Forecasts to 2009 Illustrate How the Chinese Travel and Tourism Market is Set to Change.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c30547) has announced the addition of Travel and Tourism in China to their offering.

The Travel and Tourism in China report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest market size data (1999-2004), allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new legislative, technology or pricing issues. Background information on disposable income, annual leave and holiday taking habits is also included. Forecasts to 2009 illustrate how the market is set to change.

Sector coverage: travel accommodation, transportation, car rental, retail travel and tourist attraction markets

Why buy this report?

--Get a detailed picture of the travel and tourism industry

--Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change

--Understand the competitive environment and the market's major players

--Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop

Key Findings Include:

--A year of recovery

2004 was a year of recovery for China's travel and tourism industry, with total tourism expenditure jumping by 8%, thereby more than making up for the losses suffered in 2003 due to SARS. Incoming tourism receipts, which saw the biggest decline in 2003 climbed by 23% in current value terms, while domestic tourist expenditure rose by more than 4%. In terms of the number of arrivals, the recovery in 2004 was only partial, as the increase of just over 5% fell short of bringing the total number of visitors back to the level seen before SARS.

--Outbound tourism booms with increased incomes and confidence

2004 saw strong growth in outbound tourism with a rise of 17% in departures and a jump of 215 in outgoing tourism expenditure. Rapidly rising disposable incomes and easing concerns about safety supported the increasing demand among Chinese for international travel in general and long distance travel in particular.

--Accommodation volumes up but price competition held value growth back

Travel accommodation more than fully recovered in 2004 in terms of volume, with growth of more than 7%, reaching 1.2 billion bed nights. However, in terms of value, money spent on accommodation fell just short of reaching the level seen in 2002. The weaker growth in value sales was mainly a result of fierce price competition, not least with the rapid development of the budget segment and the growing presence of online agencies, a fact that was only intensified in 2003 due to SARS and then continued in 2004.

With comfortable, clean accommodation and convenient service at an inexpensive price, budget accommodation is becoming increasingly popular in China. During the May Day holiday and October Day Holiday, most budget hotels in major tourist cities were fully booked in advance, while many four- and five-star hotels had to offer discounts to lure customers. This popularity comes despite the fact that budget hotels were unheard of in China until recently. In 2004, there were two major budget hotel chains - Jinjiang Star and HomeInns. Hostels also emerged during the review period and saw strong growth.

--Buses/coaches aid strong growth for transportation

Transportation experienced strong growth in 2004, with value sales growth accelerating again to reach 7%. Buses/coaches were the largest contributor to this growth, followed by air transport. Buses/coaches benefited from continued expansion and improvement of the country's road networks, and overtook rail in 2004 as the biggest earner of all forms of transport. Air sales growth was largely driven by increasing levels of disposable income and continuous price promotions for airfares.

Car rental saw double-digit volume and value growth every year of the review period, expanding by a total of more than 220% in current value terms between 1999 and 2004. Business rentals saw the fastest growth, and accounted for 82% of total value in 2004, partly due to the fact that business rentals were on average far longer in duration. There has been strong growth in the number of small and medium sized businesses who opt for rental cars as a means of reducing their operating costs.

--Travel retail benefits from consumers' increased purchasing power 

Travel retail sales stood at nearly RMB78,300 million in 2004, representing growth of 142% since 1999 and an increase of 21% from 2003 in current value terms. Travel retail has benefited from increasing leave entitlements, growing emphasis on quality leisure time as well as consumers' appetite for travel experiences, coupled with sharply increasing purchasing power.

--National parks catching up with amusement parks 

With the exception of 2003, which was marred by the SARS outbreak, tourist attractions saw strong and stable growth throughout the 1999-2004 review period, with value expanding slightly faster than volume at a total of 29%. Theme/amusement parks was the biggest earner, but national parks/areas of natural beauty were catching up as a result of growing interest and appreciation for the natural environment coupled with the rapidly growing number of relatively affluent urban people.

--Fierce competition following China's WTO entry in 2001

Competition in the travel industry has been getting fierier between domestic and foreign players. Due to the commitment for China's WTO entry, China's government is gradually opening its tourism industry to foreign players. Before that, foreign companies did not have the license for setting-up their own travel agents, or providing tourist services for domestic trips on the Chinese mainland.

Big international travel retailers such as Flight Centre Limited from Australia have begun to open joint ventures in China. TUI UK, the UK's largest holiday company, and other world tourism giants such as American Express, Japan Travel Bureau Group, and the UK-registered Business Travel International have also found, or are looking for, co-operation with Chinese travel companies. The entry of foreign travel agencies will influence the restructuring and consolidation of the highly fragmented Chinese tourism industry.

Contents Include:

1. Executive Summary

2. Operating Environment 

3. Industry Issues

4. Demand Factors

5. Tourism Parameters

6. Travel Accommodation

7. Transportation

8. Car Rental

9. Travel Retail

10. Tourist Attractions

11. Key Strategic Alliances

12. Growth Company Profiles

13. Future Outlook

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c30547