Harvard Square Businesses Devise Strategy To Appeal to Chinese Tourists

Though Harvard Square is already a popular tourist attraction, local businesses are working to bring in even more visitors, particularly targeting Chinese travelers.

The Harvard Square Business Association recently partnered with the company Attract China to reach out to Chinese visitors, according to HSBA Executive Director Denise A. Jillson. With the company’s help, HSBA and businesses in the Square will advertise to Chinese tourists with a website in Mandarin.

“It’s critical to the economic vitality of the Square, there’s no doubt about it,” Jillson said. “That’s why we thought given the number of tour groups coming in, increasing every year, and the number of Asian tourists that are arriving, it seemed prudent and even necessary.”

Set to launch in April, this online portal will feature various restaurants, retailers, and other attractions in Cambridge and the greater Boston area. The organization has teamed up with more than 70 individual companies to provide information in Mandarin about popular destinations.

Founded in 2011, Attract China partners with businesses to assist them in contacting and establishing a presence with Chinese tourists. The company operates a Mandarin website called Xiao Yao Dao, which translates to “the gateway to getaway,” through which Chinese tourists can learn about hotels, casinos, museums, and events in a variety of destinations.

According to Evan Saunders, CEO and Co-Founder of Attract China, he first thought of the idea for the website in Beijing, where he says he “got really in touch with the Chinese traveler.”

Today, Saunders said, the company aims to help tourists get the full experience when they travel to places like Harvard Square. They target both individual travelers as well as Chinese students already studying in the U.S.

“Harvard Square plays integral role as it’s very visited by Chinese tourists," Saunders said. "There are fantastic shops and activities to do here.”

According to Jillson, although tourism from China already plays an important role in the local economy, recent changes in the way that U.S. visas are processed helped spur the decision to work with Attract China.

According to the website of the United States Embassy in Beijing, the U.S. established a new streamlined visa process last year. But Jillson said that this is not the only reason that Square businesses are looking to China.

“The number of Asian tourists here in the Square is increasing every year,” Jillson said. “This will be the first time that we’ve done this with a particular website. We haven’t reached out specifically to any other populations.”

For Daniel Berger-Jones, president of Cambridge Historical Tours, Chinese tourism also represents an appealing business opportunity for several reasons.

“The demand is ever increasing, just by nature of the fact that the Chinese market is opening up, [with] more direct flights,” Berger-Jones said. “It’s only going to grow. That’s why everybody is excited that Attract China is looking at Harvard Square.”

Eight tours have been led in Chinese so far by tour guides fluent in Mandarin, according to Berger-Jones. Although most American groups like tours that emphasize personal narratives, Cambridge Historical Tours has tailored their tours to Chinese groups’ specific preferences.

“We came up with a completely different tour that focuses more on superlatives,” Berger-Jones said. “What the groups tend to want is a really nice photo in as many places as humanly possible.”

However, Berger-Jones also said that there have been some difficulties in trying to bridge the culture gap, including consumer behavior and miscommunication.

“In China, when you’re given a price, it is always negotiable. We’re not used to that,” he said, also noting difficulties created by the language barrier.

Despite these difficulties, Cambridge Historical Tours is not the only company working to accommodate the growing number of Chinese tourists.

“We try to translate some of our different marketing materials into different languages, including Chinese,” said Ryley Reynolds ’15, president of Harvard Student Agencies.

Additionally, HSA sells a crimson t-shirt with a Chinese character that means Harvard.

“It’s pretty popular among tourists and students,” Reynolds said.

—Staff writer Ivan B. K. Levingston can be reached at Ivan.Levingston@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @IvanLevingston.

—Staff writer Celeste M. Mendoza can be reached at Celeste.Mendoza@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @CelesteMMendoza.