Chinese are tourism’s biggest spenders

China overtook Germany and the United States as the largest spender in international tourism in 2012, according to UNWTO, with an expenditure of US$ 102 billion. The market is only getting bigger, in fact The Tourism Administration of China predicts that more than 100 million Chinese tourists will travel abroad in 2014.

Experts from the hospitality industry discuss increased travel within and out of China:

UNWTO says that the increase has been due to, “rapid urbanization, rising disposable incomes and relaxation of restrictions on foreign travel.”

Hotels.com has been following Chinese travel trends since 2012. The Chinese International Travel Monitor 2014 shows that 97% of Chinese travellers have been abroad for leisure and 49% have been for business and education. It says that Chinese international travellers were the top spenders for hotel accommodation in Australia, Japan, Netherlands, and New Zealand in 2013.

This monitor surveyed Chinese travellers about booking and travel behaviour. The research found that on average Chinese travellers looked at almost five sources of information when researching holidays, which is up from four in the 2013 monitor. 53% said they book accommodation online or through a mobile app. 59% of those surveyed said Free Wi-Fi was the most important service they look for on a trip abroad, and 71% of hoteliers said that Free Wi-Fi was the service most requested by guests from China. This desire for connectivity reflects global trends.

Countries across the globe, including Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, UK, and the US are targeting this growing source market with tourism campaigns and initiatives. However, according to Hotels.com, Australia is the place Chinese travellers would most like to visit. The USA was the top destination actually visited in 2013, and Hong Kong and Thailand follow in second and third place.

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Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: innovation to reinvent, evolve and adapt to markets

In a changing world, products and operations must respond to disruptions and shifting markets. Business plans cannot be too rigid, especially when applied in new markets where the risk factors are unknown. Old technology and systems that are in place are not always appropriate to deal with new problems.

So what do businesses need to do to keep up to date? How can brands adapt to new environments? And how can smaller hotels compete with the resources of larger brands? This briefing has comment on all these issues:

  • Christine Hodder, General Manager, The Stafford London on balancing consistency with innovation

  • Simon Schwitalik, Director of Business Intelligence – EMEA, TravelClick on turning legacy systems into effective marketing platforms

  • Sanjay Tanna, Director – Commercial &  Investments, ADNEC on why constant reinvention and adaptability is the key

  • Peter Norman, SVP – Acquisitions & Development, Hyatt Hotels Corporation on why hotel brands must continually evolve

 

 

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: establishing hotel product for new markets

Hotel brands are expanding across new and exciting global markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In order to fully exploit these vast opportunities, brands must first analyse the needs and expectations in their chosen location. A successful product will be established in a way that embraces the ideas emerging from these unique markets and will avoid using a “cookie-cutter” approach.

Brands are adapting their business strategies to incorporate a sense of place, while maintaining the standards and services which differentiate them from their competitors. This briefing includes case studies and comments from:

  • Patrick Fitzgibbon, SVP- Development, Europe and Africa at Hilton Worldwide on giving an African flavour to their services
  • Jean-Jacques Dessors, COO – Middle East, Africa, Indian Ocean & Caribbean Island, Accor SA on responding to market needs
  • Susan Harmsworth, founder of ESPA on marrying brand standards with a strong sense of place
  • Darroch Crawford, Managing Director of Premier Inn Hotels LLC on tweaking a product to fit the market


If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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