The United Kingdom is the most popular place to emigrate to for Chinese people. With that in mind, the popularity of London’s Chinese New Year is hardly surprising. Chinese New Year in London is the biggest celebration of the event outside of Asia, with hundreds of thousands of people coming to see in the New Year (source: Visit London). 2015 will be the Year of the Sheep, and London has got plenty planned to welcome it.

If you want to attract Chinese tourists in the New Year, showing them what London has to offer could be a major selling point. So let’s have a look at just how Chinese-friendly the UK is with a rundown of the planned 2015 New Year celebrations.

Chinese New Year this year takes place on the 19^th of February. Considering most people in London won’t have the time off to celebrate mid-week, the city’s celebrations will take place the following weekend, on Saturday the 21^st, and Sunday 22^nd, of February. People and businesses across the capital will be taking part in themed celebrations, offerings, and parties. The two main focusses of the celebrations will be Trafalgar Square and – unsurprisingly – Chinatown!

Chinatown events

It won’t come as a shock that the majority of the New Year events will take place in Chinatown. Near Leicester Square, Chinatown will have plenty of New Year offerings, including parades, traditional Chinese entertainment, music, dragon dancers, food and craft stalls, and special themed menus in its 100 plus restaurants. Most of this activity will take place on Sunday 22^nd of February, although there will be a small ceremonial celebration on Saturday 21^st (source: Timeout). The event is popular with both Chinese and English people, showing just how easy it can be to embrace other cultural events and customs.

Official Opening Ceremony

Taking place at Trafalgar Square, the Official Opening Ceremony kicks off the celebrations with a host of special guests. A stage will be erected in the square and visiting Chinese performers and artists will lead the celebrations with music, performances, and dragon dances, all under the watchful eye of Lord Nelson and his lions. Over 300,000 people congregate to celebrate Chinese New Year across London (source: Londontown.com), so Trafalgar Square will likely be packed full of happy revellers enjoying some true Chinese entertainment.

Attracting Chinese tourists to London in the Year of the Sheep

Many Chinese use the New Year holiday period to travel abroad. We already know that the Chinese are some of the biggest spenders in the world, making them a prime market for retailers and holiday providers across the country. Chinese tourists like to know that their needs are catered for, as they often worry about the language barrier and culture gap. Using your marketing to show the wide range of events happening in the UK for Chinese New Year is the perfect chance to put their fears at rest.
According to the Zodiac, people born in the Year of the Sheep are clever, kind hearted, polite, and wise. What characteristics do you hope your marketing will have in 2015?

(Image source: “Dragon Ornaments” | www.freedigitalphotos.net)