Hotelbeds Group confirms Paris and London as top European destinations for Chinese source market

• • Group confirms double-digit growth in wholesale room nights from the China source market for the 2017/18 year
  • China remains the number one source market in the wholesale channel for Hotelbeds Group in Asia Pacific; and the 4th biggest source market for the Group globally, up from 5th last year
  • Paris is the top Chinese source market destination outside of Asia, with strong growth year-on-year, followed by London, Prague and Milan

Singapore – October 25, 2018 – Hotelbeds Group, the world’s leading bedbank, recently confirmed during ITB Asia the continuation of strong growth in wholesale sales in the Chinese source market.

According to Hotelbeds Group’s booking data for the full 2017 / 18 financial year, the Group grew the number of room nights sold from the China source market by double digits year-on-year.

As a source market China remains the Group’s largest wholesale market in Asia Pacific for the third year running and the 4th biggest source market for the Group globally in the wholesale channel, up from 5th place only last year – and from 22^nd place in only 2011.

The Group sells in the wholesale channel – via its Hotelbeds, Tourico Holidays, and GTA bedbank brands – to B2B buyers such as airlines, points redemption schemes, and MICE operators, as well as online travel agents and tour operators.

The top 10 international destinations booked via the Group’s platform in the Chinese source market this year remain all Asian, with each destination registering double digit growth. The list was topped by Hong Kong, followed in descending order by Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Bali, Osaka, and Beijing.

Regarding the non-Asian destinations booked via the Chinese source market, Paris is top, with strong growth year-on-year, followed by London, Prague, Milan, Istanbul, Barcelona, Rome, Madrid, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

ITB Asia was held in Singapore last week and representatives of the Group were attending the show to meet with travel intermediary sellers and hotel partners to discuss the upcoming year’s priorities. Booking data from the Group’s platform has positioned the city as amongst the fastest growing destinations within the region.

Sam Turner, Wholesale Sales & Sourcing Director at Hotelbeds Group, said, “I am very proud to see that –once again – during the last financial year we have achieved outstanding sales growth in China. Of course, this is in part a reflection of the fact that Chinese travelers have now become the world’s number one travel segment, spending one in five of all dollars spent on outbound tourism globally.

“But this success is also a reflection of our hard work and persistence, having been in the market for well over ten years and dedicated ourselves to creating a product tailored to the needs of the local market – not least on the sourcing side, where we look for Chinese-friendly hotel accommodation and negotiate exclusive deals for Chinese B2B buyers.”

Hui-Wan Chua, APAC Regional Director for Wholesale Sales at Hotelbeds Group, said, “We are thrilled to confirm that we grew room nights by double digits year-on-year this year in China – and in this new year, which we started back on 1 October, we are confident to experience the same growth or more. The demand for travelling continues to grow in China as many Chinese people take their first overseas trips.

“Since Tourico Holidays and GTA joined our Group last year we now have over 170,000 hotels available – many of them sourced with Asian travelers in mind, and many of those contracted with exclusive rates and unique content. ITB Asia was an excellent opportunity to meet with our B2B clients to tell them more about the latest deals and offers we have available for their consumers.”