Chinese tourism is on the rise!
In 2010, China became the third travel destination in the world. No less than 55.98 million people indeed crossed the Chinese borders in that year. Now, we are talking about twice this amount of tourists traveling around the world.
In 2014, domestic and international travelers combined, there were 3.76 billion tourists in China. They spent a total of more than 3.3 trillion Yuan, which represents 469 billion Euros. Those figures tell how wealthy the tourism sector can be in China.
Impact of social networks on Chinese tourists
The IT sector also largely benefited from the dynamism of the national economy. Indeed, there are today more than 650 million web users in China. Chinese people are permanently connected; would it be through their Smartphones, tablet, their personal computer, etc? The Internet is used in almost every aspect of life.
Even though they entered the consumerism era quite recently, the evolution of the Chinese market has been very fast and the Chinese consumers have today become mature ones. They are suspicious about the things they buy and often check others consumers’ opinions before purchasing something.
Social networks are often used to share opinions about various products. And those social networks are used by almost every Chinese web user who spends on average 10 hours per week on them. And when it comes to Chinese tourism, it is the same. Chinese travelers use to share everything on those social networks about their experiences: flights, hotels, tours, and food,…
Tourism institutes invading Weibo
Information spreads very fast through those social networks, which is why they can really impact a brand or a company’s e-reputation. The Chinese tourism institutes are aware of the possibilities those networks offer in terms of marketing. This is why a lot of them have their own Weibo account, which is one of the most famous Chinese social networks with between 200 and 500 million users.
Travel Institution Accounts’ Activeness on Weibo in 2014
Travel Institution Account’s Coverage on Weibo in 2014
Travel Institution Accounts’ Impact Index on Weibo in 2014
As you can see in the above graph， the overseas tourism boards‘ accounts on Weibo are very popular and have a strong impact on Chinese tourists. But they still represent only 5% of the travel institution accounts on Weibo…
Read also: Marketing to Chinese tourists travelers
Why you should integrate a Weibo account into your e-marketing strategy:
Because of the censure that regulates the Chinese network Google and all the social networks you know are not accessible and almost not used in China (see on Tnooz). There is no Facebook, no Twitter, and no Youtube… Here, they are replaced by their local equivalent: Youku, WeChat, and Weibo. If you want to reach Chinese consumers, you will have to do it in Chinese, of course, and through Chinese social networks. A presence, combined with good community management on those social networks has definitely become an important part of the marketing strategy for those who aim to penetrate the Chinese tourism market. It is the best way to guarantee good exposure and a fast rise in popularity and trust.
Find everything about Chinese tourism here.