Marketing to Chinese Tourists [2024-2025 Update]

Are you a travel agency trying to enter the Chinese market?

Hey, travel Business! 🌍 Let’s dive into the top 10 trends shaping tourism in China in 2024 and beyond, straight from your favorite travel influencer:

1. Eco-Friendly Adventures: Sustainability is huge! More travelers are choosing eco-friendly options.
2. Boutique Experiences: It’s all about unique, personalized experiences over generic tours.
3. Health and Wellness Retreats: Spas, meditation, and wellness are top of the list for many.
4. Cultural Immersion: Travelers are diving deep into local cultures, from cooking classes to traditional festivals.
5. Adventure Tourism: Hiking, diving, and off-the-beaten-path explorations are booming.
6. Luxury Travel: Upscale experiences are becoming more sought after, especially in places like the Maldives.
7. Remote Work and Travel: Combining work with travel? Yes, please! Long stays are in.
8. Smart Technology: Apps and AI are making travel smoother than ever.
9. Safety Protocols: Enhanced health measures are now a top priority for travelers.
10. Solo Travel: More people are taking the plunge to travel alone, discovering themselves and the world!

These trends show how dynamic and exciting the world of travel is right now.

Stay tuned, keep exploring business opportunities, and always bring your sense of adventure! 🌟

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Are you a Travel Business and want to get more Chinese Client ? 

We can fully understand your desire because China is the world’s largest outdoor market.
However, it should be noted that if you want to build a reliable travel agency in China, you need to tailor your strategy and go online.

Let’s start with a definition of lead generation …

Lead Generation is the set of actions to attract visitors and turn them into potential customers.
These leads may or may not turn out to be prospects. A lead is a Chinese tourist asking for a quotation => or information 
A lead goes beyond simple advertising or marketing contact or there is normally a more or less advanced identification and qualification of the commercial contact.
A lead would be for example for a company, a site visitor who requested a brochure. It could also be someone who asked for a recall.
These leads all have points in common : you have access to their personal information such as email address, name, phone number or even address. This information allows you to dive deeper and contact them with a personalized offer.

 

MARKETING TO CHINESE TOURISTS : WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO BE FOLLOWED?

 STEP 1: BE ONLINE 

China is one of the most connected countries in the world. 

It is estimated that there are more than 660 million Internet users in Mainland China. This represents about half of the population.
They also spend about 40% of their 25 hours per week on the Internet. The first step to reach these customers should be by creating a website.
– Create your website : that will have to follow some kind of “protocol” to make sure it will be easy to find.
– 24-hour customer service : to answer all questions 24 hours a day.

You can use several features such as “Tour From Bali” (see below) by installing and dedicating an online team to chat live.

STEP 2: BE MORE VISIBLE

If you want to be visible on the Chinese website, you must be viewable.
To be searched, you need to rank well on the most used search engine in China, which is Baidu (a Google for France)
As other Western search engines (Google for example) are not allowed in China (by China Great Firewall), Baidu owns 80% of the market share of search engines in China.
They have more than 650 million users of mobile search.
Needless to say, if you rank on the first page, see the second page, you will have access to a huge pool of traffic.

Why Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) is a Master App for Tourism:

Xiaohongshu is a content-driven, community-focused platform where users discover and share authentic experiences.

For the tourism biz, this means UGC (user-generated content) reigns supreme—people trust real traveler reviews, itineraries, and recommendations. It’s where Chinese tourists go to plan trips, look for inspiration, and discover hidden gems.

How to Master It:

1. Post Authentic Content: Share visually stunning photos and videos of destinations, real experiences, and travel tips.
2. Leverage UGC: Encourage travelers to post about their experience with your service. User reviews on Xiaohongshu build trust and credibility.
3. Partner with KOLs: Work with travel influencers to create authentic content and reviews that inspire bookings.
4. Focus on Lifestyle: Don’t just sell trips; sell the lifestyle and cultural richness of the destinations.
5. Detailed Guides & Itineraries: Chinese tourists love detailed plans—create posts that outline step-by-step guides to destinations.
6. Engage and Respond: Always engage with comments, answer questions, and build relationships in the Xiaohongshu community.

Example: A travel brand partners with a KOL to do a live review from a luxury hotel in Sanya. They document everything—food, service, room tours—and turn that into a multi-post series that gets the community buzzing.

Bottom line: If you’re in the tourism game, Xiaohongshu is a must. It’s where trust, authenticity, and aspirational content drive business. Let’s go!

 

Get a good visibility on Baidu : SEO 

To get a good ranking on Baidu, you need :
– Get Relevant Keywords on your website
– Optimize your site for Baidu.
– Be aware of the specific requirements of Baidu that are in harmony with Chinese government regulations (certain contents are forbidden, for example).
– Use internal and external backlinks that are of fundamental importance for SEO. Analyzing links that point to a site is indeed one of the main criteria of relevance of Google. The engine uses these elements to position a site in its search results.
– Use PPC (pay-per-click) which is an advertising model used by websites, in which advertisers pay the web host only when someone clicks on it

As you can see above, if you go to Baidu and type “travel agency”, Omega Travel ranks first, even if it is a foreign company. Marketing to Chinese tourists always start with search engine

STEP 3: PARTICIPATE YOUR MEMBERS VIA THE SOCIAL NETWORKS

It is estimated that about 9 of the 10 Chinese Internet users have at least one social network account.
Like search engines, China has its own version of social networking platforms.
The most famous social media in China are WeChat, Weibo, Qzone, QQ and Ren Ren.
– WeChat is an instant audio and text messaging application that offers special features to businesses if needed. There are more than 850 million WeChat users around the world.
On WeChat, you can send push notifications to your followers and share valuable content in text, video or images.
In order to create prospects, you must publish relevant and interesting content that will encourage Chinese Internet users to share, comment or love. Hire them and some of them can be prospects for your travel agency.

– Weibo is a microblogging platform like Twitter in Western countries. They have more than 250 million active users.
If you really want to connect with Chinese customers, you will need to be on WeChat and Weibo.
You can create an official account on both platforms.

Example: Official account omega europe

Omega Europe’s official account provides contact information and works 24 hours a day. (This reassures the Chinese)
Do not forget to use your social media to spread your website by sharing your QR WeChat and Weibo code online and offline.

how you can dominate Douyin for your travel business and pull in Chinese tourists, Gary V style:

Douyin (TikTok’s China version): It’s more than just short-form video content; it’s a platform for brands to go viral fast and engage deeply. You need to tell stories, not just sell trips.

 

Tips to Master Douyin for Your Travel Biz:

1. Showcase Experiences: Create immersive, high-energy travel videos that bring destinations to life—real scenery, authentic culture.

2. First 3 Seconds Matter: Hook viewers instantly with jaw-dropping visuals or emotional storytelling.

3. Use Trends & Challenges: Jump on trending Douyin hashtags and challenges related to travel or lifestyle.

4. Leverage KOLs: Partner with travel influencers (KOLs) who can organically promote your destinations.

5. Live Streaming: Engage potential travelers in real-time Q&A, showcase local experiences live to build FOMO.

6. User-Generated Content: Encourage tourists to share their experiences and tag you. Douyin thrives on authentic UGC—capitalize on it.

Everybody can generate content for you 

 

STEP 4: OCCUPY YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION

Alright, let’s get straight to it—e-reputation in tourism for Chinese travelers is absolutely critical! Here’s why:

Chinese tourists do their homework, big time. They rely heavily on reviews, social media, and influencers before booking anything. If your brand isn’t crushing it online, you’re invisible. Your WeChat, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu rep needs to be bulletproof because Chinese travelers trust peer recommendations over ads.

 

Now that you have:
– A solid foundation
– A large volume of traffic to your website
– Social Media Platforms

Next step of your Marketing to Chinese tourists strategy …

You have to take care of your reputation online. Why? 

Because of some strong values of Chinese culture, engaging with something with a bad reputation will strongly affect their own reputation and honor.
You can build a strong e-reputation by collaborating with a local marketing agency that will ensure that negative comments are hardly accessible on Baidu.
You can also participate in blogs and forums to ensure that your travel agency has a good image.
There are several forums you can join, such as LVmama, Qyer or Douban.
You can use the LVmama forum for example (see below):

Another good idea is to do public relations online and publish press releases online to communicate about the destinations and services of your travel agencies. You have for example Sina or Travel Sohu for the most famous.

 

Bottom line? A killer online presence means more bookings, more word-of-mouth, and more loyal customers. It’s about brand trust. Let’s go build that e-reputation!

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About us !

We are a Lead Generation agency based in China specializing in tourism.
For any request, contact us by e-mail first. 😉