A MAJOR chain of Australian caravan and holiday parks is targeting the
Chinese tourist market.
BIG4, which boasts of being dedicated to the spirit of the true blue
Aussie holiday, has launched the industry's first Chinese-registered .CN
website.
"At this stage, our objective is not to promote individual parks but
rather to create greater awareness in China of our holiday park sector as a whole," chief executive Steven Wright said.
With its 180-plus holiday parks scattered across Australia, BIG4 wanted to
"educate visitors" about the tremendous outdoor experiences Australia
offers, he added.
The move is in response to an increasing number of Australia's record 1.2
million Chinese visitors being free and independent travellers, venturing
further afield and pursuing more adventurous holidays.
'Timing ripe to provide more
information to Chinese travellers'
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Mr Wright said the timing was ripe to provide more information to
potential Chinese travellers about self-drive holidays within Australia.
"We were the first holiday park network to provide information on our
website in Chinese, with a translated version of content from our main
www.BIG4.com.au website," he explained.
"It seems timely during the Year of China-Australia Tourism to be taking
this a step further and to host a dedicated site within Greater China for
the added convenience and improved user experience it will provide to our
Chinese travellers.
"We're welcoming more and more Chinese visitors to our parks in
destinations across the country, so we wanted to better equip them to make
the most of their stay here.
"Only through hosting the site in Greater China will we start to see
traction within domestic search engine listings, such as Baidu, and be
able to reach Chinese users when they're researching their Australian
holiday options."
Mr Wright said they would now have the ability to engage directly, with
options to communicate with BIG4 via email, telephone or WeChat in
Chinese.
Developed by China Digital and written in simplified Chinese characters,
the site provides informative articles about camping and caravanning.
It carries sample itineraries and details on renting motorhomes to help
first-time Chinese campers navigate the experience.
It also provides links to BIG4's WeChat and Weibo accounts to drive
further targeted conversations.