Domestic tourism revenue during this period reached 375.843 billion yuan (US$73.29 billion), up 30% year on year, and recovered to 73.1% in the same period of 2019.
During the CNY festival, 10,739 A-level tourist attractions were opened normally, accounting for 73.5% of the total number of A-level tourist attractions in China. About 110,000 mass cultural activities were held nationwide, with about 473 million participants.

The 243 national-level night culture and tourism consumption clusters have 52.122 million visitors, with an average of 30,600 passengers per night in each cluster.

The number of tourists received by Sichuan province ranked first, reaching 53.8759 million, and the tourism revenue reached 24.216 billion yuan, up 24.73% and 10.43%, respectively, year on year, recovering to 89.73% and 84.75% of the CNY 2019. Compared with the total tourism revenue, Yunnan contributed 38.435 billion yuan of tourism revenue in seven days.

According to Qunar data, each traveler traveled 400 kilometers more than last year, and the outbound air ticket was 6.7 times more than that in 2022.

As of January 26, during CNY in 2023, the number of air tickets booked in popular cities had exceeded that before the epidemic (the CNY in 2019).

In 2023, the average price paid for air tickets during CNY was 845 yuan, the same as before the epidemic.

According to Qunar CEO Chen Gang, there will be more opportunities in overseas markets in 2023. During CNY, outbound air tickets increased by 6.7 times over the same period in 2022. The top 5 destinations are Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the United States, and Indonesia. With the increase in flight supply, it is expected that the number of international air tickets and international hotel reservations will continue to grow.

Duty-free consumption in Hainan continued to be popular. According to Haikou Customs statistics, from January 21 to 27, Haikou Customs supervised 1.56 billion yuan in sales of duty-free shopping, an increase of 5.88% over the CNY holiday in 2022;

The number of duty-free shoppers was 157,000, an increase of 9.51% YoY; per capita consumption is 9,959 yuan.

According to Ctrip data, this year’s Spring Festival, cross-border ticket bookings increased more than four times year-on-year. Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Chiang Mai, Manila, and Bali have become the most popular international travel destinations for Chinese tourists.

Mao Ning, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, responded that during the Spring Festival this year, the number of people leaving the country exceeded 2.87 million, with an average of 410,000 per day, an increase of 120.5% over the same period last year. The overall order for outbound travel of Chinese tourists increased by 640% year on year, and the order for air tickets increased by more than four times.

Mobile payment trends in China outbound tourism

China online accommodation market totaled 39.38 billion yuan (US$5.97 billion) with an increase of 27.1% YoY according to data from Analysis.

Ctrip leads China’s online accommodation market in Q2 2017 with 46.7% market share, followed by Qunar, Meituan and Alitrip.

While China’s more affluent consumers increasingly favor independent travel, the online holiday and group tour booking market is still showing rapid growth, likely driven by continued expansion of the middle class in China. China online holiday booking market overview Q2 2017 »

China online tourism market analysis 2017

While China’s more affluent consumers increasingly favor independent travel, the online holiday and group tour booking market is still showing rapid growth, likely driven by continued expansion of the middle class in China.

In the second quarter of 2017, China’s online holiday booking market grew to 21.77 billion yuan (US$3.26 billion), equating to year-on-year growth of 28%.

While this figure is slightly lower than that for Q1 2017, this is common as the second quarter in China lacks any long public holidays and opportunities for travel are more limited; traditionally, the first and third quarters are peak season for group tour bookings.

During 2017, the National Tourism Administration has taken measures to combat group tours with unrealistically low prices, believing that these are likely to be low-quality and rely on forcing tourists to engage in activities and shopping for added fees in order to recoup costs.

This policy has come as part of a comprehensive effort to revamp and improve the quality of group tours in China and make high-quality travel more accessible to the burgeoning middle-class, as well as to restrain monopolistic practices and anti-competitive pricing.

Travel e-commerce platforms including Tuniu and Ctrip have responded with their own efforts to increase quality and standardize customer experiences. Ctrip released a new “diamond standard” rating system and released a new high-end line of tours.

Lvmama’s “Happy Donkeyback Travel” line also received an upgrade, wherein the platform began enforcing a “no forced shopping, no hidden costs” program and worked to make sure tour operators weren’t receiving kickbacks and commissions from local sites and retailers.

In addition, market trends towards independent travel are forcing tour providers to move in the direction of greater personalization and more authentic experiences for tourists. Themed tours are becoming more common, including food and minority culture tours.

Capital is continuing to flood the market, with startup “Travel Book” completing A round financing for more than 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million). Travel Book is a building a travel planner and tour guide platform which will help travelers put together optimized itineraries and daily plans for travel on tours and independent trips.

Regarding market share in the second quarter, Tuniu (with 26.83%) and Ctrip (with 22.84%) remain the top two players in the market, sharing half of the market between them. Tuniu has been able to strengthen its supply chain and improve member services, and has earned customer approbation with its strong customer service and professional tour guides.

It’s innovative review system allows customers to compare hotels, sites, and experiences from inside and outside packaged tours to better choose tour packages for themselves. Ctrip is leveraging its acquisition of Qunar to build a better e-commerce platform for tours, and totaled 4.92 billion yuan (US$ 737.6 million) in tour revenue in Q2.

Below the top two, LY.com and Lvmama maintained market shares of  14.52% and 14.35%, respectively. They, too, worked to improve quality and standardization, with Lvmama in particular trying to build a set of personalized and highly diverse tour packages for its customers.

Analysys analysts believe that online holiday market will continue to expand and customer habits continue to develop, as resort packages are being accepted by a wider range of markets.

Given the demand for personalization, enterprises are working to optimize operational efficiency, and continuously drive product and service segmentation and personalized upgrades. Enterprises are moving from business development towards a deeper cultivation of their customer bases, pointing towards a healthy trend of development within the overall market.

During 2016, the online tourism market in China maintained steady growth over the year prior, growing much more quickly than GDP growth while increasing its overall penetration into the tourism industry as a whole.

Overall, online booking of hotels and plane tickets maintained leading positions within online tourism sales, and individual travel bookings dominated the industry (as opposed to group tours). The trend towards individual, independent travel is beginning to dramatically affect the market, mostly in ways which are beneficial to the online travel booking industry.

Tourism industry revenue trends

The tourism industry in China has maintained a growth rate far above GDP growth for several years, growing at over 10% year-on-year every year for the past five years. In 2016, the total market reached 4.69 trillion yuan (US$ 703 billion), having grown by 13.6% from 2015.

This growth rate is also slightly higher than 2015, when growth over 2014 was 11.0%. Tourism accounted for 6.3% of China’s GDP in 2016, also a slight increase over 2015 (6.0%).

Meanwhile, the online tourism market is growing much more rapidly than the tourism market overall; in 2016, online tourism revenue reached 739.42 billion yuan (US$110.85 billion), representing 56.1% growth over 2015. As a result, online tourism has increased its market share from 11.5% of the market in 2015 to 15.8% in 2016 (up from 6.6% in 2012).

Online tourism market overview

From 2015 to 2016, there were minor changes in the structure of the online tourism market in China. In 2016, as before, online booking of transportation (plane, high-speed rail, conventional rail) dominated the market, with total revenue of 538.5 billion yuan (US$80.7 billion), followed by accommodation booking with 125.1 billion yuan (US$18.8 billion).

Group tours and tour packages made up the remainder; market share shifted in favor of transportation, which rose from 70.2% to 72.8% of the market, taking equally from accommodation and tours, which both slid from 2015 by about 1.3%.

Within the online tourism market, there were three major players and a host of minor ones. The major players, Ctrip, Qunar, and Fliggy, collectively dominated the market in 2016, with 68.7% of market share. Ctrip maintained a commanding lead, holding 35.7% of the market (263.6 billion yuan or US$39.5 billion), a slight decline over the year prior in terms of market share.

Qunar, however, slid dramatically after being bought out by Ctrip; in 2015 it accounted for 27.8% of the online tourism market, but dropped to only 18.2% in 2016. Minor players stepped into the gap in a big way, moving on the backs of a market shift in favor of O2O and featuring several new players which combine tourism sales with Tripadvisor-like crowd-sourced advice and reviews.

Online tourism investment overview

When it comes to investors, holiday and accommodation booking are still the two sectors which attract the most attention and capital. With Chinese tourism spending continuing to rise and holiday booking markets still in their infancy, there is significant room for online providers to make an impact and earn a return on investment in this sector.

Within the holiday booking industry, international travel continues to be a growth market and a driving force. While overall investment share declined significantly from 2015, holiday booking is still an under-served market and will continue to attract attention and financing going forward.

In addition, investment into travel finance is noteworthy; a new and much-watched market, with investment only appearing in 2016, it is driven by Chinese consumers’ increasing willingness to amortize major expenses beyond a home.

Online tourism markets: Sector breakdowns and analysis

Online transportation market

Of all sectors, transportation booking has the highest online market penetration rate, with online booking accounting for 54.6% of sector revenue. As consumers in China come to prefer independent travel over group tours, online booking has become the preferred way of buying train or plane tickets because of its convenience and economy. In 2016, the online transportation market grew by 62.0% to reach 538.5 billion yuan (US$80.7 billion).

The market share breakdown within the online transportation market mirrors the breakdown within the online tourism market as a whole, with the same three major players accounting for 69.4% of the market in 2016.

As with the overall market, Qunar has seen a dramatic fall in market share from 2015 to 2016, dropping by a whopping 12.5% to 20.5% following its purchase by Ctrip. Ctrip has maintained a commanding lead as the largest player in the market, especially with the addition of Qunar.

Minor players have stepped into the market in a big way, with sites such as Tuniu (which formerly focused on group tours and holiday packages) introducing transportation booking platforms.

The most important component of online transportation booking, China’s online plane ticket booking market has grown in lock-step with (indeed, been the primary driving factor behind) growth in the online transportation booking market.

In total, plane tickets account for 88.5% of online transportation booking revenue, and 68.1% of all plane ticket revenue comes from online bookings. From 2015 to 2016, this market has grown by 60.9% to 476.7 billion yuan ($US 71.5 billion). By comparison, train and bus tickets are a small portion of the online transportation booking market, and online booking’s penetration into these areas is quite low.

Online accommodation market

The market for online accommodation booking in China is the second largest component of the online tourism industry, with a value in 2016 of 125.1 billion yuan (US$18.75 billion), and accounting for 32.6% of the accommodation booking sector within China. This market is also growing far more quickly than the tourism market in China, but u

This market is also growing far more quickly than the tourism market in China, but unlike the online transportation booking sector, its year-on-year growth fell markedly from 2015 to 2016, from 57.6% in 2015 to 45.1% in 2016.

The four major players within the online accommodation booking market in China are Ctrip, Qunar, Fliggy, and eLong, which collectively account for 74.4% of the market. Qunar, as mentioned above, was acquired by Ctrip in 2016, as was eLong, meaning that that one holding company collectively controls 67.3% of the market for online accommodation booking.

Market share for both Qunar and eLong has fallen significantly from 2015 following their acquisition by Ctrip. Their market share has been eroded in part by the entry of Meituan (A Groupon analog) into the hotel booking market in a big way in recent months.

Online holiday and tour markets

The online holiday and tour booking market is simultaneously the smallest sector of the online tourism industry and the one in which online platforms have the least penetration, accounting for only 10.3% of the online tourism industry and 17.5% of holiday and tour booking.

Its comparatively small market penetration is one of the reasons that it has attracted significant attention and capital from investors in recent years, but in 2016 the sector saw markedly smaller growth (37.7%) compared to 2015 (58.2%), reaching a total revenue of 75.7 billion yuan (US$11.3 billion).

Analysis sees long-term, slow growth in the online side of the industry as it slowly increases market penetration relative to offline providers, but the industry as a whole may be falling out of favor with consumers who are increasingly interested in independent travel.

Analysts concluded that the industry may be entering a period of “deep plowing and careful cultivation” (a Chinese idiom roughly meaning “retrenchment”) in which more strategically-minded participants restructure their operations to suit changing consumer preferences and many participants are weeded out entirely.

As with the other sectors, the online holiday booking market is dominated by several major players (with a total market share of 76.5%), but excepting Ctrip none of the players are the same as in the other sectors, due to the wildly different conditions and requirements faced by the industry. Compared to 2015, market consolidation has increased; market share for the largest four players in 2015 was 68.4%.

Given the conditions faced by the market, market entrants increasingly focus on upscale tours rather than the economy group tours which were the mainstay of the industry, and the major participants are restructuring their operations accordingly.

One bright spot within the online pre-packaged tour/holiday booking industry remains international tourism, which accounts for 56.0% of the market. Outbound tourism has been immune to many of the headwinds faced by the market for domestic group tours, buoyed by issues related to language, safety, and tourist visa access for Chinese traveling abroad.

However, the growth rate has slowed even for the international group travel market; Analsys analysts suggest that, as Chinese consumers become wealthier and more experienced internationally, and as foreign countries become more adapted to and comfortable with Chinese tourists, the same preference for independent travel which has already manifested itself for travel within China will come to do so for international travel as well.

China’s air ticket online booking market is upcoming and on the rise, with seen increases in market share and dominance of certain air divisions, coupled with increased direct sales channels to enhance the pace of growth.

According to Analysys’s released report in Q1 of 2017 on China’s air ticket online booking market, its market size reached 132 billion yuan (US$19 billion), with a year on year growth rate of 31.8%, as seen in the chart below.

Following the July 2016 revised ticket sales policy for the pay-per-month segment vote, each air division is aimed at improving corporate profits, exerting market dominance and directing marketing channels to accelerate the pace, all working with OTA to rectify the ticket agent industry.

This year, the airline continued to strengthen its platform and held sales of the tickets, hotels, tour package through direct channels in order to increase market share.

With each air divisions playing individual strategies with increased intensities, OTA’s profit margins are gradually decreasing. This quarter, while OTA is continuing to enhance product experience and operational efficiency, at the same time, it is also focussing on the layout of higher prices of the international air ticket market.

From engaging in depths of integration, and aspects of upgrading, manufacturers provide more competitive online aviation service products. On the other hand, manufacturers further strengthen the international ticket product and service side of supply through online international voyage and flagship stores.

China online travel market overview Q1 2017

China online travel market exceeded 210 billion yuan in Q1 2017 with an increase of 51.5% YoY, led by Ctrip, Qunar, and Alitrip.

It consists of online transportation booking (71.9%), online accommodation booking, and online holiday booking.

Ctrip has 35.19% market share in China’s online travel market, followed by Qunar (17.28%), and Alitrip (13.57%).

In Q1 2017, the market concentration has increased, with the market share of Qunar, Ctrip and Alitrip summing up to a whooping 73.6%. Amongst these three, online ticketing transaction size is 50.2 billion yuan, 27.69 billion yuan, and 19.22 billion yuan respectively.

Analysys analysts believe that since the overall market space for online tickets is still huge, coupled with a positive outlook on the tourism industry, the demand for air travel is still on the rise. At present, despite the increase in online air ticket sales, OTA is still the main channel for the booking of air tickets. The main direction of future development of this industry would be to actively possess creative business models, improve online service experiences, and increase consumer reliance.

China online accommodation market overview Q1 2017

The transactions of China online accommodation market totaled 37.202 billion yuan in Q1 2017 with an increase of 43.24% YoY according to data from Analysis.

Ctrip leads the market with 46.6% market share, followed by Qunar, Meituan, eLong, and Alitrip.

China’s domestic tourism insights in 2017

Qunar was ranked the top generic travel booking app by coverage in September 2016 according to data from TalkingData, followed by Ctrip and LY.com apps.

12306, China Railway’s official app, remains the top choice for train tickets booking. Spring Airlines made it to the top among airlines booking apps with 0.43% coverage, followed by apps from Eastern Airlines (0.27%), China Southern Airlines (0.2%) and Air China (0.15%).

Among accommodation booking apps, Home Inns, eLong and Airbnb are the top 3 by coverage. Airbnb, Tujia and Mayi are the only three homestay network platforms in the top 10 while the rest are for hotel bookings.

Huawei, Samsung, and Xiaomi smartphones are the most popular Android brands among travelers during this year’s National Day holiday.

The top mobile apps for travel information by coverage are Mafengwo (0.58%), TripAdvisor (0.48%), Travel Translator (0.31%; by Mafengwo), Qyer (0.26%), and Breadtrip (0.22%).

China online travel market reached 155.71 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2016, up 58.9% YoY or 14.7% QoQ, according the research company Analysis.

Ctrip and Qunar led the online travel market with 35.6% and 30.2% market share in Q1 2016 respectively, followed by Alitrip (14.8%).

Ctrip achieved net revenues of RMB10.9 billion (US$1.7 billion) with a gross margin of 72% in 2015, up 48% year-on-year according to its official unaudited financial results.

Ctrip’s accommodation reservation revenues were RMB4.6 billion (US$713 million), representing a 44% increase from 2014. The hotel reservation revenues accounted for 40% of the total revenues in 2015 and 41% of the total revenue in 2014.

For the full year ended December 31, 2015, transportation ticketing reservation revenues were RMB4.5 billion (US$688 million), representing a 51% increase from 2014. The transportation ticketing revenues accounted for 39% of the total revenues in 2015 and 38% of the total revenue in 2014.

Packaged-tour reservation revenues were RMB1.7 billion (US$257 million) in 2015, representing a 58% increase from 2014. The packaged-tour reservation revenues accounted for 15% of the total revenues in 2015 and 14% of the total revenues in 2014.

Corporate travel revenues were RMB473 million (US$73 million), representing a 27% increase from 2014. The corporate travel reservation revenues accounted for 4% of the total revenues in 2015 and 5% of the total revenues in 2014.

In October 2015, Ctrip completed a share exchange transaction with Baidu. Upon completion of the exchange, Ctrip beneficially owned ordinary shares of Qunar representing approximately 45% of Qunar’s aggregate voting interests.

In January 2016, Ctrip made an investment of US$180 million in MakeMyTrip Limited (“MakeMyTrip”), India’s largest online travel company, via convertible bonds.

For the first quarter of 2016, Ctrip expects to continue the net revenue growth year-on-year at a rate of approximately 75-80%, reflecting the consolidation of Qunar’s financial results.

Also read: China Travel Market Overview for Q4 2015

Top 10 travel mobile apps in China were Ctrip, Qunar, CY, Didi Travel, Tuniu, Kuaidi Travel, eLong, Airplane Butler, High-speed Rail Butler and Lvmama in 2015 according to www.ctcnn.com. More Chinese travelers are active on the mobile end than PC.

Moretravel products have been developed in China in 2015 including self-driving trips, budget travel, backpack travel and others according to Qunar.

Ctrip and Qunar maintained rapid growth in terms of monthly downloads in 2015. Users on mobile end increased by 400% YoY in Q3 2015. Orders on the mobile end accounted for over 60% of overall travel product orders on Double 11 shopping festival.

Qunar gained 975.5 million yuan (US$149.52 million) from the mobile app in Q3 2015 which accounted for 73.6% of overall revenues with an increase of 33.2 percentage points compared with 40.4% in Q3 2014.

Ctrip acquired Qunar in early 2015 and the two apps exceeded about 1.5 billion new downloads in 2015. Didi merged with Kuaidi in 2014 and promoted online travel services in the following year. Didi Travel app gained over 300 million new downloads in 2015.

The total number of orders from the mobile app of Tuniu accounted for more than 70% of the overall 1,668,325 trips in Q3 2015. CY had over 100 million yuan (US$56.31 million) generated on Double 11 and over 90% came from the mobile end. Lvmama accumulated about 200 million new downloads and became the tenth largest travel app in China in 2015.

Also read: China Hotel Search Behavior Overview 2015