Targeting Outbound Chinese Travelers with Subramania Bhatt and Mark Shrives

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By Ali & Bryce

Published November 3, 2024

Chinese outbound travel is returning, which is great news for luxury brands. To many brands, overseas travel has always been a source of awareness, validation and purchase. How can brands take advantage of this opportunity? We speak to Subramania Bhatt, CEO of the China Trading Desk, a digital marketing and research firm targeting these travelers. Subbu’s company recently published a travel insights study that shows a changing Chinese travel demographic. Joining Subramania is Mark Shrives. Mark leads Marriott Digital Services for Asia, which is based in Bangkok. Alongside his team of 35 digital consultants, Mark guides Marriott International’s APEC portfolio of hotels in directly implementing cutting-edge digital strategies.

1. What’s the latest about the Chinese overseas travel situation? Has it bounced back to its pre-COVID levels?

2. From the hotel side, how might travelers be changing?

3. How have influencers impacted travel experiences?

4. What’s a typical traveler customer journey?

5. What’s the hotel’s strategy in targeting Chinese tour groups to overseas hotels?

6. How much differentiation can you offer on an OTA platform?

7. What motivates people to shop outside China? Is it all about saving money.

8. What is the importance of using influencers to target travel experiences?

9. How have hotels integrated their offerings to the new wave of Chinese tourists looking for experiences?

10. Are we seeing an overlap in age groups and craving experiences? And why so many Chinese women?

11. Are we seeing more Chinese taking advantage of hotel loyalty platforms?

12. Do you have a hidden gem travel destination?