Tourism brands are increasingly focusing on Xiaohongshu (or Little Red Book) as it offers an engaging and effective way to reach Chinese tourists.
Xiaohongshu has become a destination for Chinese travellers seeking authentic travel inspiration, recommendations, and experiences. The platform’s evolution has not stopped at eCommerce functionalities but has progressively integrated booking software for accommodations and attractions, creating a complete purchase cycle: from inspiration to purchase to sharing.
Today, 64% of Chinese travel enthusiasts use Little Red Book, thanks to its ability to enhance user experience through artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Who are the travel enthusiasts in Little Red Book?
Mainly young adults between 19 and 35 years old use Xiaohongshu as a travel inspiration guide, predominantly residing in major first- and second-tier Chinese cities. These individuals, with middle to high incomes and a strong interest in lifestyle and culture, find the platform a valuable source of information on tourist destinations, accommodations, transportation, and local attractions. While women constitute the majority of users, there is also a significant increase among men actively seeking travel-related content.
Read also: Little Red Book: social commerce features for marketing
How can tourism businesses leverage Little Red Book to attract these travellers?
Opportunities for tourism on Little Red Book
The strength of Xiaohongshu lies in its vast ecosystem of user-generated content (UGC). Travellers share experiences and recommendations that significantly influence their peers. For tourism businesses, it is crucial to cultivate this type of content, leveraging the authentic word-of-mouth that develops within the platform’s community and encouraging customers to share their experiences.
The user’s journey starts with content shared by influencers, travel enthusiasts, and tourism operators. It includes travel guides, destination reviews, local experiences, and tips. The platform has thus become a true search engine, which users utilize to research content related to tourist destinations, local attractions, and accommodations, highlighting an interest in personal and authentic cultural experiences.
Influencers play a crucial role in shaping travel decisions. Their reviews and personal experiences help users discover new destinations, hotels, restaurants, and activities. By leveraging this content, operators can build trust, increase visibility, and inspire other travellers to explore their offerings.
The opportunities offered by Little Red Book in the tourism sector are numerous and constantly growing. The social media platform is progressively integrating booking functionalities directly on its platform. Users can search and book hotels and other travel services through the app, creating landing pages or using Xiaohongshu Mini Programs.
Hotels and facilities can also provide customer support to assist users with booking inquiries, modifications, and troubleshooting during their trips, ensuring a smooth experience through direct messaging.
As of 2024, the platform has integrated Ctrip, allowing hotels, attractions, and transportation to add a call to action to their content, directing users directly to the booking page on Ctrip.
Xiaohongshu offers various advertising options to help tourism brands reach their target audience. From sponsored posts to product placements, the platform’s advertising solutions can be highly effective in generating awareness and conversions.
When creating advertising campaigns, focus on visually appealing and informative content that resonates with Xiaohongshu users. Use the platform’s advanced targeting to maximize the impact of your ads, reaching the right people at the right time.
Tourism businesses can create landing pages and mini programs on Xiaohongshu linked to the call to action in their content, allowing brands to integrate a booking system within the app.
Case study: Xiaohongshu x Dubai Tourism
Dubai Tourism and Xiaohongshu have partnered to offer an engaging overview of the activities Dubai offers, its services, and attractions. The destination page features storytelling elements that attract users and provide detailed information about Dubai.
The official account has created a dedicated landing page and hashtag page vividly showcasing Dubai with in-depth information to inspire unforgettable travel. The strategy focuses entirely on interactive experiences, leveraging the social and sharing nature of content on Xiaohongshu. By involving influencers, the campaign aims to create authentic and relatable content.
Using a gamification strategy encourages user participation and engagement through a lottery system offering attractive travel-related prizes. Users can earn points through daily activities:
- Following the campaign accout
- Exploring the themed page
- Searching the campaign hashtag
- Inviting friends to complete activities
- Posting content with the campaign hashtag
Accumulating points allows users to participate in a lottery for prizes such as round-trip tickets for two, hotel vouchers, shopping mall vouchers, and tickets to top attractions.
The campaign embraces all sectors involved in Chinese tourism, including transportation, shopping malls, hotels, and tourist attractions, providing a holistic view of what Dubai offers and a complete travel experience in the city. From hotels to transportation to attractions, all Dubai entities participating in the initiative can gain significant visibility among users.
With its ability to quickly adapt to consumer needs and technological developments, Xiaohongshu continues to shape the behaviour of Chinese travellers. From a simple international shopping guide to a hub of travel and lifestyle content, the platform will grow further in the Chinese digital and tourism landscape, offering new and innovative opportunities to connect brands with modern travellers.