According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Chinese tourists are the fastest growing group with over 164,000 visiting the island in the first nine months of this year, which represents a 73.6 percent increase.
To attract this emerging group of tourists, more and more businesses have started accepting UnionPay as a payment method.
With the holiday season fast approaching, many businesses, especially in the tourism sector, are getting ready for the busiest time of the year. To help businesses further boost their sales, Derek Chang, Head of South Asia of UnionPay International, offers 3 practical tips below:
Offer unique holiday deals: Do not try to be the same as your competitors. Consider running special promotions to attract your target group of tourists to come and spend in this holiday season. With limited time and resources, many hotels and restaurants have already started focusing their energy in marketing to specific tourist segments, such as offering special discount for UnionPay Cardholders, to maximize their return on marketing investments.
Communicate clearly: Communication is the key to marketing success. Including their native languages in key promotional messages would not just ensure tourists understand your service or product offerings; but also create a stronger incentive to buy. Not sure which languages to include? Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority periodically releases statistics and is a good starting point for finding out which are the emerging group of inbound tourists.
Think like a tourist: While tourists often pay by cash, many would pay by their preferred debit or credit cards. According to the survey conducted by the international research company - AC Nielsen, UnionPay has a remarkable 100% brand recognition rate in the Chinese Mainland. Businesses that address preference of their target customers are likely to capture more sales opportunities and satisfied customers tend to give higher ratings in their online reviews.
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