7 Digital Marketing Strategies to Attract Chinese Tourists

Chinese travel is back, and the numbers are getting serious in 2026. China now runs visa-free entry for 46 countries, extended to 31 December 2026, and that alone changed the game. In the first quarter of 2026, about 8.32 million visa-free entries were recorded, close to 78% of all inbound foreign crossings and up roughly 30% year on year. Ctrip expects 38 million foreign visitors in 2026, about 60% of the 2019 peak. The flows are recovering fast, so put a real plan in place now to attract Chinese tourists to your destination.

Here you will give you the main keys to help you to attract the Chinese tourists.

The 2026 picture: where the demand is and how trips get planned

Two facts shape every strategy this year. First, the visa-free scheme for 46 countries (extended to 31 December 2026) made China far easier to reach, and inbound flows are climbing fast: about 8.32 million visa-free entries in Q1 2026, up around 30% on the year. Second, Chinese travelers now plan trips inside their phones, not on travel desks. With 1.116 billion mobile internet users in China (99.4% of all netizens, CNNIC), the trip is researched, compared and booked on a screen.

Where do they plan? More and more on Xiaohongshu (RED) and Douyin. They search “what to do in [your city]”, read honest posts from people who went, and save the spots that look real. If your destination has no presence there, you are simply not on the list. Start with our Xiaohongshu marketing guide for 2026, then layer on the seven strategies below.

An appealing website (in Chinese) with a nice feel-and-touch

The first thing you have to do to have some presence online is using the old way which is creating a website. However, having a website doesn’t ensure that you will attract Chinese visitors. You have to tailor your website to the needs of the Chinese market. There are several ways to go around it.

#1 Have a clear website with Good content in Chinese!

The first and most important thing to do is to have a website available in Chinese. If your main objective is to reach Chinese customers, an English website won’t be efficient, so make sure that you included Translation fees into your budget. You can also find a bilingual team member, or even better, Webmaster who could assist you during the whole process of creation. In fact, China is ranked 62^th (111 countries tested) in the English Proficiency Index developed by EF (Education First) and is declared to be a low-proficiency country. Thus, the necessity of using 简本中文 (simplified Chinese) when writing your website.

#2 It’s not only about the looks, but it’s also about what is inside

• Have high-quality content

You created your website, in Chinese, but what about the content? In order to attract visitors, you will have to have just like for any other website, relevant content. This content may be various such as pictures, general information about countries, offers, coupons, social media links, and so on.

• Have high-quality pictures

Writing great articles or texts will help to show your expertise in your tourism sector and attract visitors from search engines. However, if that’s all you have, it may create a non-harmonious website (great texts but low-quality pictures). You have several options to find these professionally taken pictures: in-house taken pictures by local travel agents with a DSLR camera, buy pictures online, use loyalty free pictures (make sure they can be commercially-used).

#3 Have an SEO strategy

Now that you have a very nice website in Chinese with high-quality pictures and relevant content, it’s time to bring Chinese visitors aboard. Before going on a trip, Chinese travelers always search for information on the internet. Where do they search? They usually go on Baidu first. The Chinese search engine is still the default in China, with about 47% of search share in 2026 (Statcounter estimate), and an AI answer now sits above the links.

So to set up a SEO campaign you will need to adapt your strategy to the requirement of the Chinese search engine. You shouldn’t think that a simple copy-paste of your Google SEO strategy is enough. It is not. Hereinbelow are some tips to know in order to get the most out of your Baidu SEO strategy : 

• Host your website in China
• Establish a physical entity in China in order to create a real contact with potential website’s visitor
• Use Baidu’s tool: Baidu keyword planner, Baidu Feng Yun Bang (similar to Google Trend), or Baidu Index
• Update your content frequently: it will influence your ranking on the search result pages 
• More secret tips on our previous article: Top 20 Baidu SEO Secrets

SEO tips to optimize your Website in China

#4 Use e-travel platforms

Having your own website is a great way to publish your own content, contact information and specific details about your company, but if your main aim is to reach Chinese tourists and attract them to purchase. Hence, a “double online presence” will surely serve you well. You can register your business (hotel, restaurant, etc.) on these famous Chinese platforms.

#5 Social media

Chinese people live on social media. By the end of 2025, China counted 1.125 billion internet users (CNNIC), and 1.116 billion of them, 99.4%, go online on mobile.

AirBnB on Weibo 

If you want to strengthen you daily visitor count, convert them into customers, you should be aware of the impact of social media on Chinese tourists and be present on WeiBo, related blogs (guest blogging, partnership, …) and forums such as Douban, Qyer and LVmama.

OnlyLyon: tourism organization of Lyon(France)

They use attractive contest online to catch Chinese opinion like this photo contest.

#6 Zoom on WeChat

Among all social media platforms in China, the most famously used daily by Chinese tourists is WeChat called Wei Xin (微信) in Chinese. WeChat is a text and voice messaging mobile app founded by Tencent (a Chinese company) with more than 900 million active users all around the world and 1.3 billion monthly active users. The main market is China with 2/3 of its users located in China.

Including WeChat in your digital strategy to attract Chinese tourists is one powerful tool. In order to bring a strong follower base as well as potential customers back on your website or account on other Chinese travel websites, you have to engage them as much as you can. To help in this process and to enjoy even more features, you may create a company official account.

One of the various features of WeChat is the possibility to create your own app (official service account). This is what Shanghri-La hotels did. Their app enables the WeChat user to compare prices.

Source: WalkTheChat

Advertising on Wechat | How we use Wechat Ads (&Cost)

#7 KOL – Key Opinion Leaders

Last and not least, word-of-mouth is very strong in China. Mainly because of the fact that in Chinese culture, the relationships we have with others are very important. There are two main Chinese principles: Guan Xi (关系 – extended social network, long term relationships) and Mian Zi (面子 – Others perception of us).

Because of these and other factors, Chinese tourists strongly value others opinions and recommendations. That is why relying on Chinese influencers, called KOL (Key Opinion Leaders), is a very effective strategy to attract more Chinese tourists to your business. A KOL is someone online with a high following rate. It can be an actor, a TV show host, a singer, online celebrity or a model.

Many organizations working in the Tourism industry looking to attract Chinese customers created partnerships with KOLs. One of these organizations was the Switzerland Tourism Office located in Beijing invited Wangshi, a Chinese alpinist and blogger (Sina and Sohu) with more than 23 million readers at that time as well as founder of Wanke Real Estate to come to Switzerland.

Our Case Study 

MyNextMemory 

Royal Mansour Marrakech 

Memories Travel 

Do you need a partner to launch your travel agency or resort/hotel business in China? Contact us!

We help companies wishing to sell on the Chinese market. We are specialists in:

E-REPUTATION: Primordial before launching, we work together on your unique selling point, then on the social networks and with the help of PR, we make sure that your image on the networks is totally clean and reliable for the Chinese users.

SEO: The optimization of your referencing will be essential, our team of specialists will take care of your e-reputation, the management of your social networks while setting up an SEO / SEM campaign allowing you to gain places in the ranking of the Baidu Chinese search engine.

LEAD GENERATION: Our teams are professionals in lead generation. To optimize it, your e-reputation must be irreproachable. Investing in online advertising and creating quality content will help you develop your e-reputation. Finally, the evaluation of the results will be important to guide us in the next stages of your development.

DIGITAL SOLUTIONS: Website creation, development, and audit; social media marketing; PR; monthly reports and analyzes by our team of experts.

Now I have enough data to write the article. Let me compose it.

The 2026 market reality: what the data shows

Chinese outbound tourism is back at full speed. In 2025, mainland Chinese residents made over 130 million outbound trips, with overseas spending approaching USD 290 billion. The online booking channel now accounts for 64% of outbound tourism revenue, meaning the decision to visit your destination is made on a screen before it is made in a plane. Over 90% of Chinese travelers use mobile apps to research, book, and document their trips. If your brand is not present in those apps at the right moment, you do not exist for this traveler.

Why the old playbook no longer works

Before 2020, group tours and shopping malls were the backbone of Chinese outbound travel. That model is gone. More than 50% of Chinese travelers now plan trips independently, according to Dragon Trail International’s 2025 report. Among travelers aged 18 to 24, that share reaches 71%. These travelers do not follow a tour bus. They follow a Xiaohongshu post, a Douyin video, or a WeChat friend’s recommendation. The implication for destination marketers is direct: your content strategy must replace what the tour operator used to do. You must provide itinerary ideas, local food recommendations, transport tips, and neighborhood guides, all in Mandarin, all on the platforms where Chinese travelers actually spend their time. A translated English brochure posted on a Western website does nothing. Chinese independent travelers start their research inside the Chinese internet, and they rarely leave it before booking.

Douyin: where destination decisions start

Douyin is the most important discovery platform for outbound Chinese travelers right now. According to iClick Interactive, 74% of outbound tourists cite Douyin as their primary source of travel inspiration, ahead of Xiaohongshu at 66% and WeChat at 59%. The platform has over 600 million daily active users. Foreign tourism boards have noticed: official Douyin account registrations by foreign tourism bureaus jumped 79% in 2024. The results are measurable. Qatar’s tourism campaign on Douyin produced a 215% year-on-year increase in search volume for “Visit Qatar” among Chinese users. A single viral water sports trend in summer 2025 drove a 180% month-on-month surge in related content searches. The format that works is short vertical video, between 30 and 90 seconds, shot in-destination, with Chinese subtitles. The goal is not a polished ad. The goal is content that feels real enough to make someone save it and send it to a friend. Brands that invest in a consistent Douyin presence, with a mix of paid promotion and organic KOL content, see compounding returns as the algorithm amplifies content that earns engagement. A single well-placed video from a credible travel creator can sell out a niche experience. In summer 2025, zoologist and Douyin creator Chen Rui sold 40 places on a polar cruise within days of posting a single campaign video. That is the scale of impact this platform can deliver when the content matches the audience.

Xiaohongshu: the platform that converts inspiration into booking intent

Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) sits at a different point in the funnel. It is where Chinese travelers go to plan, not just dream. In May 2024, the platform recorded nearly 500 million searches for travel-related content, with outbound travel searches up 107% year-on-year, according to Travel and Tour World. Among Dragon Trail’s 2025 survey respondents, Xiaohongshu ranked second only to Ctrip as an information source for outbound destinations, and it was the top source for travelers under 35. This matters because under-35 Chinese travelers represent the fastest-growing and highest-spending segment in outbound tourism. On Xiaohongshu, the content format is different from Douyin. Users write detailed notes: hotel reviews with photos, day-by-day itineraries, restaurant lists with price breakdowns, tips on avoiding tourist traps. This is the content your destination needs to appear in. The strategy has two layers. First, seed the platform with genuine UGC by creating conditions that make visitors want to post: photogenic spots, accessible hashtags, shareable moments. Second, work with KOCs (Key Opinion Consumers), smaller creators with 10,000 to 100,000 followers whose audiences trust their recommendations more than they trust polished brand content. A hotel or destination that earns 200 detailed Xiaohongshu notes from real visitors has a long-term SEO-equivalent asset inside the Chinese internet. That content keeps driving discovery for months after it is posted.

Mobile payment acceptance as a marketing signal

Accepting Alipay and WeChat Pay is not just a convenience feature. For Chinese tourists, it is a signal that your venue understands them. Alipay now supports payments in over 220 countries and regions across more than 50 currencies. WeChat Pay is active in over 60 countries. During the 2025 Spring Festival, transactions by foreign visitors on WeChat Pay grew 134% year-on-year, and total spending via Alipay rose 150% over the same period, according to data from China’s State Council. When a Chinese tourist walks into a shop, restaurant, or attraction and sees the Alipay or WeChat Pay QR code, they feel at ease. When they do not see it, they hesitate. Many will leave. Payment acceptance also creates a data trail that connects offline behavior to digital profiles, which can feed retargeting on WeChat and Douyin. The operational lift to add these payment methods is low. The marketing signal is high. For destinations that attract repeat Chinese visitors, such as duty-free retail zones, luxury hotels, or theme parks, this is not optional. It is a baseline requirement. Beyond payment, the broader point is friction reduction: Chinese-language signage, Mandarin-speaking staff, and QR codes linking to WeChat mini-programs all send the same message. This destination was built with you in mind.

What changed between 2024 and 2026

Three shifts stand out when comparing 2024 data to what we see heading into 2026. First, AI entered the travel planning process at speed. Among Chinese outbound travel agents, 82% reported using AI tools at work by summer 2025, per Dragon Trail’s research. On the consumer side, the share of travelers who viewed AI as “not yet helpful” for travel dropped from 66% to 26% in under 18 months. This changes how destinations need to optimize their digital content: structured data, clear pricing, and factual destination information now feed AI-generated travel itineraries that Chinese users increasingly rely on. Second, the traveler age profile widened. Travelers aged 50 and above now represent roughly one-fifth of China’s outbound market, a segment that uses WeChat heavily and responds to different content than the under-35 Douyin audience. Third, visa policy across multiple countries shifted in China’s favor. Russia, Brunei, South Korea, and Cambodia all introduced or extended visa-free or simplified entry for Chinese nationals through 2025 and 2026. This removed a key booking barrier and accelerated last-minute trip decisions, which puts more pressure on destinations to maintain always-on digital presence rather than seasonal campaigns.

Frequently asked questions

Which platform is most effective for reaching Chinese tourists: Douyin or Xiaohongshu?

Both platforms serve different roles. Douyin drives initial inspiration: short videos create desire for a destination. Xiaohongshu drives planning: users search it like a search engine for practical travel information. For most destination marketers, the right approach is to use both. Douyin for top-of-funnel reach and brand awareness, Xiaohongshu for mid-funnel intent capture. The two platforms also attract slightly different demographics. Douyin has a broader age range, while Xiaohongshu skews toward urban women aged 18 to 35. If budget forces a choice, start with the platform that best matches your visitor profile.

Do I need a Chinese company to run ads on Douyin or WeChat?

Yes, in most cases. Both Douyin’s advertising platform (via Ocean Engine) and WeChat’s Official Account and Mini Program ecosystem require a Chinese business entity or a certified agency with a Chinese entity to open an advertising account. Foreign companies cannot simply sign up with a foreign credit card. The practical solution for most destination brands, hotels, or tourism boards is to work with a certified agency that holds the required licenses. This agency manages the ad account, handles billing in RMB, and ensures compliance with platform content policies, which are stricter and more frequently updated than Western ad platforms.

How important is Baidu for attracting Chinese tourists?

Baidu remains relevant but its role in the travel discovery journey has shifted. Chinese travelers increasingly use Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Ctrip as their first search touchpoint for travel content. Baidu is more important for branded searches, where a traveler who already knows your destination name searches for your official site, visa information, or practical details. Baidu SEO still matters for destination websites that want to appear when Chinese users search specific location names or compare options. Baidu PPC (paid search) can also be effective for capturing high-intent searchers at the bottom of the funnel. The mistake is to treat Baidu as the only channel, the way a Western brand might treat Google.

What type of content performs best for destination marketing on Chinese social platforms?

Authentic, specific, and useful content outperforms polished brand advertising on both Douyin and Xiaohongshu. On Douyin, first-person POV videos shot in-destination, with subtitles in simplified Chinese, consistently earn more saves and shares than studio-produced ads. On Xiaohongshu, detailed notes with real prices, honest pros and cons, and multiple photos from different angles perform best. Content that answers a specific question (“what to eat in Lisbon for under 100 RMB per day”) outperforms vague destination promotion. User-generated content, when seeded and encouraged correctly, also earns more trust than brand-produced content. Chinese travelers are experienced social media users. They can identify a fake review or a paid post quickly. Credibility is built through consistency and specificity, not production value.

How to move forward

The Chinese outbound traveler in 2026 is informed, independent, and operating entirely inside a digital ecosystem that most Western brands have not entered. The gap between destinations that have built a presence on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Baidu, and those that have not, is widening each year. The starting point is an audit of where you currently appear when a Chinese traveler searches for your destination, your hotel name, or your category. From there, the work is channel-by-channel: Baidu advertising to capture high-intent searches, Douyin content and paid promotion to build discovery and desire, and Xiaohongshu presence to convert research intent into booking action. Each channel requires different content, different formats, and different account structures. If you want to map out a realistic plan for your specific destination or brand, get in touch for a direct conversation about where to start.

Marcus Zhan is a China marketing specialist based in Shanghai. He covers digital marketing, consumer trends, and brand strategy for the Chinese market. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Sources: China Outbound Tourism Statistics 2026, WiFi Talents | Chinese Outbound Travel Trends 2025, Dragon Trail International | Summer 2025 Outbound Travel Trends, iClick Interactive | Xiaohongshu and China Tourism, Travel and Tour World | Mobile Payment Growth During Spring Festival, State Council of China | China Outbound Travel Market, Future Market Insights