Tuniu is No.1 for Online Package Tours

NANJING, China, May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 13, iResearch issued publicly the Research Report on China's Online Leisure Travel Market in 2012 (hereafter referred to as "the Report"), and according to the Report data, Tuniu.com, which is oriented towards the mass market and focuses on online leisure travel, ranked No.1 in the package tour market of online tourism, with a development pace much faster than the industry's average growth rate. It also ranked second in performance in the outbound tourist market. Moreover, Tuniu continues to grow rapidly in the self-guided tour business, taking the lead in some destinations. Tuniu has ranked steadily among core enterprises in the online leisure travel market.

The Report data showed that in 2012, China's online travel industry continued to develop rapidly and the annual market transaction size exceeded RMB170 billion, with the annual growth rate up to 30%. The market transaction size is expected to increase to RMB220-230 billion in 2013. The transaction size of the online leisure travel market was RMB21.2 billion in 2012, and this segmented industry is a strong growth engine for the online tourist market.

In the online leisure travel market in 2012, Ctrip.com had the edge for air tickets and hotels and over a long time ranked first with the highest share in the market; still, Tuniu.com has grown much more rapidly than the industry's average growth rate in recent years, and ranked second in market share in 2012. The core positioning of Tuniu.com is "leisure product" retailers; it provides users with abundant leisure products and reflects its own value by efficient operation.  

According to the iResearch data, the online leisure travel market is composed of package tours and self-guided tours. The transaction size of online package tours in 2012 was about RMB9.55 billion, and Tuniu.com ranked first with a market share of 16.7%.

According to the Report, outbound travel occupied the highest market share in the online leisure travel market by types of tourist destinations, accounting for about 37.6% of the whole market share; it has become the biggest segment in the online leisure travel market. Outbound travel is expected to further grow rapidly in 2013, and the main reason for the rapid growth is the high coincidence of users (and potential users) and a fast-growing group of internet users. In this rapidly developing outbound travel market, Tuniu.com ranked second with a market share of 15%, and its core edge is a wide range of product varieties. Now Tuniu provides more than 20,000 kinds of leisure travel products for consumers to book.

According to the results of further research and analysis by iResearch, in the fast-growing group of internet users, Tuniu.com users were happy to arrange activities and pay great attention to their families; most of the users "are willing to spend much time in arranging individual and family activities". They prefer practicality to fashion, and on this basis, the real quality of tourist products draws more attention from users. Those who earn a personal monthly income of more than RMB2,000 occupy a higher proportion of Tuniu's users; middle-income groups with more than RMB3,000 income also tend to visit Tuniu.com, which is highly compatible with the "mass tourism" positioning of Tuniu. This is conducive to Tuniu's further rapid growth under the general trend of fast development of the leisure travel market, guiding consumers to have a mature concept of online leisure travel.

Online travel is booming, and the Report further noted that the segmented leisure travel market, as the OTA's relatively new business, is growing rapidly and will surely become one of the sources of the OTA's core business income. According to the data analysis by Tuniu.com on consumers' consultation and booking, as residents improve their living standards and the level of consumption, tourism consumption has gradually merged into their daily life, and going on holidays and tours has become an important element of relaxing and enlivening their lives. Especially, the post-80s generation, who have grown up with the Internet, have become a vital force in the tourism market, and their changes in the concept of travel are making an impact on the development direction of the whole tourist market. Online booking, stressing experience in travel and the like are significant features different from the traditional concept of travel; "online" and "leisure" have become travel keywords with this group of young consumers.

SOURCE Tuniu.com