HEY, BIG SPENDER

Who are the world\’s biggest spenders on travel? Well, according to Hotels.com, it\’s the Chinese. In its second annual Chinses International Travel Monitor (CITM), Hotels.com reports that China has overtaken the U.S. and Germany as the world\’s biggest spenders on travel, with Chinese travellers spending $102 billion on international travel in 2012, an increase of over 40% compared to 2011.
In its survey of over 3,000 Chinese international travellers and more than 1,500 hoteliers around the world, the Hotels.com report found 75% of global hoteliers say Chinese travellers now account for up to 5% of their business. Nearly half (45%) say they have experienced an increase in Chinese guests over the last year, with the greatest increases coming in APAC (61%). Hoteliers see China as a positive growth market over the next three years with one in 10 expecting to see an increase of more than 50% and almost half (47%) anticipating an 11% to 50% rise.
Hotels.com also found that the majority of overseas Chinese travel (96%) has been for leisure purposes, while just over half (52%) have also visited other countries for business or education.
And in what\’s becoming a growing trend, nearly two thirds (62%) of Chinese travellers say they prefer to travel independently and not as part of a group. This development was confirmed by the hoteliers surveyed, who say 70% of Chinese guests now travel independently, compared with a much more even split in 2012.
Go to http://www.hotels.com for more.