Continued growth in Chinese business travel next year: GBTA study

THE second GBTA BTI Outlook-China report has determined that business travel out of China will see continued growth in the next 18 months, with total business travel spend forecast to grow by 12.5 per cent in 2012 to US$195 billion, followed by another 14.7 per cent in 2013.

Domestic business travel, boosted by fiscal stimulus and increased infrastructure spending by the Chinese government in reaction to the global economic slowdown, is predicted to recover “sooner and more strongly” than international outbound. The study reported that domestic travel spend will grow by 12.8 per cent this year, and 14.6 per cent in 2013 to reach US$213 billion.

Growth in international outbound, however, pales in comparison with domestic business travel. It is forecast to slow considerably over 2012, reaching only 5.5 per cent growth, compared to 12 per cent in 2011. In 2013, international outbound is expected to grow 17.5 per cent, reaching US$10 billion.

According to the study, Chinese business travel spend is one of the highest in the world, second only to the US.

Presenting the results at a panel discussion during ITB Asia 2012 yesterday, Welf Ebeling, regional director, GBTA Asia, said: “We predict that China will overtake the US in business travel spend by 2014. China will be the number one business travel force in the world.”

Cinn Tan, Jin Jiang International Hotels, senior vice president of marketing & sales, noted that the Chinese government’s easing of FDI restrictions to stimulate economic growth had also­ resulted in a wave of foreign business travellers into China, creating a strong demand for quality accommodation in Chinese cities.

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