The official promotional agency of Milan, YesMilano, has partnered with Tencent to launch a WeChat account and a Mini Program with the Italian city continuing its push to cater to Chinese luxury shoppers.
WeChat is an essential resource used by Chinese for trip planning and YesMilano’s account will help travellers discover some of city’s key attractions such as Duomo di Milano, Teatro Alla Scala, and Quadrilatero della Moda, Milan’s luxury fashion district. Local businesses will be encouraged to develop a presence on China’s most popular social media platform to expand the digital experience for Chinese travelers.
The collaboration with Tencent will also help YesMilano better understand the behaviors and wants of Chinese travelers by providing access to a wealth of WeChat data, a factor that will be further enhanced with the rollout of the Mini Program, a move scheduled for the end of 2019.
“We aim to be remembered by Chinese visitors as the most Chinese-friendly city in Italy,” said Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan, in a statement, “Milan and the Chamber of Commerce are strongly committed in reaching that goal, as supporters of YesMilano. We are sure that WeChat will unlock all the barriers for Chinese visitors to have an incredible experience.”
A China-smart digital approach is crucial for destinations hoping to draw Chinese tourists and WeChat should be the starting point for DMOs and cultural attractions. According to a Resonance Consultancy report, 80 percent of millennial Chinese travelers engage with the official WeChat accounts of destinations they visit on an occasional or daily basis.
Driven by a thirst for fashion and facilitated by direct flights from Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, Chinese visitation to the Italian fashion capital has exploded in recent years, with Chinese making up 36 percent of total tourist spending in 2018. With YesMilano’s ever-evolving digital strategy, one should expect this number to grow.
This post originally appeared on Luxury Daily, a content partner.
