China Travel News

Can we say we told you so again? In July, we noted that as Airbnb pursues its eventual IPO, China and the wider Asia-Pacific region will be absolutely critical, but the competition is tough and plenty of challenges remain.

Smartly, Priceline has shown no shame in capitalizing on the China opportunity through minority-stake investments. It works both ways, too. Numerous local players want a piece of China's exploding outbound travel business. That means investments in western assets. Subscribe to our Skift Research to know more.

Ctrip, along with its partially owned sister brand Qunar, dominates Chinese online travel sales, but it has begun to lean heavily on its recently acquired flight search company, Skyscanner, to boost overseas sales.

There's not much theme park development in the United States, so growth has to come from somewhere. Six Flags sees a lot of potential in China and other destinations around the world.

Make no mistake: Chinese millennial travelers are among the richest groups in China, with the majority holding white-collar jobs. When this generation speaks, the luxury market should listen.

Although China is the largest market in outbound travel, a deeper look at the figures shows that China is still far from its potential. Just 8.7 percent of Chinese hold a passport today.

With all the leadership changes taking place at Airbnb in the past few weeks, should we be expecting even more? Does this mean a CEO change is next?

As the developed markets reach their saturation point in outbound travel, emerging markets are moving in to become the dominant contributors to international tourism expenditure.

China has initiated the formation of a new world tourism organization. The UNWTO, WTTC and PATA are exceedingly polite about it, but there are undercurrents of uneasiness about how much influence the new China-led World Tourism Alliance can wield.

On Airbnb being successful in China, we'll believe it when we see it. More power to Airbnb if it can actually pull it off.