One of the best parts of being in the Tourism industry for many years is the people I meet. Our industry has an endless list of talented, hardworking, fun-loving and creative professionals. I decided to interview my friends and give you a peek into their lives and careers. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section, and I will follow-up with the guest interviewed. This week we hear from my friend Z.J. Tong. Z.J. and I have been on sales missions to China as members of a large U.S. delegation.
Tell us a bit about how you got started in the tourism industry.
My first job after college back in China was to coordinate and lead Elderhostel groups (now called Road Scholars) for 4 years. I was able to travel all over China with these retired American travelers and learned ins and outs of arranging group travel. After moving to the US in 1998, my initial focus was cross-cultural communication and training. But it ultimately led me back to tourism industry when clients needed assistance to better serve the large influx of Chinese tourists. After serving as Director of Tourism Marketing at Signet Jewelers, owner of Kay, Jared, and Zales, I started my own marketing firm in 2016 called ChinaPro Marketing Partners to meet the demand for China-related marketing need.
What is your current job and what are your primary responsibilities?
I’m the owner and president of my company ChinaPro Marketing Partners, a tourism marketing agency focusing on China. We have a team of 10 to help clients build brand awareness, increase traffic and enhance ticket sales through B2C platforms such as Weibo, WeChat as well as traditional public relations and through B2B travel trade outreach such as sales calls, trade shows, and sales missions. We also work closely with the Chinese communities that are already in the US. Our philosophy is that your local Chinese are the best ambassadors for your destination. My primary role is to strategize with the clients and to lead my team to supply the best services for the clients.
What are some of the changes you have seen since you began your career?
For many years, we only saw Americans traveling outbound to China. But now we have over 3 millions annual travelers from China visiting the US, making it the fastest growing international market for US tourism industry.
What tourism trends are you seeing that will impact your job and how you work in the next 2 years?
Technology is playing a more and more important role in Chinese travels. Almost every Chinese traveler uses social media such as WeChat or Weibo during their travel. We are now operating over 10 official verified Weibo and WeChat accounts for clients so that they have a voice in the Chinese social media space. In the next 2 years, we will also see Chinese mobile payment such as AliPay and WeChat Pay become more widely accepted by American businesses. The marketing opportunities through these mobile payment platforms are also important to leverage. That’s why my company ChinaPro has signed up to become a reseller to supply Chinese mobile payment solutions to our clients.
Another trend that we saw is that the group travel size is becoming smaller. And more FIT travelers are coming in the form of one or a few families traveling together. Chinese OTAs are increasing and diversifying their offers to these FIT travelers. The most recent example is that Ctrip is now partnering with Open Table to offer restaurant booking in the US. We also see more and more Chinese operators in China to making reservations directly with hotels, attractions and in some cases even transportation companies to keep themselves profitable. The implication of these changes is that we need to increase our efforts reaching operators in China in addition to working with US-based receptive operators. This adds to the cost of our clients’ limited budget. One solution we supplied, particularly to our 28 shopping destination clients is to combine forces and promote shopping as a category and educate Chinese tour operators and travelers about these shopping centers through a collective effort in China.
It’s vacation time – where do you go?
I go to China an average of 4 times a year. So I mix vacation and seeing family with work. That being said, for the past few winters, I have been to the Caribbean such as Cancun, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Miami, etc. to escape from the cold winter in Chicago for a few days.
What is your favorite app and tell us a bit about it.
Absolutely WeChat since I spend SO MUCH TIME on it every day. It is also the single most effective way to communicate with Chinese operators. Better than Emails.
What is your favorite tradeshow and why?
IPW. Because that show attracts one of the largest number of Chinese tour operators to attend in the US. Plus I get to experience the host cities from the many events they put together.
What advice do you have for someone just getting started in the tourism industry?
The industry is very much relationship based. Attend trade shows, network with industry colleagues, make friends, and build lasting relationships.