Known for it’s incredibly popular football team, innovative music scene, as well as it’s history as the birthplace of the industrial revolution, Manchester is one of the UK’s most culturally rich cities. Located in the northwest of England, Manchester is considered ‘the Gateway to the North,’ making it an ideal base for further exploration. It’s within easy reach of the Lake District and the Peak District, as well as nearby cities like Chester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and York. Although it is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of London, it is easily accessible by train – journeys from London take just over two hours. For Chinese visitors there are two direct flights to Manchester Airport, one from Beijing and one from Shanghai.
In 2024, Guanxi began working with Visit Manchester, the official tourism hub for Greater Manchester. From exploring must-see attractions, uncovering hidden gems to staying up to date with the latest events, they provide ample inspiration for what activities to do in the city. Guanxi’s goal when working with Visit Manchester is to position the city as a top choice for Chinese travellers, both those visiting the UK and those already residing here.
Types of Campaigns – KOC Visits
One of our early activities with Visit Manchester included crafting highly localised and visually engaging content for Chinese social media platforms like Little Red Book. We managed to grow their follower count on that platform by 2000+ in one year, just by posting about Manchester’s unique attractions, such as its rich musical heritage, vibrant street food markets and iconic landmarks. To better accommodate the Chinese market, Visit Manchester continued to operate a WeChat subscription account, promoting various activities around Manchester and amassing 700+ followers since November 2023.
At the same time as working on Visit Manchester’s social-media presence, we we organised trips for several UK-based influencers (KOCs) to visit Manchester, showcasing various different aspects of the city and highlighting a diverse range of experiences. Chinese tourists often rely on trusted recommendations from either destination management companies, tour operators, and/or influencers to shape their travel plans. Having these stakeholders enthusiastic about what the city has to offer is crucial for building awareness and driving visitation.
Sylvia is one example of the collaborations we worked on, where she showed what a fun day out in the city looks like. You can also see another of our KOC collaborations on our YouTube account: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqGh9MrvlsM where she shows us a relaxing boat trip in Greater Manchester’s North Bay.
Great Results from the KOL Campaign
As well as KOC campaigns Guanxi launched a successful Key Opinion Leader (KOL) campaign aimed at reaching target consumers in China and the UK. A professional Chinese KOL produced a series of captivating Plogs (Post Blogs) and Vlogs about her experiences in Manchester, which garnered significant attention from users.
Sicilia, who is known for her engaging content as well as her substantial social-media following both on and off Little Red Book, shared her Manchester and North Wales adventures across Weibo, TikTok, WeChat, and popular travel sites like Ctrip and Mafengwo. Her Plogs and Vlogs highlighted the key points and memorable moments of her trip, providing viewers with an immersive glimpse into the Manchester experience.
The campaign’s impact was impressive, generating 744,000 views, 15,300 likes and saves, 1,455 comments, and 2,370 shares, boosting Manchester’s visibility as well as enticing potential travellers.
Guanxi – How We Can Help You
We specialise in marketing travel and tourism brands to Chinese customers, offering a comprehensive range of services tailored to this influential market. From cultural training and in-market PR to sales representation and social media activity, we help hotels, attractions, destinations, and businesses connect meaningfully with Chinese audiences.
We also warmly invite potential collaborators interested in joining us for future projects, providing an opportunity to promote their brand to Chinese students or enhance their social media impact within the Chinese audience. Please feel free to contact us.