The New Chinese Traveler Won’t Be Receptive to Old Marketing Strategies

Marketers beware: Prior ways of marketing to Chinese consumers, including travelers, won’t work as well today because their preferences changed during the pandemic.

Trip.com Chief Operating Officer Schubert Lou said that after China’s November 11 Single’s Day, which has its parallels to Black Friday shopping sprees in other locales, it became apparent that sales levels “flattened,” and that consumers were more focused on essentials and things that add value.

Lou said he couldn’t predict when Chinese would start outbound travel again although search traffic for travel is soaring. However, when Chinese travelers return, they will be more cautious and won’t just travel to any available destination, he said, adding that as Single’s Day showed, Chinese travelers will pay more attention to brands and quality than they did in the past.

Skift Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia interviewed Lou of online travel agency Trip.com and Wego CEO Ross Veitch on “the Middle East’s Growth as a Global Gateway” at Skift Global Forum East in Dubai on Thursday.