SHANGHAI, April 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On April 16, the first Business Summit of Ctrip Customized Travel was successfully held in Budapest, Hungary. At the Summit, the first report on Chinese visitors to Europe’s customized travel patterns were jointly released by Ctrip’s Customized Travel and China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI). Ctrip’s Customized Travel is the biggest customized travel platform in Asia.
2017 marked the beginning of popularization of customized travel in China. Chinese travelers are more willing to spend money on gaining unique local experiences and have greater demands and higher taste for more refined, self-coordinated and individualized tours. Customized travel is becoming a new form of outbound tourism for Chinese travelers especially given the large number of middle to high-end customers and increase in spending power. Since the launch in January 2016, Ctrip Customized Travel has seen increased user demand up to 120,000 per month. As the largest online travel agent in Asia and the second largest in the world, it is Ctrip’s mission to provide unique and top-quality travel products and services for over 300 million registered users.
Ms Emese Boros, Ministerial Commissioner for Tourism Diplomacy from the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Mr Kristof Mate, Business Development Director for Hungarian Tourism Agency gave the opening speeches. The CEO of Customized Travel, Ms Kane Xu shared her thoughts on individualised travels while Mr Andrew Xie, Director of Customized Travel and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, from China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), gave their view on the tourism market between China and Europe as well as the nature and trends of customized travel in Europe.
Released by Ctrip and China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), the joint report “Customized Travels of Chinese Visitors to Europe” details the growth of demand for customized travel to Europe in 2017. The report indicates that Chinese customized travel market in 2017 is universal, young and growing fast. 40% of customized travel is for outbound travel plans, among which Europe accounts for 10%. With a year-on-year growth of 130%, Europe is seeing increasing Chinese travelers opting for such unique, personalized and thematic travel experiences. Apart from being unique, main demands for trips are those that are in-depth, slow pace, private, niche and more about leisure. From Ctrip’s travel data, 2017 saw more than 6 million Chinese making their first entry to Europe. 9.3% of Chinese travelers chose Europe as their outbound destination, making it the second most popular continent for Chinese travelers. Females travel more than males and 23% of total outbound tourists to Europe are aged 50 and over. Considering their profile, meeting their growing needs present an opportunity for Ctrip and our travel partners.
The top 5 European countries for customized travel are UK, Italy, France, Russia and Greece. On average, customized trips to Europe last around 12 days with tours not exceeding two countries. Individuals spend 2500 rmb per person per day and despite having most trips taking place from May to July, winter seasons such as January and February also see many visits to Scandinavian countries. Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou are the top three departure cities for customized travel. While they comprise of 50% of customized travel, second-tier cities such as Harbin, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Nanjing and Hangzhou are part of the fastest-growing cities with year-on-year growth exceeding 100%. Personalized demands and themes from gastronomy to wedding photography to study tours to honeymoons to specific sporting interests and activities could be fulfilled through Ctrip’s vast resources and selections. Accommodation could also be personalized whether it is the glass igloos in Santa Claus Village or castle stays or homestays. The sheer size of Europe provides a great variety of options for Chinese tourists.
The Director of COTRI, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt said, “The demand and consumption of customized travel by Chinese consumers is unique and represents a leading global market segment. It is characterized by its popularity, youthfulness and high growth rates.”
CEO of Customized Travel, Kane Xu said, “China’s travel market is booming which offers a new business model and opportunities for products and services in customized travel. Since 2016, Ctrip’s Customized Travel has been revolutionizing the Chinese travel market and we expect to see continuous fast growth in the future.”
China’s tourism industry has already entered an era of Travel 3.0 from which customization and personalized travel services are preferred. Through the Ctrip Customized Travel platform, suppliers from around the world are able to come together to provide a travel experience that is personalized, unique and transparent for the ever growing number of Chinese outbound travelers.
About Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. is a leading travel service provider of accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and corporate travel management in China. It is the largest online consolidator of accommodations and transportation tickets in China in terms of transaction volume. Ctrip enables business and leisure travelers to make informed and cost-effective bookings by aggregating comprehensive travel related information and offering its services through an advanced transaction and service platform consisting of its mobile apps, Internet websites and centralized, toll-free, 24-hour customer service center. Ctrip also helps customers book vacation packages and guided tours. In addition, through its corporate travel management services, Ctrip helps corporate clients effectively manage their travel requirements. Since its inception in 1999, Ctrip has experienced substantial growth and become one of the best-known travel brands in China.
For further information and a copy of the report, please contact:
International PR
Ctrip.com International, ltd.
Tel: (+86) 21 3406 4880 ext 196455
Email: Pr@ctrip.com
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