China Herald: Roy Graff

Showing posts with label Roy Graff. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Are you ready for Chinese tourists? - Roy Graff

Roy Graff

Chinese are changing the tourist industry in the west profoundly, says Roy Graff of ChinaContact in IBT. Getting your online presence is one key element: "“The issue is that if you have a global Twitter or Facebook marketing plan, you need a separate plan for their Chinese equivalents.”

IBT:

Roy Graff, founder and managing director of China Contact, said the growth of the Japanese market may have changed the industry slightly, but it “was just a drop in the ocean compared to what Chinese tourism can impact.”

Japanese travelers, he said, compelled hotels to offer more rooms with twin beds or provide baths instead of showers. But the Chinese have their own unique travel habits. “There are certain amenities they will expect in their room,” Graff notes, “such as slippers, a kettle to make tea, instant noodles and chopsticks.” They also expect a breakfast menu that has less cheese Danish and more meat and congee.

And these are just the basics. If a hotel really wants to attract Chinese customers, it needs to offer a Chinese-language TV channel and have printed information like maps and brochures in simplified Chinese. If it’s a larger hotel, there should be someone on staff who can speak Mandarin. Going further, Chinese groups should not be allocated rooms on any floor containing the number four because it sounds like the Mandarin word for death. Also, red is lucky, but too much white is frowned upon...

Let’s say your company has a great social media department with thousands of Twitter followers and tens of thousands of Facebook likes. Your global marketing plan may work great for 80 percent of the world, but what about the 20 percent that live in China where Facebook and Twitter are replaced by state-controlled Renren and Sina Weibo?

“When companies talk about global marketing, they cannot say ‘Well it’s China.’ It has to be an integral part,” Graff said. “The issue is that if you have a global Twitter or Facebook marketing plan, you need a separate plan for their Chinese equivalents.”

Offline, forging people-to-people connections in China is key.

“The change in Europe and North America is going to be profound. Chinese are going places many tourists didn’t normally go, so it’s kind of like a blank slate. You can create the story that attracts the Chinese consumer.”

More in the International Business Times.

Roy Graff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´ request form.

Dealing with Chinese tourists means dealing with China´s internet media. Are you looking for experts on e-commerce at the China Speakers Bureau? Have a look at this list.

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

The changing Chinese tourist - Roy Graff

+Roy Graff

More exciting and diverse, describes tourism expert Roy Graff the increasingly fragmented market of now 19 million outbound Chinese tourists. Their numbers are growing fast and allows both mass marketing and interesting niche markets to develop. The internet is a key tool to get to them.

Roy Graff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you a media representative and do you want to talk to one of our speakers? Do drop us a line.

Friday, November 08, 2013

Independent travelers replace tour groups - Roy Graff

+Roy Graff

The traditional Chinese tour groups, with a flag and similar hats for all, are being replace by more independent travelers, tells China tourism expert Roy Graff in the Atlantic. "Attitudes are changing."

The Atlantic

Yet perhaps the biggest reason that more Chinese people are traveling independently abroad is that it has simply become a lot easier to obtain visas. As late as the 1980s, only Chinese people on business and official trips were permitted to travel overseas, with government approval needed for every single visit. Then, in the 1990s, the government introduced the unique Approved Destination Status System, which paved the way for group travel abroad. Soon thereafter, China’s neighbors began issuing individual “leisure visas” and visas on arrival, but most Western nations were reluctant to follow suit.

“Consulates resisted issuing individual visas because of the perceived risk of illegal immigration. With the group visas, the tour operator could be held responsible if someone didn’t return to China,” explains Roy Graff, the managing director of the tourism consultancy China Contact.

But with the rise of affluent Chinese tourists, attitudes are changing.

“The watershed moment was in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics. These events put the wealth of China on the global stage,” says Graff, adding that “Western countries realized that the segments of the population that can afford to travel abroad are already part of a developed economy and aren’t likely to overstay their visas and disappear.”

More in the Atlantic.

Roy Graff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

China Weekly Hangout

Earlier, at June 20, Roy Graff addressed at the +China Weekly Hangout the question 'what do Chinese tourists want?' He discussed the increasingly diversifying market of Chinese tourists. And yes, there is no longer one answer for basic questions. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

Is the banking bubble bursting?

On Monday 11 November shadow banking expert Sara Hsu will be discussing the latest developments in the +China Weekly Hangout and give her view in an upcoming hangout on what we can expect in the months to come, and hopefully has already some idea of what the Third Plenum will lead to. Broadcasting time will be 5pm CET, 11am EST and (unfortunately) midnight at Beijing time (but you can watch the session also later). Questions will be asked by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau. There will be no other guests in the hangout – unless you have some very good arguments. But questions can be asked during the event, from our event page here.

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

New tourism law might hurt the middle-man - Roy Graff

+Roy Graff

The new tourism law, aimed at protecting consumers, might hurt travel agents on the short run, but destinations can benefit, if they play their cards right, says tourism expert Roy Graff in the Travelmole.com. Independent travel is on the rise.

Roy Graff:

The complaints by tourists about being pressured to shop, being charged unreasonable amounts for various optional activities and excursions is what led the government to enact this law. What is less easy to acknowledge is that Chinese WANT to go shopping abroad and spend more than 60% of their trip budget on shopping. This will not change because of the law, but it may lead to better choices in where and what to shop. We should not forget that the shopping business has massively contributed to this problem by offering generous commissions to tour guides and tour leaders that can earn an astute guide several times their actual salary of guiding fee.

In the short term, we can safely assume that travel agencies in China will try to follow the law and avoid discounting the tours, writing 'free time' in the itinerary instead of 'shopping time'. When the consumers start evaluating the real cost of a tour and checking the alternatives, I believe that we will see big shift to self-organised and independent travel. This trend is already happening in SE Asia and will be speeded up thanks to this law.

Destinations that can spot this opportunity and are able to capitalise on it quickly, will win the affections of the new breed of independent Chinese travellers. I am not speaking just about wealthy Chinese travellers or business people. The new generation of FIT are backpackers, couples, professionals in white-collar jobs. They can figure their way around in English but prefer to use Chinese where possible.

More in the Travelmole.

Roy Graff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

China Weekly Hangout

Last Sunday China opened its Shanghai Free Trade Zone. At the +China Weekly Hangout of October 3 we will explore some of the directions of China’s new policies, despite a huge amount of ambiguity in the current rules. You can read our initial announcement here, or register here for the event.

What do Chinese tourists want? - +China Weekly Hangout. +Roy Graff of +ChinaContact joined us on June 20 to discuss the increasingly diversifying market of Chinese tourists. And yes, there is no longer one answer for basic questions. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Engaging the Chinese consumer - Tom Doctoroff

Tom Doctoroff

"For Chinese consumers brands are a mean to an end, not an end in itself," tells JWT's Tom Doctoroff in an interview with Bob Jeffrey for a special Worldmakers episode in Shanghai. "They are not individualistic, they want to be part of society."

Tom Doctoroff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

China Weekly Hangout

What do Chinese tourists want, asked the +China Weekly Hangout hospitality specialist Roy Graff of +ChinaContact. He joins us to discussed the increasingly diversifying market of Chinese tourists. And yes, there is no longer one answer for basic questions. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

On July 1 Hong Kong we saw the annual march against Beijing rule. The +China Weekly Hangout will examine on Thursday July 4 the turnout, and how the relationship between Hong Kong and Beijing has developed, since China took over the former British enclave. You can read our announcement here, or join the debate at our event page here.

Confirmed guests: +Paul Fox, +Dee Lee (Inno) and+Brian Ho.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

What can London do for Chinese tourists? - Roy Graff

Roy Graff

The UK might be lagging in attracting Chinese tourists, a great city like London can still do more to accommodate those tourists who take the initial barriers to the island. Hospitality specialist Roy Graff spells out some tips for the city in the ChinaContact newsletter.

+Roy Graff

Whilst retail in London is more expensive than in the rest of Europe, the sales offer great value and the selection is spectacular. Prices are still cheaper than in China. Chinese love value, so the 12-15% VAT refund at the airport is music to their ears. Chinese shoppers are keen to show off their purchases using social media. Yet they are careful not to disclose the actual spend of their purchases. Instead, they might say ‘’several credit cards have been maxed out during the shopping trip”. Retailers that wish to win new fans and loyal customers should invest engaging with Chinese social media sites such as WeiBo, WeiXin, KaiXin or RenRen.

From surveys, a major frustration for Chinese shoppers is finding the right size (shoes/clothing). People also complain that they often have to compete with fellow Chinese shoppers in busy shopping districts. Off-the-beaten shopping alternatives would be much appreciated by the independent Chinese visitors.

Department stores, such as Harrods and Selfridges, as well as shopping areas like Westfield have invested in research and staff training, hired Chinese-speaking staff and started to offer Chinese language information. Retail outlets that want to ensure they are on the Chinese shoppers’ map should invest in cultural awareness and service training, offer Chinese language information and accept the China Union Pay payment card. Learning to distinguish the different types of Chinese shoppers and knowing where they are from (North China, South China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc…) to better serve them would be optimal.

More in the ChinaContact newsletter.

Roy Graff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

China Weekly Hangout

What do Chinese tourists want, the +China Weekly Hangout asked last week Roy Graff of +ChinaContact. He also pointed at the huge changes taking place among Chinese tourists, and told that there is no longer 'no size, fits all' solution.

The upcoming cyber war is the subject of the +China Weekly Hangout on Thursday 27 June. The revelations by Edward Snowden showed that the US is preparing a military shake-out, as both China, Russia and other countries are building up their cyber war capacities too. Joining us are former security consultant +Mathew Hoover and media en communication lecturer +Paul Fox of the Hong Kong University. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra, president of the China Speakers Bureau.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Chinese tourists, beyond the cliches - Roy Graff

Roy Graff

Chinese tourists not only boom in numbers, they are much harder to understand, as their wishes diversify. China hospitality expert Roy Graff discusses at the China Weekly Hangout the place of governments, travel agents and the tourists themselves.

Roy Graff is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

The upcoming cyber war is the subject of the +China Weekly Hangout on Thursday 27 June. The revelations by Edward Snowden showed that the US is preparing a military shake-out, as both China, Russia and other countries are building up their cyber war capacities too. Joining us are former security consultant +Mathew Hoover and media en communication lecturer +Paul Fox of the Hong Kong University. Moderation by +Fons Tuinstra, president of the China Speakers Bureau.

You can read our announcement here, or register right away for participation at our event page.

In February security consultant +Mathew Hoover and reporter +Charlie Custer of +TechinAsia joined a discussion about the hacking issues, the Sino-US relations, including some useful information on what to worry about and what not. Moderation: +Fons Tuinstra of the +China Speakers Bureau.