The surge of Chinese outbound tourism presents a golden opportunity for travel brands worldwide. With outbound travel from China seeing nearly a 400% increase in 2024, and the market expected to reach full strength by the end of the year, this is a prime moment to engage this valuable audience. As Chinese travellers embrace global explorations, especially during peak seasons like Chinese New Year, now is the time to capture their attention and inspire their next adventure.
Why programmatic DOOH is the key to effective travel marketing
In a crowded digital landscape, programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising offers travel brands a powerful way to stand out. By delivering contextually relevant and visually dynamic ads, DOOH helps brands connect with travellers at pivotal moments in their journey. This means reaching them where they are—whether in bustling transit hubs, vibrant shopping centres or relaxing in hotels—when they're most open to new experiences.
Target with precision: Reaching the right audience at the right time
Today's Chinese travellers are more selective, seeking personalised and meaningful travel experiences. Programmatic DOOH allows you to go beyond traditional demographics and engage specific audiences with precision:
Location-based targeting: Reach travellers in proximity to specific locations, such as airports or tourist districts, using points of interest (POI) targeting.
Time-based targeting: Schedule your ads to appear during key periods of the day or week. For example, promote your destination in high-traffic areas during rush hour or on weekends.
Audience-based targeting: Leverage behavioural and demographic data to connect with specific travel segments. For instance, display family-friendly resort ads to frequent flyers with children or luxury shopping promotions to affluent travellers near upscale hotels.
Capturing context: Why DOOH wins for travel brands
DOOH advertising in China has transformed urban spaces into interactive marketing landscapes by leveraging advanced technology and extensive urban screens to deliver dynamic, targeted content. These screens reach millions, creating immersive opportunities to connect with travellers in a powerful way.
Dynamic Creative capabilities amplify this by allowing brands to adjust real-time messages based on specific triggers like time, location, or the weather. For example, an airport ad could showcase warm beach destinations in winter and warm beach destinations in winter and promote tropical island getaways during summer, ensuring relevance and maintaining traveller interest throughout their journey.
Where your message takes centre stage
Vistar's extensive network, partnered with top-tier media owners, covers high-traffic and strategically relevant venues, including airports, transit hubs, shopping centres, residential complexes, and more. This breadth allows marketers to reach travellers at pivotal moments throughout their day—whether at home in residential buildings, during their commute in transit hubs, or while shopping at retail centres. By strategically placing ads where travellers are most engaged, campaigns maximise reach, relevance, and impact. Before launching a campaign, consider prime inventory options that ensure your message is seen at every key touchpoint along a traveller’s journey.
Transit
Transit screens are strategically located in high-traffic transportation hubs such as train stations, subways, airports, and taxis. These locations engage travellers at pivotal moments of their journey—whether navigating terminals, awaiting departures, or collecting baggage. This makes them ideal for travel brands to promote timely messages like last-minute flight deals, hotel booking options, or destination highlights that capture the traveller's attention while they're in transit mode.
- Media Owner Spotlight: JCDecaux China
- Screen Locations: Major transit areas like the Shanghai and Beijing Metro, Shanghai Hongqiao and Pudong airports, and along subway platforms.
Shopping Malls
Reach consumers at point-of-purchase locations when they are actively shopping and open to inspiration. Digital screens in shopping malls provide an opportunity for travel brands to highlight special packages, luxury travel experiences, or promotions for travel essentials, connecting with audiences as they browse and make purchasing decisions.
- Media Owner Spotlight: PDG
- Screen Locations: Front and centre in mall atriums
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Residential
DOOH screens within residential apartment complexes provide a unique, high-frequency touchpoint that connects with audiences where they live. This setting is ideal for travel brands to deliver messages that resonate with daily life, such as vacation planning reminders or seasonal “home away from home” getaway promotions.
- Media Owner Spotlight: ET Star
- Screen Locations: Over 100,000 screens in apartment elevators, lobbies, and along key wall spaces.
Hotels
Hotel-based DOOH screens present an effective advertising environment for brands to reach travellers as they immerse themselves in their travel experiences. This is an opportune time to showcase messages that tap into the travel mindset—whether inspiring their next trip or reinforcing loyalty programs and exclusive offers. Engaging guests during moments of relaxation or downtime helps brands create a memorable connection and build excitement for future travel plans.
- Media Owner Spotlight: Facebox
- Screen Locations: Along high-traffic areas like hotel lobbies, lounges, and other communal spaces.
More than just technology, Vistar offers local expertise
We have teams on the ground and inventories across China (including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), and around the world, ready to help you craft and implement DOOH strategies tailored to the unique expectations and interests of the Chinese travel market. We understand the nuances of this dynamic audience and can help you navigate cultural sensitivities and media consumption habits to achieve maximum impact.
Contact us today to discover how we can help you achieve your campaign goals.
