Previously in the year it was reported that the economy in China might have slowed down the travel demand, but now the opposite is being reported. China is actually experiencing record highs when it comes to travel and 2017 is expected to see more of the same.
This year’s Golden Week fell between October 1 to 7, and a reported 589 million citizens utilized the holiday to travel both domestically and internationally. Those numbers show a 12 percent increase compared to 2015, and a 24 percent increase since 2014.
Some U.S. brands in China like Airbnb and Carnival Corporation did not experience massive growth, but Disney Shanghai has reportedly exceeded its predicted numbers since opening in June.
Another notable stat about recent travel in China is that a lot of the Golden Week purchases were made on mobile devices. According to the New York City-based market research company eMarketer:
“Nearly two-thirds of digital travel bookings on Ctrip’s network were made on a mobile device, with desktops and laptops making up the other third.”
The company also predicted a 30 percent travel increase for 2017, which would bring the $95 billion spent this year to a $120 the following.
