Screen idols with a ticket to ride

"For a long time, tourists often shared their trips online via photos and words. However, short videos have become the new trend because they're bright, direct and fun. It's also an efficient way for visitors to find information about local travel experiences," she says.

In June 2018, travel website Qyer unveiled its video column, working with more than 20 partners to offer professionally generated content across a number of fields. In 2019, it aims to encourage travel influencers and ordinary users alike to upload their own short videos via its app.

Qyer's vice-president Cui Li says their users are becoming increasingly willing to share their travel stories by video-about 30 percent of the daily content generated by their users are short videos. She's confident that this will only increase as China rolls out its 5G network.

"When travel influencers on social media are promoting destinations through high-quality and engaging short videos, ordinary tourists will want to have the same experiences thanks to this kind of 'celebrity endorsement'. It's a main strategy for destination marketing in 2019."

Contact the writer at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn