China Ready Helping Australian tour operators prepare for the emerging

inbound Chinese tour market

Case Study: Pilot program conducted with Eco Lodges of

Australia

Presenter: Dan Butt

Communities Benefiting from Strategic Partnerships

Content

Why was the China Ready program

developed?

Eco Lodges of Australia pilot program

Lessons learned along the way

Participant Perspective

Where to next?

1. Market Intelligence collected from travel

agents out of China in 2010:

Rapidly growing demand for new and

innovative Australian tourism products,

particularly nature based

BUT

Shortage of Chinese friendly products

AND

Difficulties dealing with Aussie operators,

particularly when sourcing new products

Why Develop China Ready?

2. Tourism Australia research also found that Nature Based Products, Travel

Journeys and Indigenous tourism experiences where the 3 biggest draw cards

attracting Chinese tourists to Australia

13 million trips in 2001, increased to 56 million in 2011

Projected to reach 100 million in the next 5 years

Australia enjoying 1% of this massive market

0.5 million visitors and 3 billion AUD spent in 2011

Why Develop China Ready?

The numbers speak for themselves!

2011 saw 19.5% increase on visitor numbers from 2010

Expectation of similar increases for 2012

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Australia

Hawaii

Maldives

France

Switzerland

USA

Egypt

UK

Greece

Italy

Canada

New Zealand

Dubai

Denmark

South America

South Africa

Rankings of International Must Visit Holiday Destinations

%

Source: GfK Blue Moon, Development Plan Research for Tourism Australia, 2011

Perceived Barriers:

Price points: Chinese unwilling to pay for more expensive products

Accessibility from urban centre

Language

Cultural differences

Availability of Chinese cuisine

Why Develop China Ready? The Australian Perspective

Can’t service large coach tours so product is unsuitable for this market

Business costs associated with changing product for a niche market

Other Questions:

What changes need to be made to

existing products?

Is this a genuine business

opportunity?

Do all Chinese expect 5 star service?

Why Develop China Ready? The Australian Perspective

How do we work around the language barrier?

Will Chinese travel outside the East coast capital cities?

What general expectations and requirements do Chinese travellers have?

Conclusion

There was a real and urgent need for a product to provide answers for

Australian tour operators looking to access the growing Chinese

market.

Project Aims

1. Develop and deliver Chinese cultural awareness training program

2. Provide details on how to deliver superior service to Chinese guests

3. Assist in the development of marketing strategies for attracting Chinese visitors

4. Create a link between Australian operators and travel agents in China

5. Develop and promote a standard to Chinese agents that will allow them to put

faith in Australian products

China Ready Pilot Program

Strategic Partnership Ecotourism Australia

Spirit of China | AVANA

T-QUAL Grant Pilot development with

Eco Lodges Australia

This initiative is funded by T-QUAL grants

Where has the China Ready team visited so far?

FREYCINET ECO RETREAT

Why become China Ready

Stereotypes and expectations

Defining the modern Chinese

traveller

Adapting products to a

Chinese market

Engaging with the market

Training Overview

Develop star standard system for Eco

tourism products

Playful, interactive activities are the

most popular (playing a didgeridoo)

Chinese travellers prefer a structured

schedule

Opportunity for easier first up wins

with Chinese students already in

Australia

Importance of clear instruction for

even the simplest activities

Education is an extremely important

part of the travel experience

Minimal impact tourism and Eco

friendly experiences are key selling

points

Some Key Lessons and Training Outcomes

Key lessons

Need to understand the Chinese culture to appreciate travel motives and expectations

Importance of star ratings for sales into China

The need to define and understand the expectations of an ecotourism experience

Meal requirements

What steps have you now made towards engaging the Chinese market?

Welcome information packs in Chinese

Marketing material translated

Utilising Chinese social media platforms (Weibo and Ren Ren)

Developing relationships with agents in China

Placing more focus on targeting travellers from tier 2 cities such as Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi’an

Participant Perspective Sonya Mroz (Sales and Marketing Executive)

Participant Perspective continued...

Major Difficulties

Travel agents continuing to use traditional itineraries – limits the time available to

travel outside east coast capitals

Language barrier – currently do not have enough demand to employ a Chinese

speaking guide

Future Opportunities

More independent Chinese travellers visiting QLD

Travel agents now more willing to promote new/unique experiences

Size of the market

Continue improving the pathway to market – making it easier for Chinese travel agents to communicate with Australian tour operators

Educate travel agents in China about Australian ecotourism products and the new star standard

Conduct more training in Australia for

the ecotourism industry

Public launch of Eco Lodges to

agents in China late October 2012

Where to next?

Thank you

This initiative is funded by T-QUAL grants