Helping Travel Industry Recover After Covid-19, Xiang Zhang and Cindy Zhu Join Nordic Friend as Senior Advisors
China’s domestic travel industry is already recovering after the pandemic. To help Nordic and also global travel industry clients succeed in China, Xiang Zhang and Cindy Zhu join Nordic Friend as Senior Advisors. Nordic Friend has also officially become the Source Market Partner of the pan-Nordic organization Nordic Tourism Collective.
Covid-19 and the resulting travel restrictions have affected both the demand and supply of travel, causing many businesses to severely suffer. According to Forbes, it might take years for the travel industry to recover after Covid-19. However, the domestic travel industry in China has shown good signs of recovery already, giving hope to businesses worldwide.
We want to help our clients the best way possible to succeed in the post-Covid era and we are delighted to announce that Xiang Zhang and Cindy Zhu have joined Nordic Friend as Senior Advisors. They will be a strong reinforcement to our full-service portfolio especially for the travel industry recovery in Chinese outbound market.
Xiang Zhang based in Helsinki and Cindy Zhu in Beijing
“I am impressed by how efficiently Nordic Friend provides marketing, branding and communication expertise to support and strengthen its customers’ success in China. With my solid background in the B2B travel industry I am sure we’ll do great things together,” says Zhang.
Xiang Zhang is the Co-founder of Timetravels Incoming Ltd based in Helsinki, he and his team have years of experience in Finland and the Nordics, successfully connecting Chinese tourists, Chinese buyers and local Nordic suppliers.
Cindy Zhu, based in Beijing, has 15 years of working experience in the tourism industry before she founded Global Match. She served as the PR & Marketing Manager at Scandinavian Tourist Board (STB) China Office from 2005 - 2019. Cindy has a wide network locally in China with mainstream media, digital platforms, celebrity agents and trade industry professionals, planned and executed multiple excellent integrated marketing campaigns and projects.
“It is my great honor to join Nordic Friend as a Senior Advisor, to better expand cooperation and projects for tourism and also other industries with innovative ideas and quality services,” says Zhu.
Meanwhile, Nordic Friend has also become the official Source Market Partner (China) for the Pan-Nordic travel industry association Nordic Tourism Collective, and will continuously contribute insights, updates and various services with added-value for the whole community.
CHINESE OUTBOUND TRAVELLING: CHANGE IN TRENDS AND DEMAND
As we wrote on our previous blog on “What to Expect When Chinese Tourists Continue International Travelling?” the international tourism landscape in China is about to change. For example, those who preferred group travelling are expected to turn to independent travelling or smaller groups due to safety concerns, which also creates a demand for digital booking services.
According to Rixin Jiang, CEO of Nordic Friend, the Chinese outbound tourism market recovery is still not yet to come in the near future and might take a long time. But presence of the destinations and suppliers and still crucially needed.
“Tourists are not travelling abroad, but they are still reading, browsing, waiting and expecting. Chinese tour operators are also now gradually getting prepared to see the new products and offers from foreign suppliers and destinations after Covid-19,” commented Rixin Jiang.
Xiang Zhang also sees many new possibilities for international travel industry businesses to develop their services to meet the changed needs of Chinese travelers:
“The most crucial factor in tourism business recovery, especially in the Chinese market, is the confidence to travel. With the restrictions gradually being lifted by the European Union, the demand for international travel from China will eventually recover one day. In order for businesses to get their B2B customers back as soon as possible, it is important to invest in attractive offers and a Chinese-friendly digital booking portal for example.”
“Let’s not waste any time wallowing in the crisis but get ready for the new demand and the new way of travelling,” he concludes.
EXPANDING THE COMPANY SUPPORTS FUTURE GROWTH
Even though the first half of 2020 has been challenging, we see potential for the travel industry to recover. This is why we continue to invest in our future as the Nordics’ leading service provider when it comes to marketing and communications in China.
“Xiang and Cindy both have an extensive background from sales development in the tourism industry in China. With their network and know-how, we can now fully help our clients to build and execute a commercially successful entry or growth plan in the Chinese market. Nordic Friend will now be the first service provider in the Nordics that can independently offer the complete range of services from planning to execution on the Chinese travel market,” says Jesse Ketonen, the Chairman of Nordic Friend.
Nordic Friend was established in Helsinki in 2016, then became a leading marketing and communications agency focusing on Chinese market. We have helped multiple Nordic and European clients from various industries including government, tourism, education, retail, food, forest and more, to successfully land and expand in China.
Nordic Friend opened their China branch office in late 2019, and now operates from Helsinki, Shanghai, Beijing and Stockholm. For more information, contact Rixin Jiang (rixin@nordicfriend.net).
