Tourism Ireland is using the popular Chinese social media messaging platform WeChat to target potential outbound tourists.
The partnership involves a new mini-programme on WeChat, called ‘Explore Ireland’ – designed to make it as easy as possible for prospective Chinese visitors to choose the island of Ireland.
The online guide features information on visas for travel to Ireland, festivals happening here right throughout the year, hotels, visitor attractions, filming locations to visit as well as information on honeymoons.
China is the largest outbound travel market in the world and one that Tourism Ireland is keen to develop the market over the coming year and in 2019, it announced its intention to double its marketing investment in the country to €1m and to also double its marketing team to 12. It is hoping to grow Chinese visitor numbers to 200,000 by 2025.
“Given the importance of social media in China, we are delighted to partner with WeChat to raise awareness of the island of Ireland among Chinese travellers,” said Aisling McDermott, Tourism Ireland’s Manager Asia and Middle East. “We’re confident that our new ‘Explore Ireland’ mini-programme will prove to be an effective way of reaching prospective Chinese visitors – using up-to-date, practical and engaging content to ensure Ireland stands out from other destinations.”
