Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #43

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ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS PAYMENT FOR GOODS AND SERVICES IS BECOMING A MAJOR ISSUE FOR FOREIGN VISITORS TO CHINA James Jianzhang Liang Co-founder & Chairman, Ctrip CORRECTING THE TOURISM TRADE BALANCE James Jianzhang Liang, Co-founder and Chairman, Ctrip, on bringing more tourists to China James Jianzhang Liang was at ITB China this year, where he addressed a “standing room only” conference room on innovating in dealing with demographics; but also made some hard-hitting points about China’s tourism trade deficit. We asked him to tell us more. Much of China’s trade surplus in physical goods is being offset by a deficit in tourism. The trade surplus in goods amounts to US$400bn, but the trade deficit in tourism is around US$200bn. On a global perspective, when one talks about trade, and the contribution of tourism to different nations’ economies, Chinese outbound tourists are major contributors. China has a huge potential to develop inbound business, but there is a continuing trend for outbound tourism to outgrow inbound by a big margin, and this could eventually lead to an overall trade deficit, which would have a very important impact on the economy. What do you suggest should be done to rectify this? Ctrip cannot fix this problem alone. There are a lot of issues that need to be dealt with. The facilitation of visas is one area where things could be further improved. We can help to some extent when it comes to helping people with their applications and so on. But payment for goods and services is becoming a major issue for foreign visitors to China, as China has gotten rid of cash, and most Chinese people pay with their phones. The issue arises where foreigners cannot link their bank cards to China’s mobile payment systems. While some merchants accept cards like Visa or Mastercard, more and more only take cash or mobile payment. We believe that if operators like ourselves, or WeChat Pay, can be linked to foreign bank cards, this could greatly facilitate travel for overseas visitors. You’re talking about a deficit, and in your presentation, you showed examples of other countries that had issues in this respect. Where is China situated on that sliding scale? In terms of absolute trade deficit in tourism, China’s deficit is bigger than all the others combined. In terms of percentage of GDP, China is ranked 11th, behind some of the countries that have internal problems, like Sudan or the Palestinian territories, because not many people want to go there. While there is a problem to be solved, there is also a perception issue. Work needs to be done on promotion, spending more on social media and other advertising means, to promote destinations here
Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #43 2019 Summer Edition 19 19 CHINESE HIGH-END CUSTOMISED TRAVEL A joint report by Ctrip and COTRI unveiled at ITB China Conference This year’s ITB China conference saw the revealing, on Thursday May 16, of a new report by Ctrip and COTRI, which details the wants and needs of high end customers in customized travel, as opposed to standard customised travel. Ctrip, the largest online travel agent in Asia, and the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, or COTRI, jointly released a new travel report today at the 2019 ITB China trade fair in Shanghai. The report examines the trends of Chinese outbound travelers who are opting for more high-end customised travel. In order to meet the highly personalised travel demands of Chinese travelers, Ctrip's Customised Travel unit was established in January 2016. As the concept of high-end customised travel has gone mainstream in China, in March 2019, Ctrip's Customised Travel launched a platform designed especially for high-net-income individuals. The platform serves Chinese high-end customers who are increasingly interested in top-quality services and the exclusive use of highly scarce resources. As seasoned travellers who regard travel as a major leisure activity, they are actively in search of services, resources and experiences that are high-quality, unique and niche. Flexible with their time and not bound by cost issues, these customers highly value exclusivity and privacy during their travel experiences. According to the report, women, couples and those in the 31-40 age group were the most likely demographics to book highend customised travel packages overseas. The top 10 most popular destinations were Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Maldives, USA, Australia, France, Singapore, UAE and Italy. In 2018, the number of orders on the platform increased 180% compared to the year before. Although Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou are the top three local markets with the highest demand for highend customized travel, the growth rate of orders from second and third-tier cities such as Xi'an and Tianjin surpassed that of first-tier cities. Ctrip's data show that the average expenditure per person on a highend customized travel package was RMB 23,800 (US$3,410). The demand for unique activities such as helicopter tours, fine dining, attendance of special sporting events such as FIFA World Cup and unique accommodation arrangements such as island resorts reflects ongoing interest in higher end, more tailored experiences in the Chinese travel market. Jonathan Xie, General Manager of Customised Travel Business, hopes that efficient connections can be built amongst customers, businesses and travel providers, stating: "The aim of Ctrip's Customised Travel Platform 3.0 is to make travel easy, in any location, in any way our clients want to make their trip" HIGH-END CUSTOMISED TRAVEL CLIENTS The main target clients for high-end customized travel are China’s high-networth-individuals (HNWIs). By 2018, there were 1.67 million HNWIs in China. For them, health is the most frequently mentioned desire, and traveling has become a major leisure activity and a necessity for life. Jonathan Xie General Manager, Customized Travel Business, Ctrip
Page 1: THE PROFESSIONAL BUYERS’ REFERENC
Page 4 and 5: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW TRENDS, PERKS,
Page 6 and 7: EVENTS (...) IF YOU DON’T ASK WHA
Page 8 and 9: EVENTS WE WILL BE HOLDING A HIGH-LE
Page 10 and 11: EVENTS © IFTM Top Resa IFTM Top Re
Page 12 and 13: In The Field with Mary Gostelow THE
Page 14 and 15: ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS THE ORIGINALS,
Page 16 and 17: ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS PLAYERS, HONEYM
Page 20 and 21: ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MORE AND MO
Page 22 and 23: ASIA - PACIFIC FACTS & FIGURES TOUR
Page 24 and 25: ASIA - PACIFIC FACTS & FIGURES Offi
Page 26 and 27: ASIA - PACIFIC AIR TRANSPORT KEY NE
Page 28 and 29: ASIA - PACIFIC TRENDING DESTINATION
Page 30 and 31: ASIA - PACIFIC TRENDING DESTINATION
Page 32 and 33: ASIA - PACIFIC TRENDING HOTELS THE
Page 34 and 35: ASIA - PACIFIC OUTBOUND TOURISM Chi
Page 36 and 37: In The Field with David Esseryk THE
Page 38: INNOVATIONS & TECHNOLOGIES THE IMPO

Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #43

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