Heathrow Airport doubles down on Sina Weibo and WeChat to promote UK tourism in China
Heathrow Airport has launched an account on Chinese social platform Sina Weibo in a bid to raise awareness of UK tourism in the region.
Heathrow is turning its focus towards WeChat and Sina Weibo
The launch follows on from the 2015 creation of its WeChat profile and gives the hub a combined social audience of 600 million.
Heathrow will look to market UK holidays to Chinese travelers and also use the services to provide customer service to visitors via real-time journey updates.
The airport, which is the largest gateway to the UK for Chinese visitors, has appointed China-focused marketing agency Qumin to run the accounts and connect with consumers in, and outside, of China.
Content on both Sina Weibo and WeChat will serve up tips on getting around the UK, things to do and see, shopping destinations and partner offers. Location tools on WeChat will allow the airport to understand where Chinese visitors have arrived from, enabling Heathrow to make personalised recommendations to tourists.
Marc Ellams, Heathrow’s head of passenger communications, said of the launch: “We are constantly evolving the way we engage with customers and with inbound tourism from China continuing to rise, having a presence on Sina Weibo is critical if we want to provide the best possible service to our passengers.”
Just last week WeChat owner Tencent inked a global partnership with advertising giant Publicis Groupe.