Throughout the world, it has become a common way to promote companies and tourist attractions by using “Influencers”. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) earlier described the 19 Hong Kong influencers who visited Macau on January 8 and 9 as “effective in promoting Macau,” immediately driving Hong Kong residents to visit Macau. “They posted 290 posts and limited-time updates on various social media, reaching more than 2.7 million people, with nearly 90,000 interactions and nearly 3 million views”. In fact, many overseas studies have shown that the online channel is the main sales channel for global tourism, accounting for about 60% to 70% of total sales, and the trend is on the rise. In Europe and the US, opinion leaders (KOLs) have a 9% and 18% influence on gaming and travel products or services respectively.
Prof. Glenn McCartney, Associate Professor of International Integrated Resort Management at the University of Macau, stated that the influence of net celebrities varies from market to market, and according to mainland data, the influence of them can exceed 20%. He agreed that promotion through influencers or opinion leaders is a common practice worldwide nowadays and has some effect. He pointed out that there are many factors for consumers to travel to a certain place, not simply because of the recommendation of a influencers. “Of course this is a good approach, but we also need to pay attention to the effectiveness, the degree of success, and whether it can activate the new market for leisure in Macau,” he said.
Prof. Glenn also pointed out that before launching a “Influencers” campaign, it is important to know how it will work, not just to “hope” for the best. He said, “It’s important to highlight the uniqueness of the destination. I always say, what’s so special about your city? A lot of people say, “We have festivals, we have food. But many cities around the world have marathons, and everywhere has a food festival. What makes you unique from other cities? That’s the challenge. How do you let people know about these characteristics?” Prof. Glenn said that Macau currently has only a relatively small number of international visitors from Europe and the United States, and that it will be difficult to attract international visitors in the short to medium term.
Prof. Glenn pointed out that since tourists from neighboring regions have not visited Macau for several years, it is now possible to promote Macau through influencers to places such as Hong Kong, which have a frequent travel relationship with Macau, while in the short to medium term, we can start with neighboring countries in attracting international tourists. He said, “Depending on the resources and what we can achieve in the short to medium term, we should start with the area within a three-hour flight from Macau. That’s why the Asian region is also a priority. If you want to attract international tourists from the Middle East, Europe or Asia Pacific, Australia, the United States, etc., you have to use a different strategy.”
Sources: plataformamedia.com
