Charlie Li, Founder & CEO, Travel Daily China
Q: What are the three things you think will happen in the travel distribution, marketing and technology space in China in 2011?
• We might witness the international GDS players being allowed to step into the China market although it is not fast enough as most of us have anticipated for many years. If this happens, it may bring better technology in international flight booking to Chinese travel intermediaries and carriers.
• Mobile applications for travel planning and travel bookings will take off as China’s leading OTAs and airlines will be leading the way in deploying mobile applications.
• The commission paid to travel intermediaries by major Chinese carreiers will remain stable as we will see more capacity added to the market and the demand growth will be slowing down after the mega events(World Expo and Asian Games) being held in 2010.
Q: What did most people get wrong in China in 2010?
The demand growth which resulted from the mega events (World Expo and Asian Games) was much higher than most people expected. The major Chinese carriers, hotel groups and travel companies have delivered record higher profit in 2010. As a result, the investors are happy to see the market capitalization of China’s leading OTAs and economy hotel chains have doubled or even tripled in less than one year.
Q: What do you think they will most get wrong in 2011?
Social media will be quicky adopted by Chinese travel companies to engage with the consumers and build brand loyalty.
Q: Which space is ripe for innovation and investment in 2011?
From the perspective of travel companies, more money needs to be invested in content and technology to help travellers better plan and book their travel. Mobile applications for travel inspiration, planning, en-route assistance and experience sharing are the areas we will see more innovations and new business models to emerge and thrive in 2011.
Jens Thraenhart, CEO, Dragon Trail, China
Q: What are the three things you think will happen in the travel distribution, marketing and technology space in China in 2011?
• Leisure related travel technology services, such as itinerary building applications, will take the center stage
• Social Media will play an important and meaningful way in travel distribution
• Taobao.com will emerge as one of the major travel distribution players
• Any travel player in China will in some way or another look to leverage mobile
Q: What did most people get wrong in China in 2010? And what did they most get right?
Wrong:
• It is possible to make quick money in China
• Translating a website from English to Chinese (and not hosting it in China), will drive lots of revenues
• Only focusing on traditional tour operators will bring more Chinese guests
• Prediction of another travel player in China to go public proved to be wrong
Right:
• China is a huge opportunity
• China is complex and needs a different strategy (due to government regulations, visa restrictions, payment, etc)
• The Internet and social media in China is a very powerful and influential medium to reach and connect with Chinese consumers
• Ctrip continued to dominate
Q: What do you think they will most get wrong in 2011?
* Having unrealistic expectations and not understanding the maturity phase of the Chinese traveler and the various (and very different) segments of Chinese travelers
• A Chinese travel company will go public
• Sabre, Travelport, Amadeus will finally work with Travelsky
Q: As the year winds to an end, what will you remember most about 2010?
The head of consumer insight of TDS Research (the company that did the Digital Life Study) had a few interesting quotes, that resonated with me:
1. In China, different from other countries, the Internet IS social media!
2. Over 70% of car buyers in China have never owned a car, and cannot ask their friends or colleagues for advise as they have never bought a car either. Social Media gives them the unbiased advice to make a decision. In North America and Europe, this phenomenon does not exist, also considering that Beijing has around 1,000 new cars each day on the roads. The same applies for China outbound travel.
Featured image credit (beautiful shanghai in sunset): Ockra/iStock
