SHANGHAI, Dec. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — As the solar units on 2023, Trip.com Group, a worldwide chief in on-line travel providers, displays on the dynamic panorama of travel over the previous 12 months, providing insights into the tendencies set to form the journey in 2024.

 China’s border reopening sparks international travel surge 

With the opening of China’s borders, travel was tremendously boosted by a wave of Chinese travellers with a pent-up demand for abroad travel. Trip.com information unveils a big rise in outbound travel bookings, showcasing a six-fold improve in comparison with 2022. This pattern is very outstanding throughout vacation durations, such because the 8-day Golden Week in October which witnessed an eightfold surge in outbound travel. This is a compelling prelude to a sturdy New Year Holiday season from 31 Dec 2023 to 3 Jan 2024, which recorded a 240% improve in bookings year-on-year from 2022. 

The information additionally revealed that Chinese travellers have a robust curiosity in visiting Southeast Asia, with many of those nations topping the record of most well-liked outbound locations in 2023:

Top 5 locations for Chinese travellers in 2023

1. Thailand
2. Japan 
3. South Korea 
4. Singapore 
5. Malaysia

The thriving curiosity in outbound travel is anticipated to persist in 2024. Besides outbound travel, China’s inbound travel can also be exhibiting regular indicators of restoration. In 2023, Trip.com noticed four-digit development in customer numbers as in contrast with the identical interval in 2022 – surpassing 60% of pre-pandemic ranges.

According to Trip.com information, China’s top supply markets for inbound tourism embody South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Germany. These guests’ most well-liked locations in China are Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Zhuhai, Hangzhou, Foshan, Xiamen, Zhongshan, and Chengdu. In reality, seven out of ten resort bookings made by abroad vacationers are for Shenzhen.

Furthermore, Trip.com’s “China Travel Guide”, a complete information that gives inbound guests to China with resort, transport, fee and different travel-related info, has served practically 100,000 abroad guests since its launch in September.

We additionally partnered with e-payment service suppliers akin to Alipay to simplify fee for abroad guests, serving to worldwide vacationers navigate their travels in China.

AI takes centre stage in predictive planning for 2024

As we enterprise in 2024, the travel panorama is present process a paradigm shift, pushed by the widespread integration of AI. Leading this transformative change is TripGenie, a complicated AI travel assistant that’s built-in into the Trip.com cellular app.

Leveraging cutting-edge massive language mannequin applied sciences, TripGenie, launched in 2023, has developed right into a personalised travel companion. It is reshaping the best way we plan our journeys, from crafting bespoke itineraries, enabling immediate bookings and delivering lightning-fast responses to person queries. For instance, should you enquire “How do I plan a 5-day trip to Bangkok?” The travel assistant swiftly creates a personalised editable inquiry in below a minute, recommending vacationer spots, purchasing locations and even gives reserving hyperlinks, pictures and metropolis maps.

In the latter a part of 2023, TripGenie’s person searches unveiled a rising curiosity in content material associated to “travel guide”, reflecting a rising demand for complete travel-related info. Other fashionable searches have been associated to “flight”, “hotel”, “itineraries” and “attractions”. 

Expanding past TripGenie, Trip.com launched AI-powered curated lists to boost the reserving expertise for customers. “Trip.Best” that recommends the very best travel choices, “Trip.Deals” that exhibits top flights, lodging, and different travel offers, and “Trip.Trends” which options the most well-liked travel subjects and occasions primarily based on person searches. These dynamic compilations are finely tuned to person preferences derived from real-time information, offering a sneak peek into the way forward for travel planning in 2024.

For occasion, within the “Trip.Deals” record, international customers have proven specific curiosity within the following top 5 locations:

1. London
2. Bangkok
3. Amsterdam
4. Paris
5. Hong Kong

Music festivals and theme parks prepared the ground for 2024’s international points of interest

As we set our sights on 2024, the world of travel is embracing the enjoyable pattern of occasion tourism, with festivals and iconic theme parks rising because the cornerstones of journeys.

Theme parks particularly are poised for a stellar rise, having witnessed a powerful 65% improve in bookings in 2023 in comparison with 2019 ranges. According to Trip.com information, these are the top 10 theme parks in 2023 globally:

1. Hong Kong Disneyland
2. Universal Studios Japan
3. Ocean Park Hongkong
4. Universal Studios Singapore
5. Tokyo Disneyland
6. Tokyo DisneySea
7. Everland, Korea
8. Universal Studios Hollywood
9. LEGOLAND, Malaysia
10. Adventure Cove Waterpark

Theme parks additionally made 5 of the top ten hottest points of interest globally in 2023, with Singapore Zoo, Gardens by the Bay, The Peak, S.E.A Aquarium, and Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan additionally making the top 10 record.

The area of dwell leisure, concert events and music festivals transcend borders, charming audiences from each nook of the world. In our inaugural 12 months of venturing into the live performance class in 2023, Trip.com has already witnessed extraordinarily optimistic outcomes. The class of “event+ticket” has turn into one of the sought-after merchandise on our platform. Globally, concert events and music festivals akin to Jay Chou’s Carnival World Tour in Bangkok and Wang Leehom’s ONE live performance in the identical metropolis have been the top two hottest concert events respectively.

During Jay Chou’s Carnival World Tour in Bangkok, the search quantity for Bangkok inns skilled a notable surge of 175% within the week following the live performance announcement (8-14 September), in comparison with the previous week (1-7 September). Simultaneously, searches for air tickets to Bangkok exhibited a considerable improve of 213%. Furthermore, the variety of resort keep bookings in Bangkok on December 9 spiked by 129% when evaluating the identical two weeks. Additionally, flight bookings from China recorded a big rise of 118%.

Concerts that includes worldwide acts are anticipated to maintain their prominence as probably the most sought-after international occasions, promising an exciting 2024 full of unforgettable cultural experiences.

Here are the top 5 concert events and music festivals in 2023:

1. Jay Chou Carnival World Tour Bangkok
2. Wang Leehom ONE live performance Bangkok
3. Rolling Loud Pattaya
4. Jacky Cheung Macau
5. JJ Lin Hong Kong

The rise of sustainable travel and occasion tourism in 2024

Peering into the crystal ball for 2024, two pivotal tendencies look to be shaping the travel panorama: Sustainable travel and the ascent of occasion tourism. More than a numerical projection, these tendencies signify a shift in traveller consciousness and preferences.

According to Trip.com Group’s newest ESG report, greater than 16 million prospects have opted for low-carbon travel choices, signalling a rising curiosity in eco-friendly exploration.

Trip.com Group’s low-carbon resort commonplace initiative was additionally launched in 2023 with promising outcomes. With over 1,500 companions shortlisted as low-carbon inns, this means that sustainable lodging is ready to turn into a serious pattern.

Event tourism, encompassing concert events, festivals, and sporting occasions, is poised to achieve momentum in 2024. With the eagerly anticipated 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the “ticket+hotel” class is anticipated to be a sought-after product, underscoring the rising significance of occasions in shaping travel selections.

As the story of travel evolves within the 12 months forward, Trip.com Group stands on the forefront, poised to information adventurers into an period marked by exploration, innovation, and sustainability – to pursue the right journey for a greater world.

About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group is a number one international travel service supplier comprising of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its platforms, Trip.com Group helps travellers around the globe make knowledgeable and cost-effective bookings for travel merchandise and providers and permits companions to attach their choices with customers by the aggregation of complete travel-related content material and assets, and a complicated transaction platform consisting of apps, web sites and 24/7 customer support centres. Founded in 1999 and listed on NASDAQ in 2003 and HKEX in 2021, Trip.com Group has turn into one of many best-known travel teams on this planet, with the mission “to pursue the perfect trip for a better world”. Find out extra about Trip.com Group right here: group.journey.com.

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SOURCE Trip.com Group