WeChat vs All.
A Chinese tourist represents a good potential for the global and, in particular, for the European tourism industry. Similarly, a European tourist can attract tourism businesses in China. It would seem that the exchange of tourist flows should be beneficial to everyone – both tourists and destinations, but everything is not so simple. In terms of digitalization, China has not only far surpassed Europe, but also has become isolated. For example, a European tourist who is used to global services like Google, Facebook or Whatsapp will not be able to use them in China. They just don’t work there. A Chinese tourist will not be able to use WeChat in Europe, because it is not popular there. While in China, WeChat replaces all the popular services. The language barrier also does not simplify the situation. This is especially inconvenient for independent and Smart tourism.
It’s hard to say what the Chinese tourism authorities think about it, but their European colleagues are already looking for a solution to this problem and taking certain steps. Read an interview with Dmitry Belov, Deputy Head of Market Development at Düsseldorf Tourism LLC:
https://www.myvinn.com/en/news-en/interview-en/digitalisation-can-we-keep-pace-with-china