Western online retailers have benefited from China’s massive and rapidly growing base on online consumers. The demand for international travel is also growing at exponential rates for this group of web and mobile app savvy consumers. Researchers have found that China’s travel market will continue to experience steady growth through 2030.
An explosive demand for informative travel sites and a void in customer loyalty due to a lack of major travel brands have left the door open for western travel sites seeking to engage Chinese travelers.
This white paper discusses the unique opportunities for foreign-based travel sites to benefit from the burgeoning marketing of online travel in China.
Some interesting stats of China’s travel industry shared in this whitepaper:
- Chinese international travel will rise an average of 17 percent per year through 2020, spurred on by rising incomes and aspirations
- The World Tourism Council projects China’s international travel to TRIPLE Japan’s by 2020
- China’s President Xi Jinping noted in April 2014 that China will likely have 400 million tourists traveling abroad in the next 5 years
- The market is healthy and diversified, with two-thirds of China’s travelers expected to come from smaller cities
- 650 urban areas within China will soon have higher per capita disposable income than Shanghai
- Over 60 percent of travel guide app users are between the ages of 25 and 35
- They are eager to visit new places and do so in groups
- Vacations were the highest-rated category for trading up among Chinese respondents, compared to other categories such as food and beverages and personal care
- They have had little experience with leisure travel, so they seek out online travel sites for recommendations, information, and reservations. These are their most trusted sources.
- Social media opinions play a huge role in travel purchase decisions
- 400 million Chinese use blogs and consume videos
Some key takeaways from this whitepaper include:
- The growth in demand for international travel
- Understanding & capturing China’s international travel consumers
- How social media impacts travel purchase decisions
- Reaching beyond big cities – targeting China’s tier 2 & 3 cities
- Internet infrastructure performance
- Regulatory and licensing requirements
Today, China has 256 million adults who qualify as travelers, according to the global travel market research PhoCusWright. Says Douglas Quinby, PhoCusWright’s vice president of research, “That’s more than twice as many people than in the U.S. by a significant margin.”
Download the whitepaper on CDNetworks. (registration is required).