As China’s travel market continues to grow, with an 11% uptick in the number of travelers last year, so has online booking picked up. China-based internet research firm iResearch said that while only 10% of 2009 trips were booked online, that proportion should double by 2011.
iResearch projects online booking will be a US$2.3 billion industry by 2013.
This was a major topic at the recent China Travel Distribution Summit in Beijing, where discussions indicated that web-based travel search in China still lags behind other markets. Travelers in China still have no option for tailored search supported by broad social media tracking.
eTurboNews reports that China still lacks a meta search site for travel that intelligently combs various social media to deliver targeted results. All of China’s leading travel search and booking sites – including Ctrip, eLong, Qunar.com, Kuxun.com and Daodao.com – are limited to searches within the site itself.
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