Sydney, Australia – Newly released data from SiteMinder, the world’s leading open hotel commerce platform, highlights the increase in outbound reservation volumes from mainland China following the country’s relaxation of travel restrictions on January 8.
SiteMinder, which generates more than 100 million reservations annually for 35,000+ hotels across 150 countries, has seen a 37% increase in net reservations from Chinese travellers since mid-December, with booking increases accelerating by 27% between week commencing 22 January and week commencing 29 January.
Thailand, of the markets analysed, is the country where reservations to SiteMinder properties are increasing the fastest, with an 86% uptick from mid-December, followed by Vietnam (78%), Spain (70%), the US (36%) Singapore (29%) and Australia (22%).
SiteMinder Managing Director and CEO Sankar Narayan describes the early data as contributing to already building global booking momentum. “Pent-up demand has brought about the rapid acceleration of international travel globally in the last 12 months, with China now becoming a noteworthy addition to that mix. As confidence continues to build and travel patterns normalise, we are seeing that it is the accommodation providers viewing technology as a vital component to their success who are in the most ready to attract, host and delight a widening range of guests, now including travellers from China.”
Over the recent Lunar New Year holiday, leading global travel service provider Trip.com Group saw mainland China’s outbound flight and hotel bookings increase by over 400%, year-on-year. Southeast Asia stood out as the top destination for Chinese travelers over the holiday, with Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Chiang Mai, Manila, and Bali the destinations receiving the most bookings, according to Trip.com Group’s data. Outbound flight bookings to Bali and hotel bookings to Bangkok grew roughly 30-fold, year-on-year, with the average hotel booking price increasing by 70%.
Jane Sun, Trip.com Group CEO, believes this initial release of pent-up demand is just the beginning. “The removal of mainland China border restrictions presents a huge opportunity for the industry. As providers up capacity in response to the opening up of the Chinese travel market, the re-integration of what was the world’s largest outbound tourism market will be a huge boon to the industry and global economy.”
Tourists from China made 155 million outbound trips worth US$255 billion in 2019, making them the largest outbound tourism market globally prior to the pandemic.
Media contact
Gemma Garkut
+61 2 8031 1287
media@siteminder.com
Investor information
Paul Wong
+61 411 889 876
investor.relations@siteminder.com
About SiteMinder
SiteMinder (ASX:SDR) is the world’s leading open hotel commerce platform, empowering hotels and accommodation providers to sell, market, manage and grow their business. SiteMinder’s innovative online platform offers hotels and accommodation providers a comprehensive range of products and solutions to manage and streamline the distribution of their rooms across a wide selection of direct and indirect channels, take bookings from guests and communicate with guests. The global company, headquartered in Sydney with offices in Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Dallas, Galway, London and Manila, generates more than 100 million reservations worth over US$35 billion in revenue for hotels each year.