Why Hawaii Tourism Conference focus on Chinese Tourists

Recently, Hawaii Tourism Conference (HTA) makes an estimation of a nearly 30% increases of Chinese tourism will arrive at Hawaii in the year of 2014. The estimation of the total amount of Chinese tourists is 182,078. Be compared to the actual number of Chinese tourists in 2013, which is 149,914. Depending on the data, HTA comes to the conclusion to put more marketing effort on Chinese tourists.

Number of Chinese tourists to Hawaii grow dramatically

 

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(See green line for a general idea of rapidly increasing Chinese tourists)

How businesses target Chinese tourists

A lot of businesses in Hawaii starts to target on Chinese customers. This can be shown from the increase number of Chinese speaking employees or staff members. Moreover, lots of travel destinations in Hawaii provide Chinese version map and description for tourists. These marketing actions do help the Chinese tourists to understand the information about Hawaii better and have an easier time to travel within Hawaii by themselves.        

Issues of the new marketing trend for Hawaii Chinese tourists

However, the lack of advertisements of the local culture of Hawaii makes the Chinese tourists feel missing out when they go back to China from Hawaii. Two potential solutions for this issue list down below:

Solution 1: HTA could cooperate with China traveling agencies to come up with a two days “True Hawaiian” experience tour including stay at local Hawaiian family, explore the local Hawaiian village, and learns the history behind those villages.

Solution2: HTA could also come up with several video commercial of Hawaii culture that features Chinese celebrities to increase the awareness of Hawaii’s culture.

Furthermore, the lack of in depth information about the activities that tourists could do with Hawaii decrease Chinese tourists’ desire to go to Hawaii. The solution for this problem could be setting up an online communication web that posts tourists’ travel dairies. The goal of being in charge this is to presents Chinese tourists the variety of activities that the travelers could do at Hawaii from other travelers’ personal experience. Personal experience is a much more credibility source than the advertising posts that traveling agency makes.

Travel Link Marketing plan

Along with the increase in total spending from Chinese tourism in 2014, The Travel Link Marketing director comes up with a plan that aims to attract almost all of the rich Chinese people from the first and second tier Chinese cities. Although Travel Link Marketing director does not specify the plan, it mentions that it will market Hawaii as the dreamland destination at America. This could be the wrong focus for Travel Link Marketing director’s new marketing plan for Hawaii. Since the Chinese already know that Hawaii is a beautiful island and a must go places in America, the director should focus on the marketing plan more on why Hawaii is the dream place at America. The marketing plan should also focus on advertising the experiences that Chinese tourist will get at Hawaii instead of only advertising the beauty of Hawaii.

Conclusion

A great marketing plan needs to focus on how to satisfy the target customers’ needs. The Travel Link Marketing and HTA will come up with a better marketing plan by switching its main goal of positioning of Hawaii as a beautiful land to how Hawaii could bring the Chinese tourists an unforgettable moment during the time they stay at Hawaii.