Call of the Wild

Re: Call of the Wild

The Story: In the rush to urbanize, many Chinese have lost touch with the natural world.
When they travel now, however, they’re seeking to reconnect.

What to Know:

• When we asked Chinese travelers their most important considerations for choosing vacation destinations, safety was first, as it is most everywhere BUT a close second, interestingly enough, is quality of natural environment and scenery.
• This pulls ahead of warm climates and even long sought after destinations such as the Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building.
• When asked what activities they currently enjoy and which they’d like to try, engaging with nature (hiking, scenic walks, picnics) came right after the universal pastimes of sightseeing, dining, fun attractions and shopping, and ahead of visiting cultural attractions and attending cultural events.
• Chinese tourists will venture off the beaten path to visit new destinations as experienced travelers ditch the tour group, take control of their itinerary and visit exciting locations to make their friends back home swoon.
• According to our research, visiting a national park is a top three aspiration of all Chinese travelers, and the U.S.— third on the list of intended travel destinations in the next 12 to 24 months—is using park appeal to draw visitors.
  China is the fifth largest market for international visitation to the U.S., with 2.97 million arrivals in 2016.
• To help pursue and capture this market, CLA partnered with the Utah Office of Tourism to create a video series that provides content that delivers instantly trusted information with a distinctly ‘local’ perspective. It has been proven extremely popular among potential Chinese visitors, with distribution on Chinese social media app Weibo.