Discover the top 8 digital trends for marketing and travel in China throughout 2017, and what this means for 2018 and beyond.

1. Chinese Outbound Travel: Year in Review & What to Expect in 2018
January 17, 2018
Dragon Trail Interactive

2. 2 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
Webinar presenter
Ms Michaela Mentasti - Marketing Director
Michaela is responsible for marketing and communications for
Dragon Trail Interactive. Prior to this, Michaela lead the promotion of
bilateral trade between Australia and China at the Australia China
Business Council – Victorian Division. With an early background in
tourism, Michaela worked as a consultant for the Italian Tourism
Board in Beijing after the introduction of ADS visas for Chinese
citizens.
Michaela has lived in China for seven years, in Australia for six and
the U.S. for two years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese
studies from Ca’ Foscari University and Master’s Degree in Marketing
from The University of Melbourne.

3. 3 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
About Dragon Trail Interactive
Dragon Trail Interactive is an award-winning travel technology and
digital marketing agency helping travel and tourism organizations reach and
connect with China’s affluent consumers online.
We are experts in content marketing, web and mobile development,
creative digital campaigns and travel technology solutions for consumer and
trade marketing.
Our clients all come from the travel, hospitality and retail sectors:
• National Tourism Offices (NTOs), Destination Management Organizations
(DMOs) and CVBs
• Global and regional hotel chains, boutique and luxury hotels
• Airlines, cruise lines, rail and car rental companies
• Attractions, museums and retail outlets
• Tour operators, OTAs

4. 4 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
Some of Dragon Trail’s Clients

5. 5 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
KOLs – What you Need to Keep in Mind
• Hawaii Tourism Board partnered with
Taiwanese celebrity Ady An and fiancée, Chen
Ronglian, to showcase their luxurious
destination wedding in June 2017.
• Results: 333 million page views on Sina Weibo
and a PR value of US$7.2 million, shared across
185 broadcasts, in print, and social media
channels in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and
Singapore.
• Helsinki Airport KOL campaign #LIFEINHEL saw
Ryan Zhu living in an 86 square foot cabin at
the airport for 30 days, and exploring the
airport’s facilities. The campaign failed to gain
significant views on Weibo, WeChat, or Youku,
but picked up on Yizhibo.
1.
• KOLs are a highly effective channel to raise awareness and in some cases convert to sales. Costs are
quickly increasing, as KOLs command higher fees, and as platforms Sina Weibo and Meipai now require
a fee for hosting KOL campaigns.
Helsinki Airport’s KOL
campaign gained a few
hundred page views on
WeChat
Ady An’s wedding in
Hawaii post gained over
8,000 WeChat page views

6. 6 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
Chinese Offline & Online Payments Abroad
• Offline: UnionPay’s penetration in the USA is 80% among merchants, with withdrawals allowed at
almost any ATM. In Canada, UnionPay is accepted by 100,000 merchants and at 90% of ATMs.
2.
$9
TRILLION
$112B
China USA
Mobile Payments
2016 Est. 2020/2021
$47
TRILLION
$283 B
(iResearch data, published by the WSJ, 2017)
Alipay users: 450 million
Market Share: 54%
Int’l markets available in:
• Invested in local e-wallet and
fintech startups
including Paytm (India), Kakao
Pay (South Korea), Mynt (the
Philipines), Ascend
Money (Thailand),
and HelloPay (Singapore).
• Silicon Valley startup Stripe will
offer Alipay in the US market
Adopted by:
• Alipay became available at 10
international airports in 2016, taxis
in NY, Las Vegas & high end shops.
WeChat Pay users: 600 million
Market Share: (TenPay) 40%
Int’l markets available in:
• 15 countries and regions in 12
currencies
• Filed for a license in Malaysia
• Partner with German Wirecard to
cover EU
• Local wallets in South Africa and
Hong Kong
• Silicon Valley startup Stripe will
offer WeChat Pay in the US
Adopted by:
• Galeries Lafayette, New Chitose
airport in Hokkaido, taxis in Hong
Kong

7. 7 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
WeChat’s Latest Updates（1/2）
$534.5 billion
902 million
Daily active users - September 2017
+17% y-o-y
50 million
Senior users
68 million
Videos posted on WeChat Moments every day +22% y-o-y
$519.4 billion
Market cap
3.5 million
Monthly active Official Accounts +14% y-o-y
3.
Senior citizen sharing
her travels on WeChat

8. 8 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
WeChat’s Latest Updates (2/2）
580,000
Number of WeChat mini-programs
3.
Common uses:
• e-commerce
• Gaming
• Offline to Online
17%
WeChat users use mini-programs daily
• The “search” & “top stories” help articles increase visibility
• Brand Zone - brands can control what non followers see:
WeChat account, website, or specific pages.
Mini-Programs
1 year old
Better Visibility for Brands
Cities with a mini program:
• Zurich
• Banff & Lake Louise
• Sydney
• Dubai
• London

9. 9 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
The Rise of In-Destination Tech Solutions
• Restaurant Booking: Ctrip partners with Priceline
Group to let its users book restaurants in North America
through OpenTable. Meituan-Dianping has a similar
partnership with the Japanese dining app GURUNAVI.
• Mobile Service: China Mobile partners with UK BT
Group – Chinese travelers can buy the service in China and
use it in the UK, and all of Europe (there are no roaming
charges in the EU).
• Transportation: Didi Chuxing is expanding to Taiwan as
a test market for potential other countries. Last year it
partnered with Tokyo based Daiichi Koutsu taxi company to
better serve incoming Chinese travelers.
• Pocket Translator: Ctrip offers a pocket Wi-Fi translator
in partnership with Baidu. The devices are available in the
United States, Japan, Canada and Hong Kong.
4.
Ctrip currently lists
recommended restaurants and
allows users to share reviews

10. 10 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
Increased Censorship
• Websites: Marriott’s and Delta’s websites are the latest to
get shut down temporarily by the Chinese government for
listing Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as separate
countries.
• WeChat: In June, WeChat shut down 25 accounts accused
of spreading celebrity gossip.
• Live Streaming: The government cracked down on
livestreaming platforms, with Yizhibo shutting down accounts
outside of China, some temporarily and some permanently.
• More Editors: Tencent and Toutiao have hired hundreds of
editors to ensure content fits the government’s latest
requirements, and following Toutiao’s pornographic content
scandal, which saw the platform shut down for one day.
• Data: Companies operating in China are required to store all
data collected in China in the country and operate
Infrastructure as a service (LaaS) together with a local
company. Apple, Airbnb and Amazon are already acting on
this.
5.

11. 11 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
Videos Are Here to Stay, but Live Streaming?
• The 2016 live streaming craze is dying off, platforms have
consolidated from more than over 200 to about 10 main
ones, attracting 97.5% of total users.
• The content is becoming more professional – the
audience can only watch so many amateurs performing
live.
• Fashion brands have already been using live streaming
to stream live events and sell products.
• Live Trivia is the latest strategy to retain users: News
app Toutiao and live streaming platforms Huajiao Live,
Yinke and Yizhibo all offer live trivia, with jackpots
ranging from 100,000 to 1 million RMB.
• Huajiao Video has entered into an agreement with the
group-buying website Meituan and launched a trivia
quiz with questions about the company’s services.
6.
The trivia sponsored by
Meituan asks questions about
the company’s services

12. 12 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
Personalization
Personalization is no longer just a pleasant surprise for
customers, it has become an expectation.
In China 58% of HNWI have used a personalized
service when booking their holidays.
OTAs & TO: Bang Travel, a five-year-old tour
operator specializing in customized trips, has attracted
at least US$40 million from investors. Other start-ups
such as Zhinanmao, 6Renyou and Sinbad have also
received millions of dollars in investment.
7.
Customer Service: Airlines such as Air France have
dedicated customer service staff who reply to enquiries
received on their WeChat Official Account.
Targeted Content: The member-restricted AMEX TLS
WeChat (WeChat ID: AmexTLS) launched in October
2017. It serves all levels of AMEX card holders with card,
other customer services and exclusive deals.
The WeChat backend has been developed into a
member services CRM tracking different categories of
card holders.
Amex TLS’s WeChat account links to the member
services from the menu via a secure login page

13. 13 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
Industry Highlights
CTRIP’s INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION: Ctrip’s $25
billion market capitalization makes it the second-largest online
travel company after Priceline Group ($85 billion). Expedia’s
market cap is currently only $18.9 billion.
After acquiring Skyscanner and Indian Makemytrip, Ctrip has
now acquired Trip.com, the travel recommendation service.
TONGCHENG (LY.com) - eLONG MERGER: Ctrip
and Tencent are the newly merged OTA’s main shareholders,
and both of the OTAs are the preferred booking platforms
featured on WeChat Wallet to book flights (LY.com) and
accommodation (eLong).
WEAKENING OF CHINESE OUTBOUND
INVESTMENT: Chinese conglomerates HNA, Anbang and
Dalian Wanda put a halt to their international ambitions, due
to their rising level of debt and the government stop to
overseas acquisitions.
8.
WeChat’s Wallet has links to eLong and
Tongcheng to book accommodation
and flights, respectively

14. 14 | WWW.DRAGONTRAIL.COM © 2017
Next Webinar – 28 February 2018
For more details: https://dragontrail.com.cn/resources/events/wechat-rankings-for-the-travel-
industry-2017-in-review-webinar
Webinar Details
1st Session - Recommended for residents in Europe and Asia
Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Time: 5-5:45pm Beijing, 10-10:45 Berlin, 9-9:45am London
2nd Session - Recommended for residents in the Americas
Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Time: 12-12:45pm New York, 9-9:45am Los Angeles, 6-6:45pm Berlin, 5-5:45pm London
WeChat Rankings for the Travel Industry – 2017 in Review

15. Real Insights from Chinese Travelers
http://www.dragontrail.com/pulse China Outbound Travel Pulse
4. Exchange Rate3. Shopping
2. Silver Travelers1. FITs

16. Roy Graff – Managing Director EMEA
E: roy.graff@dragontrail.com ꞁ W. www.dragontrail.com
D: +44 (0)20 3289 8915 | M +44 (0)75 3277 6288
154-158 Shoreditch High Street
London E1 6HU, United Kingdom
www.twitter.com/dragontrail
www.linkedin.com/company/dragon-trail
HelloDragonTrail