Credit:

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Is Edinburgh Ready to Capitalise on the Chinese Market?

Credit:

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

1. China is the world’s most valuable source market for international tourism

2. The number of Chinese visitors to Britain in the first six months of 2015

reached a record 90,000, 28% up YOY.

1. China is in the top 5 growth markets for Scotland. Whilst it was 17th for

volume in 2014, it’s in 9th place for value (£69m, up four places from 2013).

1. The number of annual Chinese visitors in to Scotland is estimated at

34,000; with an additional 16,000 from Hong Kong (small IPS sample size).

2. Edinburgh is the most visited destination in the UK for Chinese visitors,

after London.

Why Focus on China? 10 facts

6. The UK is reducing the cost of visas for Chinese visitors and extending

them from six months to two years.

6. There were over 100,000 Chinese visitors at Edinburgh Castle in 2014;

at the National Museum of Scotland, numbers doubled from 3% of overseas

visitors in 2013 to 7% in 2014 and Chinese people account for 5% of visitors

to the Scotch Whisky Experience.

6. There are approximately 9000 Chinese students studying in Scotland, of

which 3400 are in Edinburgh. The DLP Research project indentified that

53% of Chinese students surveyed had visitors at least once a year.

6. Chinese visitors account for almost a third of the Tax Free Shopping

vouchers distributed by Harvey Nichols Edinburgh.

6. According to DLP research, 26% of tourism businesses have translated

information in to Mandarin, with a further 46% considering doing so.

Why Focus on China? 10 facts

As second most-visited destination after London, indirect connections are

already well-used:

• Indirect air route connections from China:

– British Airways x 25

– KLM x 32

– Finnair x 6

– Qatar x 5

– Etihad x 3

• New direct route to Manchester, with easy connectivity to Edinburgh

• Easy rail connections from London

China Air Services Project

5 differences between Chinese & P

6

1. Group

Size

2. Motivation 3. Preparation

5. Shop to Spend 4. Trip Type

Differences between Chinese & Western Visitors

Doing something

is better than

doing nothing

Small steps

make a big

difference

Adapting just

one of your

daily services

helps you

become

“China Ready”

Support Resources and toolkits will be made available on ETAG’s website for you to

access and use free of charge.

Industry Support: If you have questions about the Chinese visitor market in

Edinburgh or want to know how you can become China Ready, contact:

10 General cultural insights into Chinese visitors

1. Few Chinese own

international credit

cards, they use

Union Pay

2. 50% of travel is

booked through the

travel trade; 50%

with the carrier

3. Most of mainland

China speak

Mandarin and use

simplified Chinese

5. Improve your

ability to

communicate via

Translation Apps

4. English is taught

in Chinese schools

from age 10, as well

as some nurseries

6. The lucky number

‘8’ and event

numbers, avoid ‘4’

7. Strong Gifting

Culture

Whisky, Cosmetics,

Jewellery,

9. Signs make rules

clear & prevent

confusion

8. Travel research

on non-

transactional

websites

10. And remember

to

have a little…

5 x tips for Accommodation Providers

5 x tips Visitor Attractions & Retailers

Top tips for ACCOMMODATION providers

Welcome letter from your general

manager

Translate services, procedures

& facilities: mealtimes, check out

times, use of room card

Explanations!

Smoking is

common in

China. Highlight

non-smoking

areas

aren’t common in

China. Explain

additional service

charges in

advance

Slippers, toothbrushes are available in 3* hotels

Go the extra

mile with a

snack tray of

Chinese

branded

items

Most important meal of the day is breakfast

A picture speaks a thousand words

Superstitions Commodities

Top tips for: ATTRACTIONS and RETAILERS

• Chinese love taking

photographs

• Provide suitable photo stops

• Have your attractions name in

sight

• Indicate areas where taking

photo’s is forbidden

• If you have lunch/dinner

facilities on site, inform the

travel agency & guide.

• Eating on site saves precious

time = more time to enjoy

your attraction.

Language provisions

Provide Photo Stops

Advise of any on-site dining

facilities

are important as

many travellers don’t

understand or speak

English.

• In the UK a sales tax

of 20% (Vat) is

added to goods.

• Visitors from outside

the EU can claim this

tax back when

departing the country

Q&A: www.globalrefund.com

• Items with the 'Made

in Scotland' label will

be popular

• Chinese visitors don’t

like to travel around

the world to buy items

made in China

• Highlight handcraft

items/ items made

with local materials.

VAT Reclaim

Made in Scotland

Participants

• Edinburgh Airport

• Edinburgh Capital Group

• Edinburgh First

• Edinburgh’s Hogmanay

• Edinburgh Napier

• Essential Edinburgh

• Festivals Edinburgh

• Harvey Nichols

• Marketing Edinburgh

• Premier Inn

• The Royal Yacht Britannia

• Scottish Enterprise

• Scottish Government

• Sheraton

• VisitScotland

Plus engagement with:

• China Britain Business Council

• Chinese Consulate

• City of Edinburgh Council

• Edinburgh Zoo

• VisitBritain

INDUSTRY

FAMILIARISATION

• Business Briefing w/ VB&VS

• Business Opportunities Guide

• Online tools and resources

• China Champions

EDINBURGH CHINA AUDIT:

FACTS & RESEARCH

PARTNER & INDUSTRY INSIGHT

INFORMED TARGETS &

OBJECTIVES

AGREED

MESSAGING

EDINBURGH’S

CHINA-READY PLAN

INDUSTRY

COLLABORATION

• VB China Welcome engagement

• VS/VB Media Trip opportunities

• Audit and evolve China-Ready

collateral: eg China Map

• #blogmanay promotion

CHINA AIR SERVICES

PROJECT SUPPORT

• Ongoing evidence and testimony

to support business case

• Ongoing CRDG engagement

with new Air Services Project

Manager

MEASUREMENT

• No of Business Engaged

• Post event survey

• Web traffic

MEASUREMENT

• No of China Welcome subs

• #blogmanay and media trip

reach/ conversion

• Web traffic/enquiries from print

MEASUREMENT

• Successful contracting of charter

and/or scheduled flights by EDI

PHASE ONE: Nov 15

Briefing

• Introductory Breakfast Business

Briefing (1hr)

• Signposting of resources and

local case studies on ETAG

website

PHASE THREE: Mar 16+

Training & Development

• China module on OUR

EDINBURGH online training

• Detailed web resources

• Cultural/Retail training for

frontline staff

• Innovation workshops to support

product development

• Learning Journeys

PHASE TWO: Dec 15-Mar 16

Familiarisation

• Detailed workshop (half/day) for

owners and managers, inc

specialist topic workshops on

Union Pay and Google Translate

• Business Opportunities Guide

Industry Familiarisation

MAKING THE MOST OF

OPPORTUNITIES

• Maintain opportunities calendar

• Underbelly in HK

• Blogmanay activity

• Chinese New Year events

feasibility

• Supportive team effort in event

of panda arrival

• Activation with Chinese students

MAXIMISING EXISTING

CHANNELS

• VB China Welcome programme

involvement

• VB Great campaign

• Scotland.cn and social media

• Edinburgh China MAP

• VS/FE/VB media visits

• Collaboration with airlines

• Learning from int’l best practice

NARRATIVE and

KEY FACTS

• Edinburgh China Fact Sheet,

collaboratively developed and

updated for use in ongoing PR &

trade relations

• In language

• Market tested

• Hosted online

• Distributed to partners

Industry Collaboration

What is #Blogmanay?

‘#Blogmanay’ was conceived in 2012 as a means of

using travel bloggers and a high-impact social media

campaign to showcase the unique experience of

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and using the festival as a

gateway to explore and discover the delights of visiting

Scotland, the ‘Home of Hogmanay’ in winter.

Our objective is to generate a huge digital footprint

and bank of on-line content promoting Scotland

through blogs, reviews, videos, photographs and

tweets, using a mix of established travel bloggers from

around the world, Scotland’s tourism industry, residents

and local ambassadors, international visitors and

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay audiences.

#Blogmanay – making it happen…

Supported by:

Thanks to:

Spectacular Content

Edinburgh & Scotland Content

#Blogmanay – Campaign Results

Since EH2012/13 #Blogmanay has generated:

Tweet Activity – Over 46,000 Tweets

Contributors – Over 14,000 users

Exposure - 225 million Twitter Impressions

Reach - Over 18 million Twitter accounts

Bloggers – Over 60 Bloggers from around the

world

Long-Term - Over 180 blog posts generated

Instagram: 6,707 photographs

over 230,000 likes & 8500 comments

Generating over 16m impressions

#Blogmanay - Collaborate and Amplify...

ETAG (Edinburgh Tourism Action Group) VisitScotland

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Festivals Edinburgh

Scotland Year of Food & Drink BBC Scotland

Marketing Edinburgh EventScotland

City of Edinburgh Council Historic Scotland – Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh’s Christmas National Museum Scotland

Edinburgh Airport Mary Kings Close

Sheraton Grand The Scotch Whisky Experience

Royal Yacht Britannia Gleneagles

Forth One Johnnie Walker

Deuchars IPA Arnold clark

Ice Factor (Glencoe) Haggis Adventures

Lothian Buses National Galleries Scotland

Filmhouse Motel One

Macdonald Hotel Number Twenty

Balmoral Hotel Apex Hotel

Can you Escape? Electric Circus

Edinburgh Bus Tours Urban Angel cafe

Edinburgh Rugby One Spa at the Sheraton Grand

Harvey Nichols Hotel Du Vin

Fruitmarket Gallery Karl Griffin Photography

Tapame Restaurant Amarone Restaurant

Lesley Martin Photo Element Bar

G&V Hotel Edinburgh Dungeon

Waldorf Astoria Great Base Apartments

Hula Juice Bar The Scotsman

Evening News …..

Photo credit – @kirstenalana

Contact:

Alan Thomson – Unique Events al@unique-events.co.uk

Leah Silverlock – Unique Events

leah@unique-events.co.uk

A Glimpse at Chinese Tourists &

Students

April Tsai

Edinburgh Napier University EFL Programme Coordinator

a.tsai@napier.ac.uk

Introducing

Edinburgh Institute (EI)

Dedicated to improving leadership and management through practice-based learning for companies at all sizes.

Destination Leaders Programme (DLP)

Provides an opportunity to build a new leadership model for Scottish tourism

Seeking to position Scottish regions as world leading tourism destinations

English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

Pre-sessional and short courses for the University

Approx. 500 Chinese students each year

When Chinese Meet Edinburgh

What We Love

• Fresh Air

• Historical Architecture

• Festive atmosphere all year round

• Friendly and polite people

• History and Tradition

• Landscape

What We Wonder/Miss

• Hot water

• Business Opening Hours

• Cold Lunch

• Gifts for parents, sisters, classmates, bf/gf, neighbours, cousins of the neighbour, the cat…

• Family at Chinese New Year

When They Come in Groups….

• Queue in Line – not a thing that everyone would do

• Public Courtesy – working on it, not quite there yet

• Service Expectations – through the roof!

The awareness of behavioural correction is rising in China; here in Edinburgh, what can businesses do to prepare?

Chinese Favourites in Edinburgh

Top Attractions :

1. Edinburgh Castle

2. Royal Mile

3. Scott Monument

4. Calton Hill

5. Princes St Garden

6. National Gallery

7. Holyrood Palace

8. St Giles Cathedral

Shopping List:

1. Whisky

2. Cashmere

3. Tartans

4. Luxury Brands

Restaurants: (Recommended by Chinese):

1. The Ship on the Shore (seafood)

2. Castle Terrace (Michelin)

3. La Favorita (delivery available)

4. WedgeWood (service, atmosphere, innovative menu)

5. Ondine (seafood)

6. Whitmuir (organic farm, farm life experience)

7. The Mussel Inn (seafood)

8. Amber (Scottish, fine dining)

9. Asian restaurants

good service, local, unique experience

‘One Day’ in Edinburgh • Calton Hill

• Old College

• Arthur’s Seat

• Royal Mile

• Old Town

(World Heritage)

• St. Giles Cathedral

Influence of Film

‘Look for Harry Potter in Edinburgh’ • Elephant House

• Potter Trail Walking Tour

• Teviot

• George Heriot’s School

• Edinburgh Castle

Other Popular Themes: ‘Royal Heritages in Scotland’ ‘Literature

and Romance’

Let’s Talk in Chinese!

huān yíng lái dào ài dīng bǎo Ｗelcome to Edinburgh!

nǐ hǎo Hello

nín hǎo Hello (polite)

nǐ de míng zì shì shí me? What is your name?

wǒ de míng zì shì… My name is…

xiè xie Thanks

zài jiàn Goodbye

Credit:

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo