Director of a travel agency in Tanzania, Lucy Minde is convinced: her country has a lot to offer Chinese tourists just as they have a lot to bring to Tanzania. “We have wildlife, diverse landscapes, rich culture. And China is a very populated country, with a large middle class who want to travel and enjoy good purchasing power,” says the young boss of Laitolya Tours and Safaris.
Before the outbreak of Covid-19, his agency had started to design tailor-made stays for this new clientele. Everything stopped with the pandemic. But the reopening of Chinese borders at the start of 2023 makes him say that there is not a minute to lose. “It’s a complicated market, but the potential is huge. You have to be prepared because things can happen very quickly,” warns Lucy Minde. The tour operator participated in welcoming a delegation of Chinese tourism professionals in 2023 and hopes to be able to go to China in the coming months, as part of a tour organized by the authorities to sell the “destination Tanzania”.
The East African country wants to massively increase the number of travelers from the Asian giant, described as a new “strategic market”. He is not the only one. Marketing campaigns, “roadshows”, relaxation of travel rules… From South Africa to Kenya via Tunisia, the main tourist countries on the continent are working hard to attract Chinese visitors.
This clientele is sure to whet appetites: in 2019, just before the pandemic, 155 million Chinese vacationed abroad, spending on average almost twice as much during their stays as an American tourist. Only a fraction – less than a million – then chose to go to Africa. But there were more of them every year.
Develop specific strategies
At a time when the dark chapter of the health crisis is closing, professionals hope to see the movement get underway again. According to the latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Africa recorded some 66.4 million international visitors in 2023, almost at the same level as in 2019. A boon on a continent where tourism represents in average 10% of export earnings. But this recovery is primarily due to European travelers. China only participates marginally.
In South Africa, for example, the government welcomed the arrival of 37,000 Chinese tourists between March and December, an increase of more than 200% year-on-year. But American travelers were almost ten times more numerous (354,000) and Europeans thirty times more with 1.2 million visits recorded!
“Chinese travelers primarily favor proximity – Asia – over long distances. And those who go far focus on a few emblematic destinations in Europe or the United States, easily accessible, with good infrastructure and deemed safe, summarizes Mike Fabricius, a consultant based in South Africa. They are rare to venture into our countries and Chinese tourism risks remaining a niche market. »
However, the expert considers it appropriate to develop specific strategies, drawing in particular on the close economic relationship that links China to the continent: “This country is our first commercial partner, we must better capitalize on all these Chinese who come to us on business trips throughout the year. »
“Not offensive enough”
South African authorities are promising to ease visa procedures and are working to increase air connections between the two countries. Also in Tunisia, the Ministry of Tourism announced in October 2023 a visa exemption for Chinese tourists and indicated that it wanted to open a direct Tunisair flight with China in 2024. The question of air connections remains a headache since the pandemic. In Morocco for example, a traditionally popular destination for Chinese tourists, the Royal Air Maroc line between Casablanca and Beijing, closed during the health crisis, is still cut.
Accessibility is not the only subject. The Chinese, experts argue, fear problems of instability and crime on the continent. Those who do not do business there know little about Africa. “So far, we have not been aggressive enough in promoting our country in China,” says Gcobani Mancotywa, head of the Asia zone at the South African Tourist Board. Now we design targeted marketing campaigns by working with major Chinese platforms like Ctrip [the main tour operator app in China] or Baidu. »
In Kenya too, sector managers are increasing seduction operations on Chinese social networks such as WeChat, Weibo and Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok). “For too long, we have communicated poorly about our products,” said Mohammed Hersi, former president of the Kenya Tourism Federation and director of operations for tour operator Pollman’s. The result is that the few Chinese tourists who come to us are only interested in the wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara park. But it’s a very brief event that only happens once a year, even though we have so many other things to offer! »
The weakness of the Chinese economy
One thing is certain, the big tourist countries have so far calibrated most of their offer to the needs and desires of Europeans and North Americans. “But whether it is the language, the type of cuisine, tours or entertainment, the expectations of the Chinese are not the same,” emphasizes Lucy Minde. We must learn to adapt. »
There remains one factor over which African countries have little control: the weakness of the Chinese economy, with a record unemployment rate among young people and incomes which are increasing more slowly. A complex situation whose effects on tourism are felt everywhere. In recent months, the Chinese have only slowly returned to France, one of their favorite destinations before Covid-19.
“Targeting the Chinese is good, but it should not be our only objective,” insists Mohammed Hersi. There are other very promising new markets such as India or Eastern Europe and we must not neglect our traditional customers in Europe and the United States who still remain the most important. »
