How to attract Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka?

Chinese tourists in Sri Lanka is a big source of income. Many local Small Business dream to attract Chinese wealthy travelers but few succeed.

 

What are main problems of hopistality business in Sri Lanka? 

1. Passive, they are teh supplier of Chinese travel agencies 
2. No investment, no website, no effort to lure Chinese tourist 
3. No Language in Chinese , no effort 
4. no digital Action, (social media like WeChat) 
5. A poor reputation or no reputation for local travel agencies and hotels & restaurant 
6. No information available online in China for Chinese future travelers (leck of pictures, KOL video , tesimonials, trips guide) 

 

The China Outbound Tourism Research Institute predicts that Chinese tourists would travel abroad on 110 million occasions in 2023, which is two-thirds more than they did in 2019.

Sri Lanka 2023 Tourism Program by China

Sri Lanka will be one of the nations in China’s outbound tourism pilot program, which started on February 6, 2023, according to the Chinese ministry’s announcement. Just a small number of nations have been included, according to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Beijing, and their inclusion reflects how closely the two nations are linked. The Embassy said that it had repeatedly advocated for Sri Lanka to be put on such a list.

Therefore with 167,863 Chinese tourists arriving in Sri Lanka in 2019, which was the final full year of Chinese visitors in Sri Lanka prior to the epidemic, China is one of the top three markets for Sri Lankan tourism.

Sri Lanka expects to welcome 240,000 tourists from that country in 2023. According to Priantha Fernando, chair of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the number of Chinese visitors will increase after February, when the Chinese New Year has passed.

 

Here are the main keys for Sri Lanka to attract more Chinese tourists:

Promotion

The increase in Chinese tourists coming to Sri Lanka observed between 2012 and 2019 is mostly due to massive campaigns to advertise the country in China by the Sri Lankan government. Those campaigns were in the form of public programs and bus branding.

The Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority also organized an event to celebrate the arrival of the 100,000th Chinese tourist in the country. The tourist named Ha Yeon and who is the General Manager of a beauty products company was especially welcomed at the Aiport in Katunayake. The lucky winner was offered accommodation in a local luxury hotel and air tickets to come back to Sri Lanka.

Diplomatic relations

Diplomatic relations are the key for Sri Lanka to attract more Chinese tourists. It will enable the country to obtain more visibility into China. But the Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau seems to have already begun this step. Indeed it signed an agreement with Zhongshan Municipal Tourism Bureau. This Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties will help develop cooperation between Sri Lanka and Zhongshan City. They will indeed support each other’s tourism promotion events in both cities.

Infrastructures

For Sri Lanka to attract more Chinese tourists, the country has to supply them with quality infrastructure. It will be therefore necessary to provide more direct flights between the two countries as for now there is just 1 weekly 7 hours flight from Beijing to Sri Lanka.  Most of the other flights usually make one stop in Abu Dhabi.

As for the Hotels, Chinese tourists who can allow themselves to travel abroad usually like to stay in upscale accommodations.  It is then necessary for the country to make sure they will have enough of this accommodation type to please the Chinese tourists.

Other adjustments

Chinese love to travel abroad but most of them also need to feel a bit at home while they are far from their actual one. This is why it is important for Sri Lankan Tourism Professionals to detect the needs of their Chinese customers. Learn mandarin is now a must in order to provide them with quality service because most Chinese tourists do not speak English. They will also like to include Chinese food on menus and kettles in the rooms to make tea or hot water.

And since shopping is the main hobby of Chinese abroad, the country will also have to provide Chinese tourists with payment facilities that accept Chinese credit cards.

????Expert tips: How to increase the number of bookings from Chinese?

1. Optimize your website for Chinese visitors 
2. Register on Chinese OTA. Ctrip and Qunar are the best choices
3. Spread the word about your accommodation and services in Chinese media
4. Use Baidu Ads for more traffic

Digital marketing: a sure way to reach the Chinese tourists

We can therefore see that the Sri Lankan authorities understood the importance of promotion. Their actions are however mainly directed at offline targets.

With 634 million Chinese going online and 70% of the travel booking made through e-tourism platforms and websites, Sri Lankans tourism agencies must also have an important digital presence!

A Chinese website

If you want to reach Chinese tourists, it is important to have a Chinese website. A lot of Chinese tourists do not speak or read English. so it is very important for you to create a Chinese website in mandarin language. Moreover, you have to be visible on Baidu, the first Chinese search engine with 82% of the market.

SEO on Baidu

Baidu is the source of 81% of the research made in China. Before buying everything, Chinese consumers will first spend time on Baidu to have more information about your brand. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a strategy that works to rank your official website in the natural search results over time. If your ranking on the natural search results is good, you will be more visible and Chinese consumers will trust you.

Guide to Baidu SEO – China #1 Search Engine

PPC on Baidu

Banner ads on Baidu or Pay Per Click will create traffic on your website; this is by increasing your visibility as well as giving you more confidence in your prospects, who will see you better referenced on the web and will be more inclined to give credit to your offer.

WeChat

WeChat is used by companies to advertise? This is in the form of an official account, where Internet users subscribe and can receive some information per month on the company (promotions, exceptional events…), but also in the form of ambassadors (also known as influencers). Internet users who, for remuneration, agree to solicit other Internet users by advertising the company on discussion groups and their own WeChat profile.

Using Wechat to make yourself known is a fairly popular method because it has the advantage of not spamming; Ambassadors target targeted discussion groups where Internet users are specifically looking for this type of product, and Wechat can be used as a small search engine to find official brand accounts. It is the Internet users who are looking for information, not you who invade their personal space. Therefore, you just have to do everything to be visible in the first results on WeChat, sharing content and being actively engaged in groups.

Public Relations

Public Relations is one of the key points on which any digital marketing strategy should be based. More than attracting Chinese visitors to your website, it is important to raise your brand awareness and make your brand more visible to Chinese buyers by using online Public Relations. You have to keep in mind that your message needs to be carefully tailored for your target. Indeed, all the content that is released must be in line with the brand’s positioning as well as with its intended customers. Moreover, it is important to choose the right media for your Public Relations. You should avoid offline media because most par of the PR activities are now taking place online.

E-reputation

Your reputation on Chinese social networks is essential to reassure your customers. The first reflex of the Chinese netizens will be to look for information about your account, that is why you must look after your image on the net and master the disclosure of negative opinions, in particular by responding cordially and professionally to degrading comments on your activity.

5 Tools To Work On Your Reputation In China

IWOM Internet Word of Mouth

The user experience is what Chinese tourists trust most. So, prior to booking their holidays, they will check other users’ experiences. Once that is done they will plan them accordingly: go to the well-reviewed resorts, and avoid the heavily criticised places.

With 90% of the Chinese netizens having a social network account, Sri Lankan tourism agencies must make sure to have a presence on Chinese social networks and tourism-focused platforms to have a better chance of attracting the Chinese tourists

KOL: Key opinion leaders

The KOLs are people with a high level of influence amongst the internet user community. If e-tourism companies control the KOL they can control the opinion of thousands. As a consequence, they can easily focus Chinese tourists’ attention on Sri Lanka as a premium destination.

How Chinese Celebrities can Boost your tourism destination ?

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