China travel marketing agency

Connect China Travel (CCT) is a travel marketing agency focused on China created in 2016, with offices in Beijing and Shanghai. CCT provides a wide range of offline and online services to tourist industry professionals based in Western countries who want to increase their number of Chinese visitors, gain promotional support in this market and better adapt their product offerings to this high-growth potential client base.

In March 2021, CCT signed a partnership agreement with China tourism giant Caissa, a company listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange. This agreement involves putting in place dedicated teams in Beijing and Shanghai, cooperating on strategy and consultancy services, and providing CCT with privileged access to Caissa’s extensive local B to C and B to B network.

CCT builds on the success of Oscar Tours, a high-end French travel agency offering Chinese clients bespoke travel tours to Europe. CCT’s extended offer responds to a growing demand from travel professionals to develop the China market.

CCT was founded by Clément Duhamel, a graduate of the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. He previously managed international cooperation projects at the French Embassy in Beijing and has 10 years’ experience working in China. He has an excellent level of Chinese, having achieved a maximum score of 6/6 on the HSK test. Clément also has a personal network of over 200 Chinese contacts in the tourist industry, including travel agencies, online travel agencies (OTAs), the media, influencers, guides, European hotels and luxury boutique managers with a Chinese client base.

INDUSTRIES

Travel businesses

Destinations

Luxury goods & shopping

Cruise lines

Hotels

wine & catering

Amusement parks

Health & well-being

Software/web-based platforms

Summer camps

Clients

Partners

BACKGROUND AND STATISTICS

Numbers of Chinese traveling abroad
In 2000 : 10,5 million
In 2018 : 149 million
In 2030 : 400 million anticipated (Chinese tourists will at that point represent half of the industry’s growth worldwide)

Europe is the number one destination outside of Asia for Chinese travellers. 55% of Chinese tourists going to Europe visit France, while 37% go to Germany, 30% to Italy and 22% to the United Kingdom (source: European Travel Commission, 2019).

Groups versus individuals: 75% of Chinese tourists visiting Europe travel in small groups or alone 25% travel in large groups (coach/organised tours). Chinese tourists have become more independent, but 80% still go through an intermediary (agency or OTA).

Maturity: 62% of Chinese visitors travelling in Europe are repeaters who have already visited at least once before. As a result, there is an increasing demand for more specialised activities and destinations.

Spending : In 2018, there was a total of $277 billion of overseas expenditure, significantly higher than that of Americans ($144.2 billion).

Market yourself to Chinese tourists