Are you wondering about the Chinese visitor market? Guest post by Z.J. Tong

I was recently asked by The Inbound Report to share my thoughts on the possible WeChat ban in the U.S. For those of you not familiar with the Chinese app, this is a key way to communicate and function in China. I shared my thoughts ( you can read that here) but that got me thinking that I wanted to share some insights from someone who is still working daily in this market.

I reached out to Z.J Tong, a Chicago based friend. I interviewed Z.J. for my blog a few years ago ( here is the interview) and he was generous with his time and expertise again. Here are the questions I asked him and his responses.

Background

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, China was the largest tourist market in the world with 150 million outbound trips in 2019. Even after two consecutive years of decline due to trade war and slowing Chinese economy, China ranked 3^rd among all overseas markets for the US in 2019, second only to the UK and Japan. And it’s the largest spender among all international groups.

Of course, that has all changed due to the pandemic. With continuing political tension between the two countries, the virus, the threat on Tiktok, and the WeChat ban, what could we expect the inbound Chinese market to be in 6 months? In a year? Will they ever come back? Here are some of my personal understanding of the situations.

Has Chinese inbound tourism to the US stopped? What is the current status?

1. Since the travel ban was implemented in both US and China, inbound tourism from China has not resumed.
2. All US flights paused their China-bound flights shortly after the travel ban and only resumed at very limited capacity since early July.
3. For several months, China allowed each international airline to fly to only one port of entry once a week. Most recently, China and the United States agreed to each allow air carriers to double current flights to eight per week (8/18).
4. The 14-day mandatory quarantine requirement is still strictly enforced in China. Anybody who returned from other countries is required to be quarantined at government-assigned hotels for 14 days.
5. Thanks to strict shut-down measures, China has seen growing recovery since March. As of 8/31, there are a total of 651 confirmed cases in all of China.
6. Tourism recovery first saw travelers heading to local destinations or anywhere within driving distance. The official resumption of domestic tourism started in Mid-July when the Chinese government allowed group tour products that cross provincial borders to be sold. In the most recent month, i.e. July, domestic air travel was at 66% of the previous year’s level. Tourist attractions are now allowed to sell tickets at 50% of their capacity. There have been rumors that the capacity limit will be lifted in September. All signs are pointing to China being the first affected by the virus and may very likely to be the first to recover from it.

If it is a market we were going after, what should we now do short term? Long term?

1. 1. We need to keep in mind that we are competing with many other world destinations. I started seeing promotions of events or travel theme for 2021 on Chinese social media from international destinations.
  2. In the short-term, we need to maintain a social media presence in China. Be it on your official WeChat & Weibo accounts, or the new popular Douyin (Chinese version of Tiktok) and Little Red Book (an up and coming marketing channel to watch). Many attractions and destinations used what they call Cloud Travel to showcase their destinations over the internet. For example, we have seen live streaming of museums, and even a cooking program to showcase recipes from the destination. All of these efforts are intended to keep the connection with the potential travelers, impress and inspire them to choose their destinations when the condition improves.
  3. In the long-term, the pandemic will change many people’s travel patterns. Instead of going to crowded cities, many Chinese tourists are now headed to natural attractions. Instead of joining group tours, many are making self-driving road trips. And for those who don’t drive, we’ll continue to see more small family groups to travel on their own by hiring private guide and transportation. This means we need to create travel products to cater to this shift. It also means to make some efforts to train your local Chinese receptive operators and guides. The trend of FIT [Foreign Independent Traveler] travel has started before the pandemic, and it will continue to grow stronger, which makes OTAs [Online Travel Agencies] even more important partners to work with. You need to create strategies to market through OTAs and tp work with receptive operators, hotels and attractions to create appealing products to sell on Chinese OTAs.
  4. Even though OTA is gaining grounds, group tours are not dead yet. Making them your partner will continue to put your destinations in front of potential travelers. This is particularly important to those lesser-known destinations.

We use WeChat to communicate with Tour operators based in the US too. Do you think we will still be able to do that? Any advice for destinations or businesses that have WeChat accounts currently?

1. I do believe that the threat on banning personal WeChat use will be difficult to implement. Different from Tiktok, which has a completely separate international and domestic version, WeChat platform has only language options, but it’s the same app in China and in the US. Hence, Tiktok international version can be sold to comply with US regulation, WeChat can’t. The legality of banning personal use of communication tool is questionable and will surely trigger legal battles.
2. According to a recent Forbes survey released on Aug. 26, Nearly Half Of U.S. Businesses In China Say Trump’s WeChat Ban Could Hit Revenues. https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/08/26/nearly-half-of-us-businesses-in-china-say-trumps-wechat-ban-could-hit-revenues-survey/#38e07c4312c8 We are talking about Apple, Walmart, Disney, and many other major US companies. The same report also indicated that the Chinese government may retaliate by ordering WeChat to be removed from Apple’s app store. If that happens, we “could see global iPhone sales decline by as much as 30%”. I doubt the Trump administration is ready to burst the tech bubble yet. At least not before the election. But a second term will embolden him to do whatever he wants.
3. I do think the following services of Tencent, the parent company of WeChat are in jeopardy, i.e. Tencent Cloud services, WeChat pay in the US, etc.
4. Official WeChat accounts and mini-programs would remain an effective way to send your branding messages to the general public and travel trade community in China regardless of the US government ban. Should DMOs and attractions worry about violating government regulations by promoting on WeChat? I would look for the lead from Brand USA. One thing for sure is that if we are not on WeChat, plenty of the world’s great destinations will fill the void and grab the business with pleasure.
5. All in all, WeChat is primarily used by the Chinese. A ban is an extremely “bad deal” for the US. There’s a lot of uncertainties right now leading up to the election. Some say all these threats are election motivated. But if they were put into action, the damage could be permanent. Let’s all continue to monitor how this is evolving.

The Chinese outbound visitor market is massive and will travel to destinations besides the US once it is safe. Do you think we will be able to ever get that market share back?

The US continues to be a popular destination for Chinese travelers. That being said, the intention of traveling to the US immediately may not be on top of the mind. Besides the US being one of the worst-hit countries in the world, it will also take some time for the Chinese to unwind the hostile and unwelcoming impression they perceive through the Trump administration’s policies on China.

If Trump is re-elected, he’ll need to step back on some of the actions he took to avoid making it a lose-lose situation. If he’s not re-elected, the new administration needs to reevaluate and revise some of the policies that is spinning the bilateral relationship out of control.

Information about China Pro Marketing Partners

ChinaPro Marketing Partners is a Chicago-based tourism marketing agency. we would appreciate to be considered when you need any of the following services:

Branding strategy
Translation
Collateral design and production – including brochures, flyers, websites, logos, stickers, promotional products, trade show booth design, etc.
Chinese Travel trade outreach – both in China or to receptive operators in the US
Chinese Media outreach – We have extensive connection with Chinese media both in China and in the US.
KOL/influencer campaign – we have worked with many KOLs (Key Opinion Leader) to promote different regions and attractions. We would also love to work with you through our new “Travel with Z.J.” social media accounts.
Social Media account management – Let us help build and manage your WeChat, Weibo, Little Red Book and Douyin accounts by creating the appealing content and promoting it to the right audience.
Local Chinese community outreach including student outreach.

Thank you Z.J.!

How can I help you in September 2020?

Looking for more Time Management Help?

I just released a New Online Course – Time Management for Tourism Professionals. In this course, you will be able to learn about 5 different time Management techniques. Tourism professionals have always been super busy, but 2020 has given us a whole other set of stress. This course can help you find a technique that works best for you and helps you be more efficient. Check it out here!

DMOs/Tourism Organizations:

Are you looking for a way to provide value to your partners during this challenging time? Check out the Online Tourism Training Program with this link. I can help you provide monthly virtual training for you to offer to your partners/members. My team and I do all the work and you reap the benefits. Topics range from Best Practices for small business, to Group Tours, to Tourism Sales.

Looking to increase your Tourism knowledge and skills?

Then check out Tourism Pro Academy. This platform is a one-stop-shop. You can check out free resources, courses and other ways to work with me. I am adding new offerings this month. Click here to see what’s available.

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