Shanice Tang Ho-yan, web production and creative manager at ZUJI Hong Kong, thinks that with the growth of the internet and mobile device users, the demand for online travel agents will increase exponentially in the coming years.
“The online travel industry widens my horizons. I am able to make friends with people from various sectors such as vendors, co-workers at airline partners and representatives from foreign tourism boards, who come from different corners of the world. My job allows me to see different things and diversify my lifestyle,” she says.
Tang’s main responsibility is to promote the company’s business through both online and offline platforms. Her daily duties include organising and following up all joint promotion campaigns with various tourism boards and airline partners, in order to boost brand awareness for ZUJI and its partners.
She has to execute online campaigns from the initial brainstorm to the final website development. “I have to look at the site traffic to make sure the campaign has enough awareness and look to drive more visitors and member acquisition,” she says.
“As we are doing online business which involves rapid changes, there are new regulations or new trends every other second. I have to be sensitive to the pulse of the market. I always try to be ahead of my competitors – try to think out of the box and do something which didn’t exist in the market before,” Tang adds.
A passion of travel is a must for working in travel agencies, Tang says. “Every day, we deal with all types of travel-related business. Before selling travel packages to customers, you first have to be ‘addicted’ to the business. My colleagues and I are in love with travelling and exploring everything new around the world,” she says.
When Tang first joined Zuji, she started as a “web producer” focusing on online updating and operations. Two years later, after she became familiar with the system, she was promoted to her current position.
“I had formal design training and experience as a web designer before joining Zuji. My design experience helped me a lot in bringing new ideas and total solutions to our airline partners,” she says.
Working in a vibrant industry such as travel requires creativity and in-depth knowledge of marketing. “I blend my creativity with all the knowledge and passion I have for the travel industry. Knowledge of how to run an online business, as well as analysing online trends and consumer web surfing behaviour, are learned on the job,” Tang says.
She expects continuous growth for her industry, as travel has become almost essential for most Hongkongers and traditional travel packages are no longer able to fulfil the growing demand for unique and tailor-made travel experiences.
