February 2019 – China Traveler Connect

Tourists seeks premium experiences

February 28, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohchinese outbound tourism, premium experiences0 comment

For the 148 million travelers from the Chinese mainland who visited overseas destinations last year, and spent $120 billion in all, tourism is no longer just for shopping but an opportunity to mature, evolve and add value to life through richer experiences, said industry experts. This tectonic shift in the outlook of Chinese tourists is causing winds of change to sweep domestic tourism as well as global travel, and domestic consumption (which is now identified as an economic driver). Besides, changing tourist preferences have implications for certain emerging vocations, tech-enabled…

Destination

Chinese international outbound tourism shrinks in Q4 2018

February 27, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohchina outbound tourism, international0 comment

New quarterly statistics, published by COTRI ANALYTICS of the German-based China Outbound Tourism Research Institute on Feb. 26th, 2019, show that 56% or 22.5 million of the 40 million outbound trips from Mainland China in the last quarter of 2018 ended already in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.

Hotel

Preferred Hotels unveils new loyalty platform, extends benefits to partner hotels’ rewards members

February 26, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohloyalty programes, preferred hotels0 comment

Preferred Hotels & Resorts has launched a new loyalty platform, I Prefer Alliance Program, which allows partner hotels to extend full benefits of the I Prefer Hotel Rewards to members of their own guest reward programmes.

Destination

UnionPay offers enhanced payment experiences to Chinese outbound tourists during the Spring Festival Holiday

February 25, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohchina outbound tourism, unionpay0 comment

According to the estimates of China Tourism Academy, 7 million Chinese tourists choose to spend the 2019 Chinese New Year Holiday in about 90 countries and regions outside mainland China. So far, the UnionPay acceptance network has expanded to 174 countries and regions, covering almost all the destinations of Chinese tourists. 200,000 merchants outside the Chinese Mainland accept UnionPay QR code payment, driving the amount of UnionPay QR code payment increase significantly year on year during the Holiday. Eturbonews.com, a US travel news website, reported that with the continuous expansion of…

Destination

Chinese travel to EU climbs 5.1% in 2018 despite economy and Brexit concerns

February 25, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohchinese outbound tourism, europe0 comment

Forward Chinese bookings to the EU for the first four months of 2019 are up 16.9% compared to 2017

Content Hotel Industry Marketing

Hospitality Trends to Look out for In 2019

February 24, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohhospitality, hotels, trends0 comment

Ready or not, the new year is upon us and new goals waiting to be set. Does your 2019 plan take into consideration these key changes expected to hit the industry? The new year will no doubt bring new challenges and changes to the ever-growing hospitality industry. Take note of these trends that can help your business and brand to provide what your guests are looking for. The Need For Seamless Technology Far from trying to be all things to everyone, modern technology developers are embracing specialisation, enabling a higher…

Media and OTA

How OTAs are winning the direct booking battle in China

February 23, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohchina, china outbound tourism, online travel agency, OTA0 comment

Chinese travelers seem to prefer online travel agents

Destination

Chinese Tourists Traveling Globally Much More—But Spending Less

February 22, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohchina outbound tourism, OTA, tourists destinations0 comment

A joint report from Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency (OTA), and the China Tourism Academy (CTA), an official Chinese research institute, have released their findings on the spending and destinations of Chinese tourists. One important piece of new information is on the average spending of Chinese tourists, which once again dropped. Average spending by Chinese tourists per outbound trip fell by 14.2 percent in dollar terms to around $758 (5200 yuan), down from $883 for the whole of 2017. Spending per outbound trip by Chinese tourists decreased by 14.2…

Destination

Thailand Expects a Record 41.1 Million Foreign Tourists in 2019

February 21, 2019March 28, 2019 Mandy Sohbangkok, chinese outbound tourism, thailand0 comment

The number of tourists coming to Thailand will hit a record 41.1 million in 2019, the country’s government said.