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Business Promotion on China’s Travel Platforms
- Client niche analysis and KOL/KOC matching
- Platform research & selection for the right integrations
- Private database of 500K+ Chinese bloggers
- Anti-fake follower analytics (engagement audits, anomaly checks)
- Turnkey blogger tours from China
Since March 2023, interest in outbound travel among Chinese citizens has been growing fast. Daily life in China is built around mobile apps and social media, so working with travel platforms (OTAs) is a critical part of reaching Chinese travelers.
Why work with Chinese travel platforms?
China had 1.22B mobile subscribers in 2021 (~83% of the population). Chinese users spend 358 minutes per day in mobile apps: 47% on social media, 7% on video, 5% on e-commerce, etc.
Chinese travelers rely on OTAs to buy flights, book hotels and restaurants, and plan activities. These services blend booking tools with social features—reviews, guides, short videos, and creator content.
Promotion on OTA
OTAs are the primary planning and booking tool for Chinese travelers. Only 5% of bookings happen offline via traditional agencies, and 3% via phone. The rest is digital.
Below are the key Chinese travel platforms to consider:
Ctrip
China’s leading OTA for a younger, mobile-first audience. One app covers it all: flights, hotels, tickets, restaurant bookings. Businesses can build profiles, collect reviews, climb rankings by keywords, and run ad formats to drive traffic. Backed by Tencent; strong in domestic services and rapid growth.
Mafengwo
A hybrid of social network and travel marketplace with more than one million user-generated guides. Travellers find info on destinations, flights, insurance, attractions, hotels, cafés, and bars. Content types include notes, travel diaries, Q&A. Built-in store offers flights, tours, SIMs, attractions, and hotel bookings. MAU: ~80M. Great for UGC-driven discovery.
Qyer
A social and OTA platform launched in 2004, originally for Chinese trips to Europe, now global. Focused on budget travel and best-value options; average order ~¥8,000 (2019). In 2019, Qyer launched Biu Biu, an internal social feed for stories and short videos. Core audience: millennial independent travelers (born in the ’80s–’90s).
Fliggy
Popular for discount hotel bookings. Core users are Gen-Z, young urbanites in Tier-1/2 cities. Part of the Alibaba ecosystem: register with a Taobao account, run ads through Taobao Ads. Unlike the platforms above, no native blog module.
Qunar
A long-term player with strong mobile UX for trip planning. Offers destination tips, hotels across price tiers, guides, cafés, and restaurants. Users can publish travel articles and diaries with photos and recommendations, filter by date, destination popularity, or interests. Initially focused on tour sales, Qunar now hosts forums, discussions, reviews.
- Foreign businesses cannot list directly, but can partner with Chinese intermediaries.
- Emphasis on domestic travel; overseas destinations are not the focus.
- Audience spans from young, tech-savvy travelers to affluent independent explorers.
Launch with Mates Asia
Our team is ready to consult you!
How to choose the best Chinese travel platform
-
Target audience
Check if a platform’s users match your ICP (age, city tier, budget, trip style).
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Popularity & rating
Review platform reach and rankings to gauge adoption among Chinese travellers.
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Functionality
Assess features you need: flights, hotels, attractions, content, reviews, social commerce, ads.
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Advertising options
Confirm available ad formats and brand integrations to drive bookings.
Chinese OTAs offer a wide range of tools for acquisition, conversion, and service. Pick the platform that best fits your goals and audience, then use its content, booking and ads stack to attract Chinese travellers and make their trip unforgettable.
CASES
Royal Tennis Club
- Growth & Performance Highlights Follower growth of 95% (+113 new followers) driven by organic promotion.
- 182% increase in views (reaching 6K+) and 219% increase in watch time.
- Engagement boost: Likes grew by 319%, and post saves increased by 35%.
- Services Provided: LITTLE RED BOOK (Xiaohongshu/RED)
What we did:
View case
- Little Red Book
DR.SEA
- Brand Launch from Scratch: Complete registration and verification on WeChat and Douyin in one month.
- Viral Content Success: The Labubu video achieved high organic reach and subscriber growth without an advertising budget.
- Localized Content: Four localized WeChat articles published, demonstrating high readership and engagement.
- Strategic Foundation: A comprehensive Douyin video promotion strategy developed based on competitor and trend analysis.
What we did:
View case
- Douyin
UTLC
- Analysis of the current state of the B2B logistics market on the China-Europe route.
- Identification of key market players and their market share.
- Analysis of target audience needs, preferences, and behavioral specifics.
- Turnkey WeChat Management.
- Baidu PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising Launch and Lead Generation.
What we did:
View case
- Market Research in China
- Baidu
Positive Technologies
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- The CTR (Click-Through Rate) exceeded planned targets by 44%.
- The CPL (Cost Per Lead) was 83.5% below the planned cost, which allowed for budget optimization and increased profitability (ROI).
What we did:
View case
- Baidu
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