Social media drawing more tourists

Digital marketing is attracting a new generation of Chinese travelers to the United Kingdom, Ireland and the rest of Europe, according to tourism officials.

In the past, many Chinese tourists traveled in large tour groups, often on a coach and with a strict schedule. But the next generation of travelers is more independent and people are increasingly designing their own itineraries.

Tourism organizations have responded by refocusing their marketing strategies and using social media campaigns and digital channels to reach their new audience.

Robert Li, director of the US-Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Management at Philadelphia's Temple University, said: "This is consistent with the overall trend in advertising, where, these days, advertisers increasingly invest more in digital media in general, and social media in particular."

Chinese tourists are relatively young and have been quick to adapt to new technology, Li said. "China has leapfrogged many other countries in terms of digital technology developments, which prepared a generation of consumers who are more 'digital-ready'."

Tourism Ireland, the tourism body that promotes the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, invited a group of Chinese bloggers to visit last year. They experienced such things as the Northern Ireland Year of Food, Game of Thrones attractions and a newly opened center honoring playwright Seamus Heaney, the recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in literature.

James Kenny, Tourism Ireland's China manager, said the digital strategies it implemented are reaping dividends.

In 2016, 135 million Chinese people traveled overseas. They spent in excess of $260 billion on their travels.

Chinese travelers are believed to be heavily influenced by key opinion leaders and Glenda Rochead, consumer public relations manager at VisitScotland, said the organization has responded by inviting Chinese opinion leaders to visit, so their online followers can hear about it.

"So far this year, Scotland has welcomed two Chinese influencers, Nicki and KK, and 1.6 million Chinese people tuned in to their livestreams in Edinburgh," she said.

Oliver Sedlinger, an international tourism consultant at Sedlinger and Associates, said new media is affordable and is quick to adapt to new developments. "New media have a technical advantage; they are more mobile, can produce content faster and cheaper and can react quicker to feedback," he said.

"Digital content is also quite convenient, since it stays available at your fingertips at any time."

wangmingjie@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily 11/09/2017 page10)