TripAdvisor launches rebrand of Chinese site
To cater to the world’s fastest growing tourism market, the world’s biggest travel website has launched a new global brand for Chinese-speaking travelers.
From now on, Chinese users will know TripAdvisor as Mao Tu Ying -- which means ‘owl’ and ‘journey’ in English -- as part of the company’s aim to unify its three Chinese language sites under a single global brand.
Currently, TripAdvisor operates three separate sites: one for users in Taiwan, one for residents in mainland China (known locally as daodao.com), as well as a recently launched site written in international simplified Chinese for the benefit of the Chinese diaspora living outside mainland China.
TripAdvisor’s new Chinese name is phonetic word play that combines the Chinese characters for owl and journey. The literal translation, however, can be interpreted as “Experience the world through different perspectives.”
The move comes amid travel forecasts predicting that mainland Chinese travelers will grow from 110 million to a staggering 230 million by 2020, points out TripAdvisor.
The latest figures available from the UN’s World Tourism Organization also confirmed that Chinese travelers are the world’s biggest spenders, having dished out $102 billion USD in international tourism in 2012.
TripAdvisor is the latest travel outfit to cater to the world’s largest travel market.
In an effort to woo Chinese visitors, earlier this year Britain’s official tourism agency released 101 new cheeky names for famous British landmarks, as suggested by Chinese travelers on social media.
One suggestion for The Shard, for instance, was “A tower allowing us to pluck stars from the sky.”
The InterContinental Hotel Group also launched a new cultural education program, training its employees on Chinese etiquette, culture and hospitality to make Chinese tourists feel more at home.
The IHG group includes brands such as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.
