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Foreign brands gear up for “culturisation” of their offering in China
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| Embracing the local culture and fully embedding themselves by recruiting their staff at a local level is becoming a norm for foreign companies. Hear from senior executives representing Booking.com, Amadeus, Club Med, TUI China, Thomas Cook China and Egencia about their plans at the upcoming 2018 TravelDaily Conference (19-21 September, Shanghai). |
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| What would it take to excel in China? What’s new that hasn’t been attempted before to triumph or even carve a place in this market? |
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| These questions often crop up as failure is what a majority of foreign brands have tasted over the years. |
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| But it seems there is a ray of hope with the evolving approach of foreign travel brands. They aren’t afraid to start from the scratch and tailor their offerings for China. Embracing the culture and fully embedding themselves by recruiting their staff at a local level is becoming a norm. |
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| So be it for Booking.com working on a co-branded painted aircraft with low-cost airline Spring Airlines or Accor continuously strengthening ties with China Lodging Group, brands aren’t going with old ways of approaching China. |
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| Booking Holdings has chosen to strengthen their presence via their continuous investment in local companies. Other than financial investment and commercial relationship with Ctrip, the US-based entity also chose to hold a small minority interest in Meituan by investing $450 million last year. Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings, had acknowledged the presence of Tencent as an investor in Meituan at the time of the investment. "Tencent is a major backer of Meituan," he had said. |
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| It is important for foreign travel companies to be spot on with their assessment of how China’s consumption economy is coming along and how the role of the likes of Ctrip, Tencent, Alibaba and relatively younger companies such as Meituan in shaping up. In case of Meituan, the group’s array of services is their strength i. e. store + home + travel + local transportation concept. |
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| Chinese investment conglomerate Fosun, in addition to their acquisition of Club Med, a French company specializing in premium all-inclusive holidays, also raised their stake in Thomas Cook last year. Fosun and Thomas Cook have been working on a number of initiatives over the last couple of years, including the official launch of Thomas Cook brand in China. |
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| Foreign companies have shown signs of working with established indigenous groups considering the booking behavior of travellers from China. For instance, Amadeus, in one of their reports released few months ago, described Chinese travellers as an incredibly spontaneous and adventurous bunch. Referring to the use of mobile device for planning and buying, the inclination towards interacting in their own language, being open to trying out new travel products (e. g. trying out sharing economy options for accommodation), the Amadeus' report emphasised that today’s Chinese travellers "are a lot more complex and diverse than you may think". |
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| So foreign brands are definitely looking at "culturisation" of their respective offerings in China. |
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| A session about “How Travel Giants Are Turning Their Global Resources Into Competitive Advantages” is scheduled to take place at the upcoming 2018 TravelDaily Conference (19-21 September, Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Center of International Sourcing). |
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| The following speakers will speak in this panel session: |
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More speakers >>
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Early-bird pricing expires July 20 (save $200 off the regular registration price of $980).
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| The 2018 TravelDaily Conference is conducted in both English and Chinese with simultaneous interpretation. |
