As the Chinese outbound market goes from strength to strength, direct routes into Europe on Chinese airlines are growing. Our work for our client, London Gatwick airport, focuses on supporting the expansion and includes raising awareness of the airport with the Chinese travel trade.
Collaborative Chinese Operators’ Fam with Direct Flights to London on China Eastern
In Spring 2025, Guanxi organised a week-long tourism FAM trip to the UK with direct flights into Gatwick on China Eastern. To spread the costs of the trip, and to ensure a rounded experience for the six invited tour operators, we also collaborated with another Guanxi client, London North Eastern Railway, taking the group from London, up the East Coast of England to Scotland, and with destinations and attractions along the route.
The tour operators were hand-picked for their potential to sell large numbers of flights into London Gatwick and came from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. They included group tour operators, wholesalers and tailormade travel companies. On arrival at London Gatwick airport, the group was given a warm greeting by the Commercial Team and, when they left, they took a comprehensive airport tour on the final morning before departure, experiencing the airport’s key services and facilities as well as the procedures for customs clearance. The representatives were additionally granted an experience in the No.1 lounge, Gatwick’s upgraded airport lounge providing a wide range of food and drink; a relaxing end to the trip.
High Satisfaction Levels
After the trip, Guanxi conducted a survey for the agents to provide further feedback for London Gatwick as well as the other attractions and destinations visited along their route. The results demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with the trip, with all of the respondents claiming they were ‘Very Satisfied’ or ‘Satisfied’ with their experience. The passport control speeds, lounges and accessibility services received the highest scores for satisfaction, demonstrating the most positive aspects of the London Gatwick experience for the representatives.
Passport control speed, geographical location and a vast range of flight options were cited as the best features of the airport, and 66% of the respondents claimed they would ‘definitely recommend’ London Gatwick airport to their clients as a UK landing destination, with the rest being ‘very likely to recommend’. The No.1 Lounge was considered a highlight and this also left a positive impact on their view of the Gatwick experience.
Invaluable Frontline Feedback
Interestingly, the Chinese tour operators reported that they are less likely to consider aircraft type or airport location in booking a flight, with airfare and airline policy taking the lead as the most important factors. While London Gatwick can often meet these crucial criteria, there is still work to be done to solidify the airport’s position in the Chinese market. London Gatwick is not as well-known in the Chinese market than Heathrow, although the gap is closing. Whilst London Gatwick often presents lower prices than those of Heathrow’s, tour operators report that, given the lower profile, the difference is not persuasive enough for agencies to make the switch to Gatwick. By showcasing the positive aspects of London Gatwick and fully explaining its location, speed of transfer through the airport, and wide range of facilities, we can address this issue over time.
To make Gatwick more attractive to Chinese tourists, operators suggested adding Chinese translations to the primary directional signage covering the airport, which would greatly increase the accessibility to travellers, as well as more Chinese or Asian food choices in the airport lounges. A further suggestion for improvement was establishing Chinese social media accounts for London Gatwick, where information regarding the services can be shared and promoted. One of the travel agents filmed and uploaded an informative video on the Gatwick and LNER services to Wechat, RedNote and Douyin, where they shared the highlights of their trip and collected over 232,863 views.
Respect for Chinese Culture is Important
On the final day, the operators took a visit to Brighton’s Royal Pavilion, which was a highlight of their trip. They enjoyed audio guides in Chinese and were amazed by the interior design which featured several nods to older Chinese culture. Connection to Chinese culture plays a big role in attracting visitors, something that Gatwick can implement into their marketing strategy through recognising the Chinese language on signs and their traditional dishes in restaurants. The rapid growth of social media remains an important pointer, particularly for drawing in young traveller audiences and students.
Collectively, London Gatwick’s contributions provided a positive experience to the representatives on their trip and helped to identify key opportunities for growth in the collaborative relationship between London Gatwick and Chinese tour operators.