NEWS IN DEPTH | FACE TO FACE Eastern promise


Jennifer Cormack, Lake District China Forum chair, and Colin Fox, Lake District Japan Forum chair, discuss targeting Chinese and Japanese tourists


Q: Why did the forums begin? CF: The Japan forum began following a big increase in Japanese


tourists in the 1990s. JC: After a noticeable increase in Chinese visitors in 2014, Windermere Lake Cruises and English Lake Hotels Resorts & Venues met to work together, to promote the Lake District in China. A group of Lake District tourism


businesses formed a marketing consortium in May 2015. Twice as many people travelled


from China to the UK in 2017 as in 2016, and most Chinese visitors stayed in the UK for eight-10 days, spending about 10,000 yuan (£1,137).


Q: What is the Lake District’s appeal? CF: There’s a love of Peter Rabbit and Beatrix Potter, plus the Kawaii


culture of cute animated characters. JC: The outdoors, mountains, lakes, stunning scenery and fresh air appeal to Chinese visitors. Many come from cities where blue skies and green landscapes are uncommon. The Lake District has a huge


amount of locally produced food and drink, and being a Unesco World Heritage Site has also increased our appeal.


Q: How do you get your message to the right people? CF: Targeting and consistency are key. It’s fantastic to visit and see excellent, genuine hospitality in


Japan. We learn from every visit. JC: We attend events with VisitBritain, UKinbound and ETOA; visit tour operators in China and Hong Kong; and host events in London, for Chinese agents based in London. That works well for groups,


travelgbi.com


� Jennifer Cormack is sales and marketing director at Windermere Lake Cruises, and Colin Fox is group marketing manager at English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues


In the last financial year, English


Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues saw an 85% year-on-year increase in Chinese visitors. Over the past four years, Chinese


groups business to Windermere Lake Cruises increased by 400%. Windermere Lake Cruises


also noticed a huge increase in independent travellers.


Q: How can businesses prepare for guests? JC: Forum members signed up to the Great China Welcome and have promotional materials and web pages in Chinese. Many of us completed ‘China


Ready’ training courses, and we have materials in local tourist information centres which promote the forum and our Weibo/Wechat. We commissioned a research


but for independent travellers we developed social media and websites. We target Chinese nationals


and students in the UK, and host press, operators and KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders). We feature in a destination guide, which is in mainland China visa centres.


Q: How important is social media? CF: We have not prioritised this in Japan and have focused on travel trade and media. Our representation in Japan, Mr Takenaka, conducts about 30 office visits a month to update the most


influential trade professionals. JC: Social media is hugely important with Chinese visitors. We created a website with a .cn domain hosted in China, and social media promotional channels for the


The huge success of the China forum proves the model can be applied to another market


‘English Lakes’. We developed Lake District sites on Chinese platforms WeChat and Weibo, and businesses have translated materials and signage.


Q: How can you measure success? JC: We struggle to monitor Chinese visitors coming into the area but each business can monitor some level of nationality.


programme by Lancaster University Management School to discover what Chinese visitors expect when travelling. Forum members and staff


attended China Outbound Tourism Research Institute training, run by Capela Training.


Q: What future plans are there? CF: The huge success of the China forum proves the model can be


applied to another market. JC: We are looking to work with other World Heritage Sites to create World Heritage tours. We plan another visit to China,


and are planning multi-destination itineraries throughout the UK. The Lake District is becoming


established within the Chinese market, but there’s huge potential for growth, and this model can be


applied to other overseas markets. windermere-lakecruises.co.uk englishlakes.co.uk


September 2018 | TravelGBI 13


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