Summary

The growing interest of tourists for more travel has been the major driver that has been driving the online travel market in China during the review period. Inbound tourism has been offering a major share to the market owing to the growing number of youngsters and middle-aged people in the country who are highly interested in travel and tourist activities. The higher share of inbound tourism is the primary factor that helped the market to expand further in 2020 when the whole world was struck with the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in the closure of international borders for a longer time.

Demand for long trips which includes at least 5days of holidaying in the destination is gaining more popularity in the nation and at the same time, short trips which last for 2-3days are equally popular in the country. The growing internet utilization in the country is helping the market studied to expand rapidly in China. The operators are focusing on attracting more customers by increasing expenditure on marketing activities which includes running social campaigns etc., With the uncertainty clouded due to the pandemic, the demand for inbound tourism is anticipated to help the market to expand further during the initial years of forecast period.

Key Market Trends

Increasing Internet Penetration in China is Helping in Market Expansion

According to the statistics, the number of internet users in China rose to 989 million as of December 2020, which was up by 85.4 million from March 2020. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has motivated customers to go online for majority purposes. In wake of the pandemic and owing to the closure of physical stores for a limited time has drove customers to book their travel through online thus helping the market studied to grow further in the country. Though the market recorded the highest figures during Dec 2018 with 49.5% customers utilizing the services, the market recorded fluctuations in the total transactions owing to the uncertainty clouded due to the US-China trade war and the internal situations. However, as of end of 2020, the penetration rate of online travel booking figured at 34.6% with 342.44 million internet users had used the services.

Tourism Sector Growth is Driving the Market

China's macro-economy is running smoothly, and the per capita disposable income is growing steadily. With the changes in people's consumption concepts and consumption structure, the demand for tourism has also increased dramatically. In 2020, amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, China saw approximately 2.88 billion domestic tourist trips which is a 52.1% year-on-year slump, according to the statistics released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The status of the economic pillar industry has continued to strengthen. With the rapid growth of tourism industry revenue and the continuous increase of online travel penetration, China's online travel industry market has also proliferated. The number of tourists traveling to and from major tourist destinations like Guangdong, Henan, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Beijing exceeded or almost reached the levels seen during the 2019 Spring Festival.

Competitive Landscape

The China online travel market is expected to be consolidated with Ctrip, Qunar, and Fliggy being significant companies. The domestic competition is expected to increase further and also the growing international interest is anticipated to make the market more competitive.

Additional Benefits:

The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
3 months of analyst support

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