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The adoption of mobile technology by ‘newly-wealthy’ Chinese is driving an increased amount of visitors to the UK, according to new figures released today.
This is according to a white paper compiled by research company Phocuswright, and commissioned by Expedia, which said that this increase was down to mobile technology and an explosion in consumer options.
The report puts this increase down to China’s burgeoning travel market, and its “newly-wealthy” middle class consumers who are booking holidays through online travel agents on their handheld devices.
Data from the the Expedia Group found that in Quarter 4 (Q4) 2014, the number of Chinese travellers who booked a stay in the UK rose by almost 50% when compared to the same period in 2013, while they spent an average of £129 per night on their hotel room, representing an 8% rise.
The data also reported that in Q4 the number of Chinese travellers who booked stays for the UK on mobile increased by 167%, compared to the same time last year.
Isabelle Pinson, senior director of market management for the UK & Ireland at the Expedia group, said: “Mobile technology is the fastest-growing way in which people book travel and we are now seeing more than one in four Expedia group transactions booked globally on a mobile device.
“With consumers in Far East countries like China known to be early-adopters of the latest technology, it follows that they will be the first to use it for travel booking.”
