Invite colleagues
Recent figures indicate Travel will be a significant vertical for digital marketers in China in 2010. According to the China Internet Information Center (CNNIC), 30 million Chinese booked travel services and accommodations online last year, representing a 77.9% increase over 2008.
This phenomenal growth rate exceeds that of online stock trading (67%), online banking (62%), and online shopping (46%), and was second only to online payments, which experienced 81% YOY growth in 2009 according to CNNIC. China's netizens are keen to take advantage of the wide range of choices available online, as well as discounted prices, and the opportunity to design and manage their own travel itineraries.
Recent research on the booming tourism industry helps explain the dramatic increase in online travel bookings. According to the China Daily, a January survey of 2,700 urban residents conducted by the China Tourism Academy "showed that 92.7% have travel plans for the next three months beginning in March." In addition, the National Tourism Administration of China (CNTA) expects the tourism industry to grow a healthy 12% this year with revenue exceeding 1.44 trillion yuan (over 210 billion USD).
At the end of 2009 only 7.9 percent of China's 384 million netizens had booked online travel, which indicates the enormous potential for online booking as more and more netizens choose this method. The combination of a booming tourism industry and the increasing trend of netizens to book travel online demonstrates the importance of effective digital marketing for any company vying for market share in the travel vertical.
Written on Thursday, 18 February 2010 19:39 by Mike Pereira