Online travel bookings take off ahead of Golden Week

19 September 2017 – Asia-Pacific — Worldpay, a global leader in payments, is predicting a 20% surge in travel bookings in the run-up to this year’s Golden Week Festival, as Chinese consumers take advantage of the week-long public holiday to travel both at home and abroad.

An analysis of consumer spending habits prior to last year’s event found that bookings increase steadily from early September, peaking during the opening weekend of the autumn festival.

The figures suggest that many Chinese travellers are waiting until the very last minute when booking their Golden Week getaways. And with the average booking being up to 30% cheaper over the holiday weekend, compared to the previous week, the data indicates that it pays to wait: as last-minute deals on travel and accommodation can generate significant savings for those savvy travellers willing to be more spontaneous.

Commenting on the findings, Tang Kok San, Country Manager for China at Worldpay said: “As Golden Week continues to grow in popularity, Chinese airlines and online travel agents can look forwards to a bumper month’s trading. Last year saw the number of tourists and their spending hit record highs¹, and we expect that trend to continue in 2017.

“We know that Chinese holidaymakers are highly price-conscious, with nearly three-quarters of travellers claiming that their choice of destination is influenced by deals². With this in mind, travel businesses should consider special Golden Week offers to drive more sales in the lead up to this holiday period.”

Worldpay’s data also revealed that the average amount spent per booking is up by 15% year-on-year, suggesting that more travellers are starting to be able to afford to venture further afield, and purchase higher-value holidays.

Kok San added: “The increase in consumer spending power, combined with the rapid growth of low-cost carriers across Asia, is making international travel even more accessible. The past few years have seen a sharp acceleration in outbound Chinese tourism, and we are predicting another record-breaking year for online bookings during the upcoming festival.”

About the data
Figures quoted are according to Worldpay’s Global eCom online transaction data for airlines and travel businesses in China during August-October 2016. Worldpay processed a total of 14.9bn transactions at a value of £451.1bn in 2016.

About Worldpay
Worldpay is a leading payments company with global reach. We provide an extensive range of technology-led payment products and services to around 400,000 customers, enabling their businesses to grow and prosper. We manage the increasing complexity of the payments landscape for our customers, allowing them to accept the widest range of payment types around the world. Using our network and technology, we are able to process payments from geographies covering 99% of global GDP, across 146 countries and 126 currencies. We help our customers to accept more than 300 different payment types.

For more information, visit http://www.worldpay.com/global

For more information, please contact:

Global eCom
Emily Lahey, PR Director
+44 (0) 203 664 5663
emily.lahey@worldpay.com

Golin
Robert Guan
+86.10.8569.9894
rguan@golinmagic.com

For more information, please contact:
¹ http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-10/08/content_26992073.htm
² http://www.worldpay.com/global/insight/articles/2016-07/why-do-they-pay-way-vacations