WeChat app a new asset for tourism

A tourism expert says an app to be launched on Chinese social media platform WeChat is a “timely and important initiative” to stop the falling visitor numbers from China.

New Zealand was among the destinations in the world with the strongest decrease in arrivals of Chinese package tour groups, those from smaller cities and those above 50 years of age, according to a China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) study.

The app, Auckland’s first WeChat city experience guide, claims to be the world’s first live-chat function that enables Chinese-speaking residents to share local knowledge with potential visitors in China.

The app will also allow users to make payments, order food deliveries and book hotels and flights.

“This is a timely and important initiative. It heightens the ability of Auckland to open up a richer array of experiences for the very important China market,” Auckland University of Technology Professor of Tourism and New Zealand Tourism Research Institute director Simon Milne said.

“This approach reflects the ongoing focus of visitors on wanting to ‘get local’ and to understand more authentic dimensions of urban visitor experiences,” Milne said.

The app was developed by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) to target the China market.

ATEED general manager Steve Armitage said said the app would be launched to the mass Chinese market once a local pool of advocates was established and up and running.