In the news: ITU’s report on global Internet usage, TripAdvisor’s new Chinese brand name, Travelport’s merchandising solution for TTS, Hotels.com’s awards programme for hotels
3.2 billion Internet users by end 2015
Half of the world’s population will be on the Internet by year end. (Image credit: Rawpixel Ltd/iStock)
A staggering 3.2 billion people, or half the world’s current 7.2 billion population, will be using the Internet by the end of this year according to a new report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The report added that two billion live in developing countries. There are also than 7 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, up from 738 million in 2000.
ITU said 2015 is the deadline for achievements of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which global leaders agreed to in 2000, and the new data show the progress of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and highlight remaining gaps.
“These new figures not only show the rapid technological progress made to date, but also help us identify those being left behind in the fast-evolving digital economy, as well as the areas where ICT investment is needed most,” said ITU secretary-general Houlin Zhao.
Brahima Sanou, director of the ITU’s telecommunication development Bureau added: “ICT will play an even more significant role in the post-2015 era and in achieving future Sustainable Development Goals as the world moves faster and faster towards a digital society.”
The report’s key findings:
Internet user penetration increased seven-fold since 2000
- Between 2000 and 2015, Internet penetration has increased almost seven-fold from 6.5% to 43% the global population.
- The proportion of households with Internet access at home advanced from 18% in 2005 to 46* per cent in 2015.
- Four billion people in the developing world remain offline. Of the nearly one billion people living in the Least Developing Countries (LDCs), 851 million do not use the Internet.
3G mobile-broadband coverage rapidly extending
- Mobile broadband is the most dynamic market segment, with mobile-broadband penetration globally reaching 47% this year, a 12-fold increase since 2007. In 2015, 69% of the global population will be covered by 3G mobile broadband, up from 45% in 2011.
- There is also a rapid extension of 3G mobile broadband into rural areas. By the end of this year, 29% of the 3.4 billion people worldwide living in rural areas will be covered by 3G mobile broadband. Among the four billion people living in urban areas, 89% will have access to 3G mobile broadband.
Fixed-broadband uptake growing at a slower pace
- Fixed-broadband has a 7% annual increase over the past three years. While the prices of fixed-broadband services dropped sharply between 2008 and 2011 in developing countries, they have been stagnating since then and even increased slightly in LDCs.
Broadband affordable in many countries
- Broadband is now affordable in 111 countries, with the cost of a basic (fixed or mobile) broadband plan corresponding to less than 5% of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, meeting the target set by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development.
- The global average cost of a basic fixed-broadband plan, as measured in PPP$ (or purchasing power parity $), is 1.7 times higher than the average cost of a comparable mobile-broadband plan.
The “owl” and the “journey” take over from Dao Dao in TripAdvisor’s new brand for China
A new Chinese brand name for TripAdvisor.
Even the world’s largest travel website has to change to tap the world’s largest travel market as TripAdvisor unveiled a new global brand name in Chinese, Mao Tu Ying (猫途鹰), which means “owl” and “journey”, and a new China mobile app.
The company said this was part of its strategy to better serve Mainland Chinese outbound travellers, Chinese-speaking users from Hong Kong, Taiwan, as well as the rapidly growing diaspora of Chinese natives living and studying around the world.
Mao Tu Ying replaces TripAdvisor’s existing local brand, daodao.com, which has been in use since 2009.
Currently TripAdvisor operates three Chinese language sites for traditional and simplified Chinese users, living in and outside of Mainland China. In addition to a Taiwan site and a Mainland China site, it also launched a new international simplified Chinese site in March this year, extending the reach of its services for overseas Chinese living outside of the Mainland China firewall.
The site has logged over 60 million sessions from Chinese users worldwide in the first four months of 2015. Chinese language reviews published in the past month have grown fivefold over same period last year.
“In addition to projections that Mainland Chinese outbound travellers will grow by double digits from 110 million to 230 million by 2020, we recognise that there is also nearly 50 million people of Chinese descent globally,” said Stephen Kaufer, president and CEO at TripAdvisor.
TTS adds Travelport’s merchandising solution to platform
Agents can access airlines’ offering using mobile device,s on laptops or desktops .
Travel Technology and Solutions (TTS), a developer of innovative solutions for the travel and tourism industry, has incorporated Travelport’s merchandising solution, Travelport Rich Content and Branding, into Travelport Mobile Agent and TTS Web Agent.
The technology gives travel agents the ability to access the full offering of over 100 participating airlines, via graphically rich images and descriptions on the go, using a mobile device with Travelport Mobile Agent and at home on laptops or desktops with TTS Web Agent.
Agents can also access the same content and enjoy the same experience they would at the office with Travelport Smartpoint. This includes access, for example, to all available branded fares and ancillaries, making it easy for them to quickly compare the full value of an airline’s offering.
TTS said that with this flexibility to access content and functionality remotely, agents could offer their customers the most comprehensive service possible, allowing them to sell more effectively and grow revenues.
Jason Clarke, managing director – agency commerce at Travelport, said that the addition of the merchandising solution to Mobile Agent and Web Agent enables agents “to better communicate the benefits of each option to their customers and allowing them to sell more effectively even when out of the office.”
An awards programme to recognise top-rated hotels
Hotels with good reviews recognised under Hotels.com award programme.
Hotels.com has introduced a new programme to recognise hotels, which have achieved excellent to outstanding guest review ratings from customers around the world.
By analysing its database of more than 15 million genuine guest reviews, Hotels.com has identified more than 6,400 boutique properties in 117 countries in the first phase of the programme.
Thailand has the most awards, with 146 properties being recognised. Other top destinations are Australia (133), Japan (127) and New Zealand (84).
The winning hotels have an average guest review rating of 4.5 (out of 5) or higher.
Each selected hotel receives a framed certificate and window sticker to display on-site at their location. Hoteliers can showcase their guest review rating on their social and digital platforms by downloading a special widget.
