A staggering performance
The number of Chinese travellers making international trips was up by a strong 22% in 2011, compared to 2010, and experts predict China is on track to overtake Germany and the US as the world’s largest outbound tourism market in the next few years. In its newly launched Chinese International Travel Monitor (CITM), Hotels.com offers insights into how the rise of the Chinese traveller is changing the dynamics of the global hotel market. Johan Svanstrom, managing director of Hotels.com Asia Pacific, pointed out that: “The Chinese made a staggering 70 million international trips in 2011 and, while many of these were to Hong Kong and Macau, the number going further afield is growing significantly. Implementing strategies to cater specifically to this burgeoning source market is moving from a nice-to-have to a competitive necessity.” In a survey of over 5,000 of Hotels.com’s hotel partners around the world, the report found the majority of respondents envisage the boom in outbound Chinese travel continuing. One in five (22%) expect to see an increase of as much as 40%. Many national governments are facilitating the boom by relaxing visa requirements. Japan and Spain are examples of popular tourism markets that have already done this and Korea, amongst others, will implement similar changes later this year. Chinese international travellers are known to spend significant amounts on shopping and there is a clear opportunity for the hotel industry to grab a share of that spend for the stay experience itself. The study also found that the profile of Chinese guests is changing as they become increasingly more independent, confident, younger and more familiar with foreign cultures and customs. Among hoteliers polled, it is clear that many are starting to adapt, offering Mandarin-speaking staff, translated materials, Chinese menus, entertainment options and the China UnionPay card services for payments. Examples from the study found that 41% of hotel respondents are planning to offer Chinese TV channels, while 66% of European hotel respondents are planning to offer Chinese breakfast options. “Hoteliers should form concrete plans in two areas. Firstly, develop marketing strategies to reach the Chinese source market; concentrating on online as the Chinese internet population has now crossed the 500 million[5] mark. Secondly, adapt hotel property services to cater to the expectation and needs of this growing audience,” concluded Svanstrom. Go to http://press.hotels.com/en-gb/files/2012/07/Hotels.com-Chinese-International-Traveller-MapCITM.pdf for more.
