How to Attract Chinese Tourists Even When You Have No Presence in China

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Is it possible to attract Chinese tourists without having a presence in China? As outbound travelers increase every year, here are some of the practical tips that companies can do to grow their businesses using internet and language solutions.

You don’t have to be in Mainland China to grow your business.

Well. That is a half-truth. We still believe that presence in the market plays a significant factor to understand the behavior and engage with the consumers.

But we also want to share our insights in this post that even if you’re not in China for the meantime, and you see the increasing number of tourists in your city, then this is a good read for you.

READ MORE >>> 10 Tips on China Business Etiquette 101: Why Go East?

It’s because this growing trend, where more Chinese are willing to travel this year, is an opportunity for overseas companies to attract potential customers.

According to China National Tourism Administration, “98% of Chinese citizens were willing to take trips in 2022. 43.2 % of them were willing to take an adventure and explore natural scenery and cultural customs, 34.2% tourists want to relax and reduce pressure during the trips.”

Here are practical ways to start small and then scale the strategy in the future.

1. Invest in language solutions

If you own a restaurant, as dining while traveling is one of the ways for tourist to experience the place and the culture, you may want to start translating your Food and Beverage collaterals such as menus, advertisements, and food descriptions.

Just like any other tourist, having to read the menu in your own language makes all the difference—consumers are likely to purchase a product or service if they understand it and feel like home.

According to Harvard Business Review, based on Common Sense Advisory’s survey. 50% of consumers consider language more than the price.

2. Localize payment channels

Another way to attract more tourist is to have localized payment channels in your stores or shops. One of the widely used payment method – which only takes a few seconds to pay someone via mobile phone – is via WeChatPay.

The cashless society does exist. And living and traveling within China is so convenient that you don’t need to bring cash when paying merchants.

And once you go out of China, it’s quite strange to go back to paying merchants using cash, which is a bit hassle because you need to change currency when traveling.

Would it be nice if merchants overseas, especially if they are really serious about attracting Chinese consumers would accept WeChatPay or Alipay both for brick-and-mortar shops and also in their online portals?

Did you know most consumers use WeChatPay in retail shops, restaurants, and traveling?

3. Explore offline to online promotional strategies

While most companies today see the potential of digital marketing strategies to help them grow their business, one of the things that they can also learn from Chinese companies like Alibaba is the combination of offline and online strategies to attract more customers.

For brick and mortar shops and also restaurants, this could be a gateway for engaging customers by providing real-life, meaningful customer experience, and then with a continuity of the cycle by engaging them online via mobile strategies.

A quick win for companies is to use QR codes in their ads as opt-ins for tourists that can lead them to a Chinese landing page about other products and services they offer.

China, as CNN Money put it, can’t get enough of QR codes as these are the most effective ways to promote and sell products and services.

Outbound tourism increases every year. More people want to travel abroad, so how can you promote your business even if you’re not in China?

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