Those dreamy chateaus scattered along the Loire River are inseparable parts of France’s Tourism resources. And in China, those chateaus are attracting more and more tourists.
It is just the beginning, as China National Radio introduces: the Loire Valley is not so famous to the Chinese, but it’s one of the favorite sites for French people.
We can start to see more and more activities aimed at Chinese customers held by chateau-owners.
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And Chinese visitors are learning more and more about French chateaus and catching their interest.
The four most famous chateaus in France now are Chateau de Chambord, Chateau de Chenonceau, Chateau Royal d’Amboise and Chateau Saint-Michel (香波堡,舍农索城堡, 昂布瓦兹城堡, 圣米歇尔山城堡 in Chinese).
What makes them distinctive from the Chinese? How can they be promoted more widely in China?
Online promotion
Unlike other chateaus from the same valley, these four chateaus have pushed more on online promotion.
They all have created their definitions of “Baidu Baike”(Chinese Wikipedia).
In fact, there are only 4 chateaus from Loire Valley that have their definitions in Chinese: Chateau de Chambord, Chateau de Chenonceau and two new-comers Chateau Royal d’Amboise and Chateau de Cheverny. It not only opens the door for Chinese people to learn about these chateaus on the internet but also creates an image of a high-class chateau because now on “Baidu Baike”, only important companies or organizations can have definitions on it. As a result, people trust them more when they read “Baidu Baike”.
They have also made efforts to increase their media coverage which means they put news about them online and that news includes travel notes, news about their events and service, etc.
Their efforts seem to be paying off. It is obvious on the most popular Chinese SNS, Weibo. There are 2,728 posts on Weibo talking about Chateau de Chambord while there’s only 1 post about Château de Villandry which didn’t do as much promotion. And the more people see news about your chateau, the easier for them to remember yours.
As mentioned before, most Chinese people have very limited knowledge about any French chateau, so regardless of the reputation of your chateau in France, with the right promotion you can catch the Chinese market.
Here are some factors to get Chinese people interested in a French chateau.
1. History
Chinese are quite interested in their own history in their daily life, so they are quite sensitive to history.
They are also very interested in the history of foreign countries, especially those romantic stories from France. If you can combine some history stories with your chateau like Chateau de Usse did with sleeping beauty, it will surely be attractive to the Chinese population.
2. Wine
China’s wine market is increasing at a surprising speed. It’s reported that wine imported to China has increased by 70% in 2011. And wine and chateau are naturally linked together. In Chinese, chateau can be translated into “酒庄” which means “garden of wine” in Chinese.
3. Celebrity
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After realizing celebrities’ charisma, some chateaus have made some events even wedding ceremonies for them to catch the eyes of their fans. Stephen Huynh couple and the Brad Pitt couple recently will make a good example of that.
4. Cooperation with a local agency
Most Chinese tourists still travel in groups. To visit a single chateau is not so convenient for them. So cooperation with a Chinese tourism agency will be a good choice in this situation. Maybe you don’t want your chateau to be a spot on the travel schedule of some agency. But what’s more important is what they will talk about the chateau when they return from their trip.
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Read also: China hotel online marketing
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