The Virtual Tourism Boom Has Begun
Though China’s obsession with the virtual world of livestreamed experiences has been well-established since 2015, recent travel restrictions and relative economic stability in China have only accelerated the trend of popularising this highly immersive digital channel. As October draws to a close, recent data shows that e-commerce has seen a boom over the Golden Week holidays in China, with livestreaming platforms Douyin (TikTok) and Kuaishou developing into fully-fledged e-commerce platforms alongside their livestreaming functionalities. CNBC’s recent analysis of data from app developer services company Aurora Mobile shows a sharp rise in daily active users China’s livestreaming favourites over the Golden Week Holidays.
This dynamic is translating rapidly into the tourism and lifestyle sector, with developed and developing world destinations alike taking advantage of this trend. Having previously broadcast tours of popular tourist destinations such as the British Museum in London and the Palace of Versailles in France, Alibaba recently partnered with he Swiss Tourism Board and Sino-Swiss Economic and Culture Center for a virtual tour of Switzerland. Alibaba’s livestreaming platform Taobao Live offered a live broadcast of the nation’s attractions, featuring scenic highlights such as the Alps, as well as renowned Swiss brands such as watchmaker Tissot and Carma Chocolate. Arguably one of the most successful campaigns to date in a travel industry impeded by COVID-19 travel restrictions, the broadcast drew more than 1.25 million viewers.
In the land Down Under, Tourism Western Australia made a significant impact with a recent livestreaming campaign on popular travel platform Mafengwo, featuring Western Australia tourist hotspots such as Rottnest, Fremantle and Mandurah. Targeting a more niche audience via Mafengwo, the first five episodes attracted a combined total live audience of 200,000 viewers — breaking livestreaming records on the platform.
The livestreaming industry is positioned for strong growth over the next few years, if the growth statistics are to be believed, reaching a valuation of $70 billion by 2021. East Asia travel and lifestyle giants are mobilising resources en masse to be at the forefront of this digital paradigm shift away from static text and digital assets toward a live, immersive and interactive platform. With Klook and the Trip.com group developing new mobile platforms and holding massive sale events via various livestreaming platforms, the early adopter phase is decidedly over for this technology. As Sarah Wan, Klook’s Southeast Asia marketing director , said at Phocuswright Europe 2020, “We are really seeing livestreaming accelerate in China. It’s here to stay and there’s a race for brands to catch new eyeballs.”
Livestreaming has even extended to traditional trade fairs promoting everything from commodities and manufacturing, as the 3rd China International Import Expo sees livestreaming take centre stage for exhibitors. Making an effort to take market share away from incumbent Dutch dairy players in the China market, New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has no less than 15 livestreaming sessions in place to run from their expo booth on November 5th, featuring talks by nutritional experts to baking professionals with which to engage business and consumers alike.
Promoting developed-world destinations and exports such as Switzerland can offer significant yields and surplus for incumbent players who see disproportionate returns relative to marketing spend through livestreaming platforms. Working off established reputations and consumer loyalty, high numbers of consumers and business gatekeepers alike can provide a positive feedback loop by increasing consumer awareness and thereby stimulating demand from the business end for certain destinations. The game changes, however, when dealing with up-and-coming developing-world destinations with massive potential and less capital to leverage in increasing brand awareness.
In this case, such destinations — predominantly located in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa — need to talk directly to business and bypass the information-saturated Chinese consumer. Beijing-headquartered Create Consulting has implemented learnings from the last eight years in promoting destinations in the Global South, among others, in tailoring a direct-to-business marketing strategy for PromPerú and Camp Jabulani. Leveraging a comprehensive network of Chinese travel business decision makers, Create Consulting is currently holding a series of direct-to-business livestreaming events for Peru’s tourism and investment promotion agency, having successfully educated Africa-focused Chinese travel businesses on luxury resort Camp Jabulani’s offerings and conservation efforts.
As screens gradually lose text and images in favour of the fast pulse of livestreaming, smart strategy and intimate platform understanding will be the differentiator in deciding which destinations are portrayed as passé, and which are the next incumbents. As with any other media channel, there will be bad and good investments made in reaching the Chinese consumer, with the new rules and case studies to be written over the next few years of experimentation.
