China’s 7 top travel influencers with an instinct for #wanderlust trends
Brands are keen to recruit high-profile Chinese bloggers travelling overseas, whose opinions can sway the choices made by their followers
This article was originally written by Ruonan Zheng and was published on Jing Daily
Cashing in on outbound Chinese travellers is challenging these days. A joint report from Ctrip and the China Tourism Academy shows that even though the appetite for outbound travel remains strong, average dollar spending in the market declined by 14.2 per cent last year from 2016. Therefore, it’s vital for brands, OTAs (online travel agencies), and other cultural institutions to understand who influences the market that they increasingly rely on, and to keep Chinese outbound travellers spending.
Standing apart from most travel influencers is a small group of KOLs (key opinion leaders) who insist on travelling in style. They’re an artful group whose alluring travel posts on social media offer aspirational value and are highly persuasive to consumers. Thankfully for brands, Jing Daily has waded through a virtual sea of Chinese travel influencers and identified seven of the most important Chinese travel bloggers – those with an instinct for what’s fashionable – that you need to know about (based on social media numbers, the calibre of brands, and aesthetics, among other qualities).
1. Molly 猫力
Weibo @猫力molly: 4.7M
WeChat @maolispace: 26,800
Meipai @猫molly: 418,000
Instagram @maolimaoli: 781,000