Where do Chinese people go on Holiday

[JustJon]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is in the right section, but here goes anyway:

I'm working on a university project at the moment that involves localising an English speaking website to another culture, I've chosen Chinese for the culture and http://www.lastminute.com for the site to localise. I'm targeting the site at the PRC.

I have a few questions for anyone who is knowledgeable about modern Chinese culture, e-commerce and the Chinese holiday industry in particular:

Where do Chinese people go on Holiday? (Long and short trips)

Do they tend to go on holiday in their own country or are there other popular foreign destinations?

Do they go away for Chinese New Year if so where?

What are the most popular online travel web sites in China?

Is there anything I should consider when designing a holiday site for the Chinese market?

Any information on colours to use, layouts, traditions, taboo's, do's and don'ts, Chinese opinions on Western brands etc would all be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[TSkillet]

Where do Chinese people go on Holiday? (Long and short trips)

Domestic destinations: Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin/Yangshuo, Hong Kong etc.

Foreign destinations: Vietnam, Thailand, Australia

Do they tend to go on holiday in their own country or are there other popular foreign destinations?

in their own country - mainly for visa, language and monetary concerns

Do they go away for Chinese New Year if so where?

Most people tend to go home - it's only been the past few years where Mainland Chinese have travelled during spring festival for things other than family.

[Yang Rui]

Other popular destinations within China are:

Huangshan (direct translation would be "Yellow Mountain") in Anhui Province

Yunnan Province as a whole, but in particular the southern border region called Xishuangbanna. Also, Lijiang in the north west of the province. Yunnan is famous for having many ethnic minority peoples, who are perceived to be exotic and colourful. A trip for the average Chinese tourist to this region would not be complete without some tribal dance displays.

Tibet is becoming more popular for some adventurous types.

Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan Province is famous for its beautiful lakes and pools, which apparently have seven different shades of blue.

It seems to me that most people who have the time and money to go on holiday in China are city-dwellers. Being couped up in grey cities most of the year, they understandably want to go to areas of natural beauty. A place being "beautiful" is often cited as the main reason for a trip there.

Outside China, as well as the countries mentioned by TKSkillet, the Maldives seems to be becoming very trendy. Although more and more Chinese are taking holidays abroad, those who can afford it are still in the minority.

Most people seem to go on holiday as part of a tour group, although some young and trendy people are getting into backpacking.

Hope this is useful

[JustJon]

Thanks for the responses, they're exactly the type of things I'm looking for.

Nearly all the Chinese holiday sites I've looked at have had large banner adverts depicting very natural scenes, now I know why.

Does anyone have any opinions on how Western brands are received in China?

Would it pay to translate the name of the brand as used in the logo as Coca-Cola have done?

[geraldc]

I'm not sure how widely available credit cards are in China, so I'm not sure how something like lastminute.com could work.

Also lastminute.com was originally for holidays booked at the last minute etc, in China getting a passport and visas is quite a procedure, they don't really go on foriegn holidays on a whim.

[JustJon]

There interesting points, I've done a bit of research and found that credit cards have been available in China since 1985 and since then over 140 million cards have been issued. Credit card trade now accounts for over 10% of all retail sales. From what I've read one of the issues regarding payments over the internet is fear of fraud but that said, the Chinese ecommerce market was estimated at over $500M in 04 and set to double in 05.

The other point you made was interesting. Maybe the emphasis on the last minute deals should be for Holidays within China where no Visa's are needed?

Should an info section be included on the site for help obtaining Visa's?

Has anyone else got any info on travel restrictions in China?

or opinions on whether booking holidays at the last minute is something the Chinese would be likely to do?

[Tsunku]

I have a hard time believing that credit card sales account for 10% of retail sales in China! Seriously? I live here, and aside from the very wealthy, or people who have connection in the West, I never see people using credit cards here. Debit cards are very widely used, but not actual credit cards. Some department stores also seem to issue credit cards, but it doesn't seem all that widespread. Maybe those living in Beijing/Shanghai see credit cards more often? I really don't see it here. China is still very much cash based. Employess are usually paid in cash, major purchases (like plane tickets, electronics, etc.) made in cash, and most stores aren't even set up to handle credit card or ATM card purchases.

The points about travelling abroad are valid. Chinese people can't travel overseas "last minute." Most Chinese people don't own passports, and many don't know the difference between a passport and a visa. Visiting another country is something most will never do in their entire lifetime. The majority of Chinese do their travelling in-country, to the places mentioned (I live in one of the most popular tourist destinations, actually -- Yunnan -- and during the holidays, people come in droves). They like to join up tour groups and see all the sights, and tend to be reluctant to do much independant travelling. If you can't offer guided package tours, then you might have trouble marketing to the Chinese travellers.

[roddy]

I could maybe believe that credit cards account for 10% of all retail transactions that go through books - but what percentage of the real total is that?

Roddy

[JustJon]

I can't find the article I was reading with the 10% figure but it may well of said "card" sales rather than "credit card" sales. I did find some others that were quite interesting though, one quoting that 4 in every 10 people in China have purchased something online and the other saying that credit card penetration is up to around 25% in the major cities (both of which are on the increase):

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/17/china_ecommerce

http://www2.acnielsen.com/news/20040812_ap.shtml

Is there any reason why people who already posses passports can't travel at the last minute? Are any there restrictions in place controlling this?

[roddy]

Ecommerce is already beginning to take off in China with four in ten buying something online. This year two in three people are expected to buy online, with books and computer gear proving particularly popular.

I refuse to believe that. I'd be amazed if that many people in China use a computer this year, never mind buy something online. Maybe true for urban residents, but for the population as a whole?

Roddy

[TSkillet]

4 in 10 chinese people?

500 Million people have bought something online?

I call shenannigans on this "fact"

[JustJon]

I agree some of the figures do sound a bit dubious, but similar claims are all over the place. Heres another article claiming credit cards account for 10% of all transactions in 03, it quotes the Central bank as the source:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0113/p07s01-woap.html

If these are so far off the mark, does anyone know of a more reliable source for this type of info?

[wushijiao]

Is there any reason why people who already posses passports can't travel at the last minute? Are any there restrictions in place controlling this?

From what I understand, yes there are restricitons. Please correct me if wrong:

1) When going abroad (say Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia 新马泰) the visa process is simplified if traveling in large tour groups.

2) It is easier for people of different hukous to travel. For example, if you have a Shanghai hukou (ID) it is much easier to travel to Hong Kong than it is for someone from Gansu.

3) There are only something like 25 countries that are official tourist destinations for Chinese people. Most countries are still off limits for tourism.

Also, I know they have started to introduce credit cards, but I would guess that no more than 1 or 2% of the population has them. Most urban residents probably have debit cards though. There are debit cards that allow you to purchase things on the Internet. However, it also seems that a lot of on-line shopping is COD.

Still, if I am not mistaken, China has an on-line population of about 80-120 million out of 1.3 billion. It will be a while before rural people who have difficulty paying for food, taxes, high tuition fees and health care start buying Maxim-like gadgets on the net.

[Vivien]

From what I understand, yes there are restricitons. Please correct me if wrong:

1) When going abroad (say Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia 新马泰) the visa process is simplified if traveling in large tour groups.

2) It is easier for people of different hukous to travel. For example, if you have a Shanghai hukou (ID) it is much easier to travel to Hong Kong than it is for someone from Gansu.

I agree. Also if a person has a large amount of money in bank or real state in China, it is much easier to get a travel visa as well.

[TSkillet]

Here's why I think that credit card purchase # is dubious:

China plans to expand the use of bank cards to all commercial districts, star-rated hotels and travel resorts in big and mid-sized cities, targeting 30 percent of retail sales in three years, the central bank said.

At least 60 percent of stores with annual sales of more than one million yuan (HK$943,000) should accept bank cards by end 2008, People's Bank of China said in an industry guidance on its Web site. The guidance, published jointly by nine government bodies, said China will roll out tax incentives and lower transmission costs to promote the use of bank cards.

China's consumers are increasing the use of bank cards for shopping and dining, while foreign and domestic lenders are wooing card holders in a market with US$1.5 trillion (HK$11.7 trillion) in household savings. Most cards are debit cards, linked to savings accounts, which can't be used to buy goods on credit.

``China's card business is developing rapidly, with card issuance jumping, and usage environment greatly improved,'' the central bank said.

``However, the industry is still in its infantry.''

China will have about 75 million credit cards that can be used in the international market by 2010, from more than three million currently, according to a forecast by MasterCard, the world's second-biggest credit-card company.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/China/GE10Ad05.html

[JustJon]

1) When going abroad (say Singapore' date=' Thailand, Malaysia 新马泰) the visa process is simplified if traveling in large tour groups.

[/quote']

How is it simplified? Does it just take less time, is there less paper work?

2) It is easier for people of different hukous to travel. For example' date=' if you have a Shanghai hukou (ID) it is much easier to travel to Hong Kong than it is for someone from Gansu.

[/quote']

How is it easier? Is it just the Visa process takes longer or are there other restrictions? Would travel be refused in some cases?

3) There are only something like 25 countries that are official tourist destinations for Chinese people. Most countries are still off limits for tourism.

Does anyone know what these countries are or where I can find out?

Does every journey to another country require both a visa and a passport or there some countries that are passport only?

[wushijiao]

It turns out I was way off. There are at least 61 official tourist destinations.

http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/119974.htm

I don't have time right now to search for the other answers. Sorry I wasn't more specific. Hopefully, someone else will know the specific answers.

[JustJon]

O.K.

Thanks.

[Yang Rui]

Just a few more thoughts on this:

The whole debate on how many people have credit cards seems a bit academic, because whatever the case this kind of last minute holiday website is only going to appeal to the tiny minority of people whose lifestyle would accommodate this kind of extravagance.

Most people i knew in China hardly ever seemed to have any time off work, except for the standard national holidays at Chinese New Year, May Day and National Day (and some people don't even seem to get those). I would guess that any travel would be arranged far in advance because most people know exactly when they will get time off, if at all. Most people will not be able to just get online and book themselves a week holiday at the last minute.

I think the market for this kind of website would be limited to a very few city-dwellers -probably from places like Shanghai and Shenzhen - who see themselves as cutting-edge modernising pace-setters who want to try new things and live a "modern" lifestyle. I think these are the sort of people who would have credit cards, so i wouldn't get bogged down worrying about the prevalence of plastic.

It seems to me that there is no point trying to appeal to the masses, because the masses don't have time, money, credit cards, or the kind of lifestyle where a last minute holiday would appeal. Go for the niche market.