Widening its areas of influence

Photographer Chen Yuefei spent about a month on the Greek island of Corfu trying to trace the steps of his favorite British author and naturalist, the late Gerald Durrell, whose books famously recount his childhood adventures there.

Durrell was fond of the island's wildlife and became a zookeeper later.

However, thanks in part to popularity of other Greek islands as holiday destinations, and Corfu's distance from those islands, it attracts fewer tourists and remains almost as pristine as it was during Durrell's formative years.

Chen was eager to see the "strawberry-pink villa" in which Durrell once lived and mentioned in his books. Located on a cliff behind a forest, the villa is a private property that's not open to visitors.

He learned to operate a motor boat just so he could see the villa from afar, as the locals were reluctant to take him in because of the island's proximity to disputed territory with Albania.

"The remote island is picturesque, with a varied array of flora and fauna. Visitors there are able to enjoy its tranquillity and good ecology," says Chen, from Beijing. He believes the best thing about travel is that it allows him to present destinations in an unbiased way through his work.

Illustrator Liu Huan from Shenyang, Liaoning province, draws cute cartoon characters on landscape photos that she takes during her trips, as a way to share her travel experience and the stories of locals she meets.

She has been exploring the South Pacific in recent years to prepare a travel book about the culture of the small island nations that populate the region.

In Vanuatu, she gazed in awe at the smoking crater of the active Yasur volcano, and talked with a member of a tribe that once practiced cannibalism.

On the island of Niue, with its population of just over 1,600 people, she hiked in a forest, explored caves and swam with dolphins.

"The more I learn about these island countries, the more curious I become, so, I often try to rub shoulders with the locals to learn as much about them as I can," Liu says.

Chen and Liu are both full-time "travel influencers", who share their notes online with fans. They are both listed among 2019's Top 50 Travelers compiled by tourism website Qyer, recently released in Chongqing alongside the site's marketing campaigns for 2020.

"The annual ceremony where we name our top 50 travelers illustrates the latest trends in tourism and encourages influencers to improve their professional competence, inspiring more travelers to explore the world," says Xiao Yi, Qyer's CEO, who founded the website in 2004.

According to Qyer's vice-president Cui Li, the criteria used to select the annual top 50 travelers is mainly the quality of their content. Those that make it on the list are adept in one of six areas, such as writing travel tips or finding delicious food.

"Independent Chinese travelers, especially the younger generations, are choosing their destinations and plan their trips based on their interests, and they prefer a personalized journey," Cui says.

"The travel influencers are the hipsters who showcase to our users what's cool and how to have the most fun while traveling, and each one has their own unique perspective and expertise, ranging from museums to the arts."

During the event, Qyer signed memorandums of understanding with the United States headquartered car rental company Hertz, Qatar National Tourism Council and Honor smartphones under Huawei Group to cooperate closely in delivering travel content created by the influencers.

The website regularly invites six influencers at a time, along with an editor and a photographer from the website, to visit a destination and enjoy an in-depth travel experience. The influencers will then post good quality travel content on Qyer, such as articles, photos and vlogs, and Qyer's staff will also produce an official travel column and video.

Cui says Qyer will continue to work with their partners to host more of these marketing campaigns with the influencers and the website will provide the top 50 travelers greater exposure to increase views of their content and achieve a better marketing effect.

In 2019 alone, Qyer has cooperated with more than 500 influencers, who have traveled to over 50 cities in 30 countries, with support from over a hundred brands, across various fields, such as hotels and airlines.

According to Cui, in their ecosystem－the travel content tree, as it is called－good content, big data and technology algorithms work together to empower their product, bringing greater benefit to the user. For example, their app will promote content that may appeal to specific users based on those algorithms.

In December 2018, Qyer's mobile app unveiled its new function, "Biu", which allows users to share their travel experience via photos, audio and short videos. Over the past year, about half of the content is either audio clips or short videos, and nearly one third pertains to domestic travel.

"In the mobile internet era, our time is being fragmented and we are used to absorbing small amounts of information more regularly, like microblogs," Cui says.

"The younger generations who embrace new media are the major generators of the content on 'Biu'. These are short and practical travel tips of good quality, which will guide independent travelers in ways to enjoy their trips, covering aspects like accommodation, entertainment and dining."

As a prelude to the Singles Day shopping festival in November, Qyer and online travel agency Fliggy held a three-hour livestream which garnered over six million views. Travel influencers promoted tourism products from home and abroad, including a cruise trip to the Antarctic.

"While watching a livestream that promotes fast-moving consumer goods, Chinese shoppers may make an order instantly, or engage in impulsive buying. However, the situation is different when it comes to tourism products, because it takes time for people to make up their mind about planning a trip," Cui says.

"The essence of travel is the experience itself, which is valued by visitors the most. Travelers will know what to expect in advance of their trip by watching the livestreams, which provide them with insights about their destination," she says.

With the growing implementation of 5G technology in China, Cui is confident about livestreaming's role in the promotion of tourism products and believes it will encourage the continuous evolution of the travel packages on offer.