86 Connect founder Annie Siara has become an expert on connecting western companies with the highly lucrative Chinese market. She sat down with our Becky Liggero Fontana to offer some advice on how Western companies can make advances in the Chinese market in a post-COVID-19 world.

Siara believes that the Chinese travel industry offers a roadmap to the state of the economic recovery in China. “We are seeing a great recovery in China with the domestic trips that have been taken recently,” she said. “A study showed that the May Labour Day holiday, between the first and fifth of May, 146 trips were made, so that’s a big recovery,” Siara said.

“We are seeing that the Chinese are willing to take international trips but that also depends on what is going on abroad and if they can make those trips sooner rather than later,” she added.

According to Siara, the stereotypical Chinese traveller has evolved from shopping junkets to something more modern. “I think the modern profile of a Chinese traveller is that they are looking for more experiences. They are looking for unique experiences and to immerse themselves in the local culture.”