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6 | www.travelweekly-asia.com 10 Things You need To Know AbouT ChinA's new TrAveller ClAss source: China Consumer Travel report 1. Biggest, and growing in 2012, China emerged as Asia Pacific's largest travel market overtaking Japan. its value was pegged at us$96b ahead of Japan's $95b. source: PhoCuswright's China online Travel overview sixth edition 2. in their sights & wallets where do they want to go? europe is high on their list of travel intentions, with germany and France leading the pack, followed by the us. 3. why do they travel? Compared to the us there's a greater desire by Chinese to travel to see natural and cultural attractions. The desire to get away/take a break seems fairly even between the Chinese and Americans. 4. Beyond China A staggering 50% have travelled outside China – yes, China is no longer just about domestic travellers. it's the rapidly emerging outbound segment that's capturing the interest of destinations everywhere. 5. First home, then the world And there's a growing appetite for travel overseas – a high percentage of those who have travelled at home yearn to venture abroad. 7. how they Book Compared to the uK, more people book offline than online but an equal percentage use both online and offline to book their travel. 9. 20% travel in groups The market is changing rapidly. only 20% travel in groups now with more Chinese venturing abroad as families and with small groups of friends. And independent/solo travel has become big – 39% travel alone. 6. where do they get their inFormation? The internet is a vital source of information with 79% saying they get information from websites. Personal recommendations from friends and family rank higher in China than the uK. 8. weBsites used For shopping Yes, social is different in China. Compared to the us and europe, social networks are popular shopping sites for Chinese travellers, as important as portals. 10. But the Future looks like this As Chinese travellers gain confidence, they will break away from groups and move towards independent travel. expect more travel by families, friends and increasingly, the solo traveller. data Bank report available at http://www.phocuswright.com/products/4265