Chinese Travel Will Reach Record Highs in 2016 Despite a Slower Economy
Skift Take
There's no doubt China's economy is going through a downturn, but western travel brands can't blame all of their shortcomings on that point. Much of foreign travel brands' failures or missteps in China -- such as Airbnb or Uber for example -- are probably more likely because they couldn't execute strategies that fit the Chinese market.
Claims that a weaker Chinese economy has negatively impacted travel demand in China have jockeyed with financial headlines across Asia this year.
But it always helps to check the numbers -- the latest data show that not only is the Chinese travel industry alive and well, it's also having its best year ever and 2017 is on track to be even better.
Some 589 million Chinese travelers took domestic and international trips during this year's Golden Week in China, which fell from October 1 to 7, according to data from Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency and the world's second largest, and the Chinese Tourism Academy,
