Chinese tourists want to go to UK in 2023 but …
Chinese tourists would love to travel back to the United Kingdom, visiting the country and shopping.
- More than 880,000 Chinese tourists spent more than half a billion pounds in the UK in 2018
- Chinese tourists spent more than £29m in shopping centres and on high streets across the UK
The UK tourism bureau hope that the trip of Chinese travelers will largely contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry.
“China is still one of our most valuable markets. We predict a strong rebound and hope there will be an appetite for travel…. We are trying to…grow value back as quickly as we can,”
said Patricia Yates, CEO of VisitBritain.
“We particularly like the Chinese market because they (Chinese tourists) spend a lot on their trips and stay longer. When we are rebuilding a sustainable and resilient industry, people who stay longer are obviously the people that we are trying to attract,”
she added.
UK plan to receive 250 000 Chinese travelers in 2023.
Chinese use to stay 16 nights on average and spending 1,937 pounds ($2,330) per person, biggest spender after rich UAE.
China the second-most valuable inbound travel market for the UK and is strategic.
She added that the growing number of Chinese students in the UK is an added benefit.
Having Chinese students here is a win situation for the education industry.
The best chance to attract Chinese visitors is through the creation of a digital marketing strategy.
Nowadays, China is the country which provides the largest number of tourists worldwide. But maybe, most important to companies is the fact that Chinese travelers are the ones who more spend during their trips. That is the reason why many businesses are trying to attract them.
The number of Chinese outbound travelers exceeded 100 million in the world in 2018.
Chinese travel abroad for different reasons such as sightseeing, go shopping. Therefore, British companies have adapted their services to the Chinese culture in order to attract tourists from the Asian giant.
The UK is on their way to the top European destination!
The United Kingdom has the objective to make the country as one of the most popular destinations to Chinese tourists wanting to travel to Europe. With the purpose to attract Chinese travelers, United Kingdom has developed different marketing strategies.
Over the past years the amount of Chinese tourists has rapidly boost due to the growth of the Chinese middle-class. The shopping amount become biggest since Chinese People are getting richer.
One of its most successful marketing strategies was a campaign launched by Visit Britain, the national tourism agency responsible for promoting Great Britain worldwide.
That online campaign encouraged Chinese population to give Mandarin names to tourist attractions, famous people, places and food from the United Kingdom. The campaign was developed via Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo.
VisitBritain also created a campaign called Great China Welcome in order to attract 650,000 Chinese tourists to the UK a year by 2020, contributing about 1.1 billion pounds annually to the UK economy.
Through this campaign, hotels, restaurants, attractions and other hospitality businesses have become “China-ready”. Nearly 200 businesses are participating in this program which is free and open to any UK business which fulfils the necessary requirements.
Online video portal
Another digital marketing strategy of VisitBritain to attract Chinese visitors was the creation of an online video portal in China, LeTV.com with the aim to show the British’s culture and heritage to Chinese population. Through LeTV.com, VisitBritain launched the first British online film festival in China, called Great Britain on Screen where Chinese audience had the opportunity to discover the British lifestyle via UK’s film and TV programs.
Creating an online video portal is a very efficient way to attract more Chinese customers because they are used to watching a lot of videos to learn about a huge variety of topics, from how to use cosmetics to what the hottest destinations are.
Chinese tourists are the world most wanted tourists and they know it!
Majority of Chinese tourists are not able to speak and understand English. That is the reason why many hotels, attractions and tour agencies from UK are working to provide printed, online or audio information in Mandarin or Cantonese to Chinese travelers. With the aim to attract Chinese tourists, those businesses are also providing Chinese food and training their staff to meet cultural needs and expectations of Chinese visitors.
As example, many British stores have hired Mandarin-speaking staff to better deal with Chinese consumers while other stores have created Chinese-language apps, offering Chinese tourists store guides, restaurant menus and events details in order to be more China-friendly.
In addition, UK government has made easier the process to obtain the tourism visa to Chinese tourists. Last July, British authorities announced improvements to the visa system in China such as a 24-hour visa service or a new service allowing tourists to apply for the British and Schengen visa at the same time.
As we see, the best way to attract more Chinese visitors is through the creation of digital marketing strategies including Chinese social media platforms where businesses have the chance to reach a huge audience.
Interested in attracting Chinese tourists? Come and contact us to discuss your project!.
How to lure Chinese tourists to the UK?
Lead Generation
Lead Generation is the process of attracting and capturing Chinese internet users and converting them into customers. This process is unique, fragmented and dynamic in China social media landscape. The Chinese’s consumers dont just want a simple Ads, but they want to see rich and authentic content, a storytelling before to trust you. Some travel agency willing to attract Chinese tourists should, first of all, understand their expectations and adapt their services to Chinese consumers. They are more and more sophisticated; they love luxury and high services.
Search Engine in China
Chinese Search … and use different search Engine toool
SEO on Baidu leads to more exposure and traffic. Our team composed of experts optimize your website and the content to deliver SEO results on Baidu. In fact, Baidu is the largest Chinese search engine with 82% of the market. The SEO process is completely different in China, different skills and techniques are required when compared to western search engines like Google. Smart SEO strategy is focusing to create a good quality content for potential clients. Travel agency that understand this will have a competitive advantage because they will build up a better online image and reputation. This not only improves visibility, but also leads to the Chinese having a strong level of trust in your company, this leads to results.
E-Reputation is the conerstone
Chinese consumers don’t buy company but they buy trust. this is the reason why the reputation is very important in China. if you want reach more Chinese tourists in your travel agency, you have to work on your reputation. The Chinese’s tourists are looking for travel agency that have a good image and more visibility; they often create social buzz and forums to gauge the reputation of brands. A travel agency that wants to keep the Chinese as active clients has to promote its image on the right online portals to engage Chinese interest. Travel platforms like CTrip,Qunar, Qyer, Mafengwo,.. and some forums.
Social Media in China
Chinese social media is very different to western. The secret in Chinese social media is to generate “traffic”. In China, we are expert, and we know how to develop and engage more Chinese citizens. We combine Online Public Relations, Design and Viral Marketing with attractive communication methods on every Chinese platform:Wechat, Weibo,Tieba,Tianya,Douban, etc
Our Agency’s target:
– Generating traffic on Chinese social media channel to support our clients in this field,
– To educate and explain digital works in China and demonstrate how well we know our industry.
WE CAN HELP YOU
We know how to make it work for your travel agency in China.
We are developing social media projects in China every day.
Hello
We have about 6 Three and Four star hotels in London and wish to attract Chinese guests.
Can you please facilitate in getting contacts for us.
Do you have an office in Europe or in the UK?
Would appreciate a response from your end.
Kind regards
SR Ambrose
Very good article. I am a Travel agency that think of China Tour Operators , kind of copoeration. What do you suggest to deal with these Big Companies ?
What do they ask from European Small Inbound Travel Partner ?
We are a bespoke walking tour operation in the lake district uk and are looking to expand our business
How Many Chinese Tourists Went to UK in 2019.?
Any recent datas?
Hello
I work for the marketing department of a small family owned bed and breakfast
in Birmingham, this post has been very helpful to our strategy for attracting travelers
specially from China and other Asian countries. thank you so much
Hello
I used to live in Hong Kong and we would travel back to the UK once a year ,
Im glad more chineese people are going to england every year.
Hello
the UK has become a great destination for tourism and business they are a leader of this things compared to most of the rest of the world , its great to see a piece like this one.
Hello
I want to go to the Uk in a couple of years , its a little bit pricey but its worth it I assume
this article has been great to add to that future trip.
Greetings
Ive been in the UK a couple of times and its been great so much history,
I want to go back as soon as they get the pandemic under control, a great place to check off the bucket list if you’ve never been.
Hello
I never knew the Chinese market was such a big influence in business across the UK but
withe the pandemic we realized just how many tourists actually come here every year.
thanks for the post!