Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Tourism will not be able to tap into the source market with largest number of outbound tourists in the world, China, unless it reaches out to aspiring travellers from the most populous country on social media platforms.
The key is promotional activities not on western social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube which are banned in China, but on platforms such as WeChat, Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ and Toudou Youku popular in China.
Several countries such as Australia have been successful with their tourism promotional activities through these platforms.
Realising this, the upcoming international conference on tourism technology (ICTT) organized by Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI), with the support of state tourism department will feature a separate session on attracting Chinese tourists to Indian destinations, especially Kerala.
Richard Matuzevich, a social media expert from China, will speak on the topic ‘How to do social media tourism promotion to get Chinese tourists?’ at the conference to be held in Kochi on September 26 and 27. “This year’s ICTT will have a separate session on attracting Chinese tourists to Kerala, which is going to be informative for tour planners and hospitality/tourism players,” said Anish Kumar P K, ICTT convener and former president of ATTOI.
In 2017, more than 131 million Chinese tourists travelled across the globe, spending about $115 billion overseas, Kumar said. “According to the China Tourism Academy, the number of outbound Chinese tourists increases by 17% to 20% every year. It is also estimated that there will be around 200 million Chinese traveling abroad by 2020,” he said.
Kerala over the years has witnessed a growth in the number of Chinese tourists visiting destinations here (the state received 7,113 Chinese tourists in 2017 and 9,630 in 2018, registering a growth of 35.39%).
“But, we have not been able to tap the market. There are big changes in China’s travel market, which also means big opportunities for marketers,” the ICTT convener said.
The third edition of ICTT will also address the challenges related with technology faced by Indian tourism and hospitality industry. Around 10 subject experts across the globe will offer their insights on online promotion of the business.
Around 500 delegates, including tour operators, hoteliers, resort owners, homestays, SEO (search engine optimization) companies, software firms, social media marketing companies and bloggers, are expected to attend the two-day conference at Le Meridian hotel which will conclude on September 27 coinciding with World Tourism Day.
The key is promotional activities not on western social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube which are banned in China, but on platforms such as WeChat, Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ and Toudou Youku popular in China.
Several countries such as Australia have been successful with their tourism promotional activities through these platforms.
Realising this, the upcoming international conference on tourism technology (ICTT) organized by Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI), with the support of state tourism department will feature a separate session on attracting Chinese tourists to Indian destinations, especially Kerala.
Richard Matuzevich, a social media expert from China, will speak on the topic ‘How to do social media tourism promotion to get Chinese tourists?’ at the conference to be held in Kochi on September 26 and 27. “This year’s ICTT will have a separate session on attracting Chinese tourists to Kerala, which is going to be informative for tour planners and hospitality/tourism players,” said Anish Kumar P K, ICTT convener and former president of ATTOI.
In 2017, more than 131 million Chinese tourists travelled across the globe, spending about $115 billion overseas, Kumar said. “According to the China Tourism Academy, the number of outbound Chinese tourists increases by 17% to 20% every year. It is also estimated that there will be around 200 million Chinese traveling abroad by 2020,” he said.
Kerala over the years has witnessed a growth in the number of Chinese tourists visiting destinations here (the state received 7,113 Chinese tourists in 2017 and 9,630 in 2018, registering a growth of 35.39%).
“But, we have not been able to tap the market. There are big changes in China’s travel market, which also means big opportunities for marketers,” the ICTT convener said.
The third edition of ICTT will also address the challenges related with technology faced by Indian tourism and hospitality industry. Around 10 subject experts across the globe will offer their insights on online promotion of the business.
Around 500 delegates, including tour operators, hoteliers, resort owners, homestays, SEO (search engine optimization) companies, software firms, social media marketing companies and bloggers, are expected to attend the two-day conference at Le Meridian hotel which will conclude on September 27 coinciding with World Tourism Day.