Chinese travellers prefer first-hand tourism advice
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WHEN it comes to obtaining advice related to travel, Chinese still prefer to seek first-hand information from someone they know over third-party sources, according to market research company GfK.
In a study carried out in February among Chinese travellers, more than half of the respondents said they relied on their personal contacts such as friends, family and colleagues to get travel related information – the highest of all touch points – online and offline.
Meta-search and online travel-agent websites jointly trailed behind in close second positions.
The survey of China travellers’ booking behaviour was conducted among 1,000 respondents who had made a travel booking in the past three months.
“Even with the proliferation and growing consumer dependency on the Internet for all kinds of information, the local norm of seeking information via word of mouth still prevails here,” Lawrence Liew, director for travel and hospitality for North Asia, said yesterday.
“However, the growing influence of the Internet cannot be avoided, as the other top sources of travel information are still online touch points.”
When it comes to making the actual booking, online supersedes offline as the preferred channel by 63 per cent of the market.
Among the online booking channels, travel-agent websites are most popular, used by 46 per cent of all Chinese travellers.
However, different trends have surfaced for making bookings for various regional destinations. For instance, traditional travel agencies retain their competitive edge when it comes to Asian countries, while online channels are more commonly used for Europe and Oceania destinations.
Asia is the most travelled region in the short term, with 78 per cent of respondents confirming their travel plans to countries in this region.
The top three destinations are Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong (14 per cent each), with Japan (11 per cent) and Singapore (8 per cent) trailing behind. Ten per cent have booked holidays in Europe and 6 per cent to North America.
The most commonly purchased travel items online are packaged trips, followed by air tickets and accommodations. More than half of travellers said they would buy insurance for their holiday.
The total spending for each traveller per trip averages about 15,000 yuan (Bt83,000), which accounts for about half the average monthly household income in the country.
“The world’s most populous country has also become the largest source market for tourist arrivals to worldwide destinations, in particular Asia,” Liew said.
“It is therefore imperative for travel suppliers and intermediaries alike to understand what make the Chinese traveller tick, including their shopping and booking behaviours and preferences, in order to tap into this large and growing market effectively.”
