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Marketing Guide to Attract Chinese Tourists to Singapore

Chinese Rich tourists love to travel to Singapore, it is the hottest destination for young Chinese rich kids. Singapore’s international tourist  reached 6.3 million in 2022, which is 33% of 2019 levels, according to Singapore Tourism Board’s statistics.

The travel industry in Singapore generate  $13.8 billion  Singapore dollars.

  • 2.86 million Chinese tourists visited Singapore by 2016-2019
  • Chinese tourists spent nearly $3.5 billion before covid

Singapore is welcoming back Chinese travelers,  but a full return of Chinese tourists isn’t likely in 2023. Travel recovery from China is unlikely to exceed 60% of pre-Covid levels by year-end.

Wealthy Chinese love to travel and spend their money in Singapore

Singapore tourism

Tourism in Singapore is a big industry and contribute to the Singaporean economy by attracting 16.4 million international tourists in 2016, about 3 times of Singapore’s total population. It has also a good and natural environment, and maintains heritage conservation programs.

Singapore has been known as a playground for the rich, and it’s true that this small city-state does have a strong taste of wealth. Singapore is more than just high-end shopping malls, luxury hotels, and fine dining, but there are also an important history, diverse and exotic ethnic quarters to discover, along with the many family  attractions and lovely public spaces that make visiting this slightly futuristic city worthwhile.

The Singapore Tourism Bureau is banking on a new approach to attract more Chinese Travellers- it hopes to engage with the Chinese on a deeper level.

“Most of the Chinese have some level of familiarity with Singapore. They know the Singapore story, they know our founding prime minister. We want to invite them to know us in a deeper and more intimate way,” said the tourism agency’s chief executive Lionel Yeo in Beijing on Thursday (Sept 7).

Last year, Chinese People were the top spenders in Singapore, with USD 3.5 billion worth of spendings, (mostly on shopping).

Some 2.86 million Chinese tourists visited Singapour in 2016 , making it the number two travellers market in Asia  (behind Indonesia and ahead of Malaysia.)

Chinese Rich People like to Party in Singapore

Singapore in 2022-2023 is seeing an influx of ultra-wealthy Chinese People looking to protect their wealth from a Communist Party 
The Chinese governement recent crackdowns on Chinese billionaires and tax rich celebrities, as well as three years of zero-Covid, have led many wealthy Chinese to look for a safe place.

Relocating to Singapore is very popular. The Chinese richest people loves Singapore, consider as the new hong Kong.

Singapore Tourism Bureau is very Active

The Tourism Bureay launched its new branding campaign in Chinawith singers Stefanie Sun as its new ambassador.

“This campaign is more about brand building, not just about tourism… It is quite a step up,” said Ms Sun, who is taking up the role for a second time after her appointment in 2010.

While she introduced attractions such as Universal Studio and Marina Bay Sands to the Chinese back then, this time, it is about inviting them to see the Singaporean lifestyle, said Ms Sun

Singapore

 $3.5 billion spent by chinese tourists by 2016

Singapore

The Singapore Tourism Board is developing a new approach to attract more Chinese tourists and it hopes to engage with the Chinese on a deeper level.

Most of the Chinese have some high level of familiarity with Singapore. They know many things about the Singapore story. Singapore Tourism wants to build a strong relationship with them, in order to establish a deeper and more intimate trust.

Last year, Chinese tourists were the top spenders in Singapore, with $3.5 billion worth of spending, mostly on shopping. Some 2.86 million Chinese tourists visited the country last year, making it the second visitor market, behind Indonesia and ahead of Malaysia.

Singapore

Recently, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has developed a strong cooperation with leading Chinese digital and mobile services including Alitrip, Tuniu and Baidu, in order to offer Chinese visitors a luxury suite of travel services.

These Singapore tourism players also expect these digital partnerships to enable them better engage in the Chinese market.

Singapore Travel Board worked with online travel services Alitrip and Tuniu, social review sites Dianping and Mafengwo, to curate and distribute content on Singapore’s destination offerings over a period of two to three years.

Why chinese tourists travel to Singapore ?

…For the setting

Or “the Lion City”, is one of the world’s most beautiful and greenest cities, but as modern and developed as Singapore is, it might sound surprising to you but in Singapore nature is everywhere! There are trees along every road, parks in every neighborhood in the city and there are even gardens in many shopping malls.

…For the gastronomy

Without surprise Singapore is a heaven for every food lovers, there is no other place like Singapore, the singularity of the city is that it’s a place where western food meets eastern cuisine and they compliment each other so naturally.

…To shop !

Shopping is also considered as a national pastime and a favorite activity for locals and chinese tourists coming to Singapore. From local markets, Chinatown, Arab Street and Little India to the shiny portals of Orchard Road, there is something for everyone, let’s not forget to mention the duty-free shopping at Changi Airport.

The presence of recent Chinese (2022-2023) arrivals is felt in Singapore, with some relocating to luxury appartment with waterfront views on Sentosa Island,

They are searching for fun lie theme park,  casino and a prestigious golf club.

Younger Chinese are very fashionable. They usually keep to themselves and dine amongst themselves, which is not surprising,”

…For the culture

Singapore has many similarities with China regarding customs, festivals and even culture. Interestingly, over 70% of the singaporean population has chinese heritage.

…For the practicality

The Mandarin taught in Singaporean schools is very similar to the Mandarin used in China. Most chinese singaporeans acquire the language quite well so it is very easy for chinese visitors to get around and about without speaking a foreign language.

…For the ease of transportation

Singapore has a well- established integrated public transportation system, as such tourists can easily plan their itineraries by taking buses and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).

…For the safety

Lastly chinese tourists enjoy going to Singapore because of the excellent safety rate that the city displays, this can be explained by the very strict rules emplemented by the city. On the other hand, the strictness also makes Singapore one of the world’s safest cities for travelers.

…For business trips

Singapore is one of the world’s largest economic sectors, and the Travel & Tourism industry is very important as it allows the country to create jobs, and brings in a lot to the national economy. Singapore has one of the highest per capita incomes in Asia and is an important global business as well as a transportation hub for this reason the number of business trips to Singapore has constantly been on the rise in the past years.

Juliana Kua, assistant CEO of Singapore Tourism Board, xplain that there is “a strong pipeline of MICE events coming up to attract Chinese corporate travelers.

… To relocate

The presence of recent Chinese (2022-2023) arrivals is felt in Singapore, with some relocating to luxury appartment with wonderful prestigious views.

Chineseare searching for fun lie theme park,  casino and a prestigious golf club.

A paradise for real estate companies, selling luxury condos, or luxury travel agency hire chauffeurs and enrol kids in private schools.

They love to consum luxury stuff like luxury cigra, or Rolls Royces and Bentleys, and are often spotted at top-tier golf clubs. The golf is so popular like be a member of the Sentosa Golf Club, where foreign members pay $670,000 a year.

Covid-19 pandemic and it’s impact on Singapore tourism

As with many other international destinations Singapore’s tourism sector took a serious hit, proof with the figures below :

  • International visitor arrivals fell by 76% (July 2020)
  • Decline in tourism 39% (2020)
  • Drop in Visa delivery 61%

The top three sectors contributing to almost half of the singaporean tourism industry are; Retail, Accommodation, Food and Beverage. As a result of the pandemic, these sectors have very much suffered significant declines.

  • Retail : -52%
  • Food and Beverage : -36%
  • Accommodation -31%

But the singaporean Tourism industry is expected to go back to its previous state in the future years, but it will all depend on the evolution of the Coronavirus management.

Lead generation : Let the travellers contact you. 

Lead generation is the process of attracting and capturing Chinese travellers and converting them into customers. Chinese social media landscape is unique, fragmented and dynamic. The Chinese’s consumers want to see unique and authentic content before taking their decisions. In China, travel agency willing to attract Chinese tourist should, first of all, understand the culture of the Chinese and adapt their services to them. They are more and more sophisticated; they love luxury services.

Leads = Asking for Quotation 

Thanks to all these leads you have access to their personal information such as email address, name, phone number or even address. Then, with all their information you can directly contact them and develop a strong engagement.

Invest in your Online Reputation in China… 

A reputation can’t just affect your personal life, but also you company image, and in China reputation mean a lot. The internet is full of many storytellings and news that could affects your agency image in one way or the other. The Chinese’s tourists are looking for tourism agency that has a good online reputation and more visibility. This is the reason why, the agency often creates social buzz and forums to improve their reputation.

Singapore : Chinese Tourists are afraid of Cheating Travel Professionals 

A tourism agency that wants to keep the Chinese as active clients has to promote its image on the right online portals to engage Chinese interest. Social media platforms like Weibo, Wechat, Douban can be used by marketers or use Chinese bloggers, key opinion leaders, banner displays and influencers.

Bad contents can be censored by the Chinese authority and generate a bad reputation about your agency. This situation could be influence tourist ‘decision and pushing down your travel agency image and you could lose all credibility among Chinese tourist. All Chinese consumers are now connected and they able to get all information about what they need, and also know what people said about your agency and listen to the conversation.

Baidu SEO : be visible Online to attract Chinese Tourists to Singapore

You are from Singapor so you should know baidu right ? 

SEO(search engine optimization) on Baidu (the Google of China)  generate more exposure and traffic. Our team composed of expert optimizes your website and the content to deliver SEO results on Baidu. Baidu is the largest Chinese search engine with 80% of the market. The process is different in China; it requires different skills and techniques compared to western search engines like Google. Smart SEO strategy focuses not only on improving the ranking of your website but also creating good quality content for potential customers.(Chinese tourists to Singapore)

You have to put the backlinks from some quality information websites that are also important for SEO, in order to get increase visibility to your website. SEO optimized website and content will give to your website to be trustworthy and reliable. Finally, you can also use PPC (pay-per-click) which is the fact of paying to rank higher on a set of keywords. 

More information on Baidu SEO 

Using Alipay in Singapore

Singapore is on the move to build a “cash free” future, the aim is to make digital payements the majority. Nowadays  digital payments are available in many singaporean stores, restaurants and even shopping malls. Establishments offering digital payement will display a QR code, alongside a list of the payment platforms which can be used. There’s then just a simple to scan.

In Singapore Alipay and WeChat Pay are available by some merchants, especially in areas where chinese residents and tourists often visit.

Social media : Wechat & Weibo 

You are Singapore People , so you should know that Chinese do not use Facebook and Instagram right ? 

Social media in China is not so difficult; the secret is to generate “traffic”. In China, we know how to start, how to facilitate and develop these conversations among 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.

On all these social media, you can send push notifications to your followers and share good content in text, video or images. In order to create leads, you have to publish unique and interesting content that will push Chinese social media users to share, comment or like. Engage them and some of them may just be leads for your travel agency.

WeChat is a Chinese version of whatsapp & Facebook Messenger. It is an audio/text instant messaging app which offers special features such as wechat account for agency, Wechat pay, buy taxi, book reservation…There are more than 800 million active users all around the world. It is useful to lure Chinese tourists to Singapore. 

Weibo is a micro blogging platform just like Twitter/ instagram.  They have more than 550 million active users. If you want to truly connect with Chinese customers you have to be present on WeChat and Weibo. You can create on both platforms an official account which will offer you special features.

More information about Chinese Social Media 

Chinese website (Simplifed Chinese ) 

You are Singapourian travel Professionals so you should understand how important it is to have information in Mandarin on your Website. 🙂

Chinese tourists to Singapore

Chinese internet users trust more Chinese Website than English website. Get more visibility in the most connected country in the world, through a Chinese Website is crucial. With more than 900 million Chinese internet users, they spend more than 40% of their daily life on Internet.

Your website have to respect a certain kind of “protocol” to be sure that it will be easily found by the Chinese visitor.

You should also, be available for your Chinese visitors. The best would be to have a 24/24h customer service able to reply to any queries anytime.

Now you know the important asset to attract Chinese tourists, but the fact is you can’t apply all these things alone. Trust me; you really need a good digital marketing agency, which have a right expertise and Chine market experience to help you to enter in the Chinese tourism market.

Chinese tourism market is very competitive and you have to think in term of money and marketing strategy. Don’t be afraid to invest in this market because the ROI (Return of Investment) will be huge. Chinese tourist is the “king” of outbound tourism, every country want to lure them, so doesn’t be late, the decision is now.

 Contact us to discuss your project in China !

GMA is a Digital Marketing agency specialized in e-Tourism.

GMA is a digital marking agency based in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen with seven years of experience in the China market. Every day our international team composed by nearly 40 experts are working to help you to build a strong presence in the Chinese market. We respond to all your expactations for better results.

We worked with international brand over the world like Objectif France, Jacada Travel, Luxury Beach House Maldives… and they can be testified about our service and the result in their agency.

We used to work with the new marketing tools in order to provide you a great service.

if you are :

  • a Hotel in Singapore
  • Airliner Company
  • Tour Operator
  • Shopping Mall and Singapore government agency
  • National Museum of Singapore
  • Singapore Airport

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2 Comments

  1. Chinese Tourists to Singapore Ranks Top 5 Spenders . Chinese tourists, the second largest group of travelers to visit Singapore , are now among the top five groups of spenders, do you help to setup Alipay and WeChat Pay account in Singapore?
    What is the range of your price?

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