Summary of Key Points
This year, the inbound tourism market has shown a clear recovery (with 22.914 million visitors in the first half of the year, and a significant increase in visitors from Southeast Asia), yet traditional inbound travel agencies like Lao Zhou in Chengdu are unable to secure any bookings. The problem is not a lack of tourists, but rather their failure to adapt to the consumption habits of foreign visitors. Before the pandemic, these agencies relied on “upstream travel providers” to bring them customers; now, they have to face the market directly, yet they lack knowledge about the customer acquisition methods and service delivery channels of tourists from different countries. As a result, bookings are flowing to overseas online travel platforms (such as GetYourGuide) or more flexible, smaller travel companies.
Why Have Traditional Travel Agencies' Old Methods Failed?
Before the pandemic, agencies like Lao Zhou acted as mere intermediaries: foreign partners would provide a list of guests in advance, and the agencies were responsible for arranging accommodation, transportation, and guided tours, without having to worry about where the guests came from or how they would pay. However, with the rise of independent travelers, there are fewer bookings from upstream sources. Lao Zhou’s methods are outdated:
- Limited Channels: He only posts videos on TikTok and has not updated his English website for years; his Facebook account is also inactive.
- Irrelevant Content: The videos he shares are the same ones that tourists from Southeast Asia see, which are more relevant to them (for example, Thais may be more interested in Thai-language content or local experiences).
- Disconnected Service Delivery: When tourists ask about car rentals in Jiuzhaigou, his staff work late to prepare English quotes, but the guests often book directly through platforms instead of sending emails.
In short, while they used to rely on others for business, they now have to find customers on their own, yet they don’t even have the right tools to do so.
How Do Foreign Visitors Find Chinese Travel Services?
Tourists from different countries use their own preferred apps, which are very different from China’s WeChat and Alipay ecosystems:
- Thailand/Vietnam: They use Facebook for information and LINE for reservations.
- Japan: They use X (formerly Twitter) and Google for research and LINE for bookings.
- Europe/America: They rely on Google for searches and Tripadvisor for reviews.
- South Korea: They use Naver (similar to Baidu) and KakaoTalk for communication.
Traditional travel agencies think that being popular on TikTok is enough, but TikTok is mainly for generating interest (e.g., making foreigners interested in Chengdu’s hot pot). However, tourists still need to search, compare prices, and make payments, steps that Lao Zhou has not addressed. For example, if a tourist sees a video and wants to book a car rental but can’t find Lao Zhou’s product page or finds the process too cumbersome (e.g., having to send an email), they will simply go elsewhere.
Bookings Haven’t Disappeared; They’ve Just Moved to Other Platforms
The bookings that didn’t go to Lao Zhou’s agency have gone to overseas online travel platforms like GetYourGuide and Viator. These platforms have standardized travel services:
- Panda Base Tickets: Prices, meeting times, guide languages, and customer reviews are all clearly listed.
- Jiuzhaigou Car Rentals: Visitors can simply select a date and car type and complete the purchase with a credit card.
Tourists no longer need to contact travel agencies; they can book directly through these platforms, which still use local drivers and guides in Chengdu (just like Lao Zhou’s services). However, the booking process is now controlled by these platforms. Some smaller travel companies are even more flexible: they don’t have large offices and simply list their tours as products on platforms, maintaining good reviews to attract individual customers.
For Traditional Travel Agencies to Survive, They Need to Address Three Shortcomings:
1. Adapt to Foreign Customer Acquisition Channels: Use Facebook and LINE for Thai tourists, Google and Tripadvisor for Europeans and Americans, and don’t just share generic English content.
2. Make Services Available as Purchasable Products: Package services (e.g., car rentals with tickets and lunch) and list them on overseas platforms with clear prices.
3. Improve Service Delivery: Accept credit card payments, use real-time communication via LINE/WhatsApp, and update addresses and hours on Google. Additionally, hire professionals who understand overseas operations—people who can manage reviews and handle inquiries on popular platforms (AI can’t yet replace this role).
Lao Zhou’s local resources (car rentals, hotel reservations, emergency support) are valuable, but they need to be made more visible. For example, if a tourist books a car rental through a platform and the train schedule changes, Lao Zhou should be able to quickly coordinate a replacement vehicle. This is an advantage that smaller companies don’t have. The key is to make these services accessible to tourists.
Conclusion
The inbound tourism market has indeed returned, but traditional agencies can’t rely on old methods to attract customers. They need to adopt foreign practices: use platforms that tourists are familiar with, offer products that they can easily purchase, and ensure a seamless experience from interest generation to payment. While policies can help more foreigners discover China, agencies still need to change their approaches to secure bookings.