Social skills

But social media is doing more than introducing new destinations. It's also shaping international audiences' understandings of everything from government policies to ordinary people.

Rodriguez says more needs to be done to publicize measures beyond visa relaxations that are making it easier for inbound visitors. Many hopeful visitors are concerned about their ability to use Chinese mobile payment platforms and don't know new measures have improved their capabilities to link these to international credit cards.

"That needs to be extensively communicated. You have to convey the message: It's not as hard as you think. I understand it was harder before, but things are evolving. Things are changing," Rodriguez says.

And promotions should go beyond just destinations to include festivals, cuisine, and increasingly, events, he says. He explains that his Italian friend learned about and visited Yunnan province because it hosted a major cycling event.

Also, new media should use "creativity in storytelling" to introduce China travel.

Su Nuoyi says: "I've realized that when I publish any video related to Chinese people is when they get more engagement on international social media platforms. Most of the people who come to China cannot speak Chinese, and we don't expect anybody here to speak English to us. So, it's like, you're here, but sometimes you cannot get close enough to get to know them."