenter of the world’s top 2-day Chinese digital marketing training program for entrepreneurs and teams Chapter 2 17 • Keynote speaker on topics related to modern Chinese consum- Modern Chinese Tourists: ers, digital marketing and New Retail Who Are They and How are They Travelling? • Custom-made corporate trainings Chapter 3 30 • Tailored consultations The Chinese Tourism Platforms You Need to Know Products: • Social media video masterclasses: A certificate course you can Chapter 4 37 take at home giving you the latest insights and tools to advance Travel Trends for 2020 your marketing career Chapter 5 43 • The China Marketing Circle: This private group delivers cu- Recommendations and Cases rated news, updates, trends and case studies in Chinese social media. It’s the only group you’ll need to stay on top of your Chapter 6 50 China digital marketing game. The Travel Year Alarice - your China digital marketing agency. Chapter 7 54 A Step by Step Checklist • Specialists in China digital marketing strategy development • Chinese social media marketing project execution Conclusion 57 Your 2020 China Travel Calendar 59 4 HOW TO WIN WITH CHINESE TOURISTS INTRODUCTION 5 lifestyles and culture. Unique, tailor-made travel services are also a new trend. For example, some are moving from 5-star hotels to boutique hotels or Airbnb homestays and bespoke tours are be- coming more popular. Introduction We’ve created this mini book for those in the tourism industry who want to understand Chi- nese outbound tourists and recent trends in or- China has the world’s largest pool of tourists and der to attract them and provide the best service in the past decade, Chinese tourism has seen to them. If you’ve ever asked yourself “How can outstanding growth. Now more than ever, Chi- my business benefit from the increasing number nese people are travelling. With growth in the of Chinese travellers?”, this book will answer that larger economy and an increase in disposable question. income, people are also spending more on travel and in their destination. In the past 8 years, I’ve worked with over 300 brands helping them tap into China. Since 2016, According to data from the China National Tour- I’ve been a speaker at over 90 events and run my ism Administration (CNTA), in 2000 there were signature Chinese social media masterclasses only 4.5 million outbound trips. In 2018, there across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. You’re were 149.72 million. Purchases while travelling in safe hands. accounted for 11% of per-capita spending in 2018, which is twice the level recorded in 2011. Learn more about my China digital marketing train- ings at chozan.co and get all the details about my social Changes in Chinese travellers’ behaviour have media marketing agency services at alarice.com.hk. also been noted in recent years. They’re adapt- ing more “Western” travel habits. Instead of just going sightseeing and shopping, they’re more willing to engage in in-depth experiences of local 6 HOW TO WIN WITH CHINESE TOURISTS A MARKET OVERVIEW 7 tions have become more diverse and second and third tier cities have joined the market. CHAPTER 1 The United States, Canada, Japan and Korea have recently seen declines in tourists due to the ongoing trade war and other issues, while plac- A Market es like Southeast Asia and Europe have seen in- Overview creases. Not only are more Chinese people travelling overseas, but the number of trips per traveller is creeping up, too. One survey by Coresight Re- n 2016, the China National Tourism Adminis- search and China Luxury Advisors found that tration (CNTA) forecasted that by 2020, Chi- I the average Chinese traveller went overseas 2.1 nese outbound trips would total 150 million per times from June 2017 to June 2018. Residents of year. With 2018’s 149.72 million outbound trips, tier 1 cities are driving this increase with an aver- they seem to be right on track. age of 2.3 trips. Those making three or more trips a year jumped from 21% in 2017 to 34% in 2018. Following the economic rise of the last decade, Chinese tourists in general now have easier visa Chinese consumers have more money to travel. access in many markets and tourists from low- In recent years, outbound travel has increased er tier cities are benefitting from an increasing 13.5% year-on-year and continues to rise. number of international and connecting flights from their airports. Korea and Japan are the most popular destina- tions and it’s primarily first tier city residents Where Are They From? who go overseas. But now, although Korea and Five urban areas and ten cities serve as the source Japan still see a lot of Chinese tourists, destina- of most of China’s outbound tourism according 8 HOW TO WIN WITH CHINESE TOURISTS A MARKET OVERVIEW 9 to the World Tourism Organization and the Chi- Spending Power na Tourism Academy. Chinese travellers are spending more and stay- ing longer when they travel. Shopping, accom- modation and dining have been the top three spending categories for several years. However due to an increase in cross-border e-commerce, there’s been a significant change in shopping preferences. Chinese shoppers don’t need to go overseas any more to get access to a variety of foreign products at a reasonable price. While travelling, they now prefer to buy products they can’t easily find at home or online. This also means that shopping has become more about quality and exclusivity. It’s not about get- ting products. It’s about the shopping experi- ence. The China Tourism Academy calculated that in 2018, outbound travel spending by Chinese tour- ists was over 277 billion USD. The estimated av- erage Chinese tourist budget per person in 2019 was 6,706 USD, which is 15% higher than 2018. 10 HOW TO WIN WITH CHINESE TOURISTS A MARKET OVERVIEW 11 That is affecting the number and variety of des- tinations visited by Chinese travellers. Nielsen reports that in 2018, Chinese tourists visited 2.8 countries or regions, up from 2.1 in 2017. Asian countries still top the list but people have begun to look farther afield. Japan and Korea are the top draws but numbers declined in 2018 as more tourists went to Thailand, Europe, Malaysia and Source: Nielsen 2018 Vietnam. Where are they going? In 2017, visa procedures were one of the three most important determining factors when choosing a destination. In 2018 it was still im- portant but wasn’t a top priority. This is likely because more and more countries are easing their entry procedures for Chinese tourists. According to the Henley Passport Index, as of Source: Nielsen October 2019, a Chinese Passport is ranked 72nd. 71 destinations provide visa-free entry and many Places like Croatia, Serbia, Northern Europe and countries have recently eased their visa require- some African countries are seeing more visits as ments for Chinese passport holders. In addition a result of relaxed visa requirements, a well-de- to easier visas, Chinese tourists are becoming signed promotional campaign from the Europe- more sophisticated and are turning to less famil- an Travel Commission and demand spurred by iar destinations. popular TV series and movies. 12 HOW TO WIN WITH CHINESE TOURISTS A MARKET OVERVIEW 13 In 2018, Chinese tourists travelled the most to the Chinese tourists’ favourite European destina- following countries (by departures) tions in early 2019 were 1) Thailand (10.41 million) 1) Russia 2) Japan (9.06 million) 2) Italy 3) Vietnam (7.79 million) 3) France 4) South Korea (5.28 million) 4) The UK 5) The United States (3.02 million) 5) Germany 6) Singapore (2.55 million) 6) Spain 7) Malaysia (2.44 million) 7) Greece 8) Cambodia (2.33 million) 8) The Czech Republic 9) Russian Federation ( 2.04 million) 9) Switzerland 10) Indonesia (1.7 million) 10) Portugal Source: UN World Tourism Organization and the China Tourism Source: Ctrip Academy The top emerging destinations in Europe with In 2018, Chinese tourists felt most welcomed in their year-on-year Chinese tourist growth rates 1) Japan ( 20%) as of mid-2019 2) Thailand ( 16%) 1) Croatia (540%) 3) South Korea ( 12%) 2) Latvia (523%) 4) Australia (11%) 3) Slovenia (497%) 5) The United States ( 8%) 4) Bulgaria (459%) 6) Singapore ( 6%) 5) Estonia (321%) 7) Canada ( 6%) 6) Albania (300%) 8) New Zealand (5%) 7) Serbia (295%) Source: Hotels.com survey 8) Malta (281%) 9) Ireland (220%) 10) Denmark (212%) Source: China Tourism Academy & HCG Travel Group 14 HOW TO WIN WITH CHINESE TOURISTS A MARKET OVERVIEW 15 Why are They Travelling and How are They Choos- 3) Interesting activities ing Destinations? 4) Safety and political stability 5) Ease of visa procedures Most tourists from China are travelling for enjoy- 6) Air quality and access to nature ment, sightseeing and leisure purposes. This is a 7) Affordability signal of the nation’s affluence and the desire to 8) Availability of convenient mobile payment see and experience the world. options like Alipay and WeChat Pay 9) Reputation, online reviews and ratings Travel agencies have been replaced by friends, by other Chinese tourists family and online recommendations and in- 10) Quality and variety of shopping formation.