Online travel websites competed with each other intensely by improving consumer experience. However, consumers with different income had different preferences.
According to a research by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), China online travel booking users could be divided into four categories based on their income levels, which were high income class, lower middle income class, upper middle income class and low income class.
High income class occupied 15.9%, lower middle class was the largest group with 49.3% share. And upper middle class occupied 27.9%. Low income class was the smallest group, with 6.9%.
Furthermore, 68.2% of high income class earned more than 10,000 yuan (USD 1,630); 37.4% of lower middle class’s salary were between 1,001 and 3,000 yuan (USD 163-489); most of upper middle class earned between 3,001 and 5,000 yuan (USD 489-815); 26% of low income class had between 201 and 500 yuan (USD 33-81).