It is hard to believe it myself, but ChinaContact is now in its 10th year of business. We started in 2005 by publishing the China Outbound Travel Handbook and arranging Britain’s first ever exhibition at a travel trade fair in China – CITM, led by UKinbound. This followed the establishment of formal tourism relations between China and the UK.
After having spent three years in China running an outbound travel business, I returned to London in 2005 and saw potential where others still did not. I had seen first-hand the growth of interest in travelling abroad, but at that time, the countries that Chinese citizens were allowed to visit as tourists under China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS) policy were still limited. When Britain signed the agreement that year, two years after the other EU countries, there was much talk in the UK media about the potential of Chinese tourism. But even then, very few people understood the potential of this market. Seeing the potential to help educate the inbound sector and stay involved in China tourism, I launched ChinaContact and partnered with a handful of far-sighted tour companies, attractions and tourism boards that wanted to learn more.
In 2014, we were fortunate to work with Eurostar on their first ever China social media campaign. Our concept was to target young Chinese studying and working in Europe by using user generated video content and offering exciting competition and prizes. The campaign generated over 50 million views on Sina Weibo in just 3 months and led to a 500% increase in direct bookings from China on Eurostar’s website.
last June, we exhibited at ILTM Asia in Shanghai, promoting our clients’ fashion and luxury travel services to premium travel agencies and concierge services.
In July, the Peru tourism board, PromPeru, engaged our services to organise a high-level round table discussion in Shanghai for Peru’s Minister for Tourism with senior executives from China’s aviation and travel sectors, to explore ways of promoting more Chinese travel to Peru.
As we conclude an exciting year in China outbound tourism, we note that the market is more active than ever before. Inevitably, this means a more fragmented market and perhaps some confusion as to what is the best market entry approach for your business or destination when there are so many options and channels now available.
We aim to take the time to understand your requirements and develop a bespoke solution. The first consultation is always free so let us know when you would like to chat.
I wish you, on behalf of the ChinaContact team, a very happy holiday and a wonderful New Year.
Best regards,
Roy
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