Ep 202: Is China Serious About Attracting More Inbound Tourists & Business Travellers?

Are we seeing the start of a transformation in China’s travel sector? While outbound tourism grabs the headlines, a vibrant domestic travel recovery and a shift towards opening up its inbound sector garner less coverage. That is starting to change as the Chinese government expands its visa-free policy to visitors from 15 countries (11 from Europe and 4 from South East Asia). Given that inbound travel has always been a low priority, has the pandemic changed everything? And how closely is this dramatic shift aligned with a drive to attract more investment for reviving the economy?

To analyse these questions, Gary is joined by Shanghai-based Yereth Jansen, China CEO of Darling Advertising and a UN Tourism consultant. We address the impact of the Covid years on China’s travel economy, and the current state of the domestic recovery. Also. we assess moves to make it easier for foreign visitors to navigate their way around China and pay for products and services, and how provincial governments are developing new international marketing campaigns.

Plus, we look at how live-streaming and short-video apps are gaining market share in China for selling travel products, and the pressure this places on OTAs like Ctrip - which is ramping up the APAC marketing strategy for its Trip.com brand.