AS China witnesses a burgeoning number of free independent travellers (FITs), companies are increasingly sharpening their digital marketing strategies to target this lucrative segment.
Speaking yesterday at the EyeforTravel Travel Distribution Summit Asia during a seminar on where companies should be investing their money, Roy Graff, managing director of ChinaContact, shared that China‘s FIT segment is the company’s focus.
“WTO has projected that by 2020, Chinese outbound trips will hit 200 million, but the real figure is likely to be more than 300 million. Competition for group travel is stiff nowadays, and more destinations are becoming more Chinese-friendly, making themselves accessible to independent Chinese travellers,” he explained, citing also the institution of China’s recent tourism law (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 21, 2013) aimed at protecting group travellers as the reason for the FIT focus.
Sam Woollard, director of client services for Dragon Trail Interactive, which focuses on Chinese domestic and outbound markets, said: “Reports and surveys have pointed that about 60 per cent of the Chinese are either already travelling as FITs or indicate their preference to travel independently.
“The Chinese’s spending power is growing, and research shows about 40 per cent of their expenditure is on shopping. Outbound trips are also increasingly heading to the US and Europe,” he added.
And unlike group travellers, Chinese FITs tend to be perceived as wealthy, adventurous and tech-savvy segment, added Graff.
Social media, in particular, has been singled out as an avenue to reach out the vast Chinese FIT market.
Graff recommended: “The social media is a great tool for branding in China. Companies looking to invest there should engage themselves with the local operators and wholesalers, media and businesses. More specific to the local culture is guanxi, or relationships.”
Sharing similar sentiments, Woollard added: “Social media platforms like Weibo and WeChat are big in China and very useful for social media marketing. WeChat, for instance, can be used as a mobile marketing platform as well as a customer service tool.”
WeChat, he added, can help build a community of loyal followers or “influencers” for companies.
Elaborating how the app can be useful to travel agencies, Justin Sun, WeChat’s director of international business operation, said: “Travel agencies can leverage on WeChat’s Official Account system, which operates like Facebook, yet allows 100 per cent of followers to view your posts. Facebook allows just five per cent.”
*The comment by Roy Graff from ChinaContact has been modified after clarification from Graff. The original comment said: “WTO has projected that by 2020, Chinese outbound trips will hit 200 million.”
