In the context of consumption upgrading, tourism has gradually become an indispensable part of people's lives. The diversified and personalized travel needs are obvious. Free, independent and unrestrained free travel is favored by consumers.
"Self-guided tourism is no longer a patent for young people, nor is it synonymous with money-saving tourism, but has become an important tourism trend. No matter young or old, they hope to enjoy free, in-depth and distinctive tourism." A relevant person in charge of Tuniu Tourism Network said that in the context of the continuous increase in the demand for self-guided travel, in 2017, Tuniu promoted the continued growth of the proportion of free travel by innovating products and optimizing user experience; in 2018, Tuniu will continue to increase its investment in free travel and establish exclusive procurement to fully meet the diversified travel needs of free travel users.
Beijing and Shanghai consumers love free travel the most. "Transportation + Hotel + X" is the mainstream choice
Tuniu Travel Network monitoring data shows that in 2017, among the overall number of free travelers, domestic free travel and outbound free travel accounted for 52% and 48% respectively, and the number of domestic travelers was slightly higher than the number of outbound travelers. However, with the continued popularity of the outbound travel market, the proportion of outbound free travelers is increasing. In terms of destination preferences, Hainan, Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan, Sichuan, Shanghai, Guangxi, Chongqing, Jilin and Shaanxi have become the top ten popular domestic long-term travel destinations for free travelers; Shanghai, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Chongqing and Wuhan are the top 10 popular destinations for domestic travel; Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, the United States, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia are the top 10 popular destinations for free travel from abroad; and Phuket, Maldives, Bali, Boracay, Saipan, Koh Samui, Mauritius, Fiji, Tahiti, and Seychelles are the popular choices for people to travel freely from abroad.
In addition, in 2017, Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Wuhan, Chengdu, Shenyang and Chongqing ranked among the top 10 cities in China for free travel; the top 10 cities in the country for free travel are Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Chongqing. From this point of view, first- and second-tier cities with developed economy and dense population are still the main source of tourists for free travel. In terms of free travel expenses, air tickets and hotel expenses account for a large proportion, followed by local small transportation, food, etc. Overall, the per capita consumption of free traveling abroad is about 6,200 yuan per person, the per capita consumption of long-term free traveling in China is about 2,800 yuan per person, and the per capita consumption of free traveling in China is about 800 yuan per person.
In addition to the regular "transportation + hotel" free travel product portfolio, users' demand for local entertainment products continues to grow. Local entertainment projects such as attractions tickets, meal coupons, transportation connections, WIFI, one-day tours, baby cart rentals, travel photography are favored by many free travel users. Among them, transportation connections, WIFI, and coupon card products are the most popular, and "transportation + hotel + X" has become the mainstream choice for most free travel customers.
Free travel products and services continue to be upgraded, and the proportion of old customers' transaction volume continues to increase
In order to solve the difficulty of free travel users' "do everything by yourself" and continuously improve user experience, in the second quarter of 2017, Tuniu upgraded its free travel products and gave priority to launching new products in Phuket, Okinawa, Lijiang, Sanya and other destinations. During this period, it used special services such as "star hotel", "itation guide", and "welcome benefits" to help users travel with high-quality travel. At the same time, in the Xinjiang free travel product launched in September last year, Tuniu added an independent chartered car service on the basis of "air ticket + hotel" to solve the problem of inconvenience of free travel users using cars in Xinjiang. Compared with the original free travel products, chartered self-service can help users stop and walk along the way, making their itinerary more free. In addition, if the customer has additional needs, he or she can modify the corresponding itinerary within a certain range according to his or her own ideas.
It is worth mentioning that with the rapid development of mobile Internet, consumer needs have become more mobile, personalized and diversified. Although free travel can meet people's personalized travel needs, tourists must have certain travel experience and sufficient pre-tourism preparation.Therefore, quickly responding to user consultations and problems before, during and after travel is undoubtedly the first "level" to improve service quality and improve user experience. In order to solve the problems encountered by tourists during their free travel abroad, in 2016, Tuniu launched the "Niu Follower" group chat service platform, using the Tuniu Travel APP as the operating carrier, and guests who book overseas free travel products will form corresponding groups according to their destination and departure time. Since the launch of the "Niu Follower" service, customers have received rave reviews. Last year, in order to further enhance tourists' travel experience, Tuniu expanded the "Niu Follower" group chat service to the domestic free travel field. Up to now, the "Niu Follower" service has basically covered mainstream destinations for free travel around the world.
In addition, in the past year, Tuniu has also strengthened the construction of tourism content such as strategies, and used content and tools to facilitate free travel users to travel. Tuniu official tourism researchers, a group of more than 5,000 tourists and Tuniu's huge customer base form the main force in content production. Through image sharing, live travel, travel in groups, etc., diversified content has been formed such as gameplay, travel notes, lists, travel pictures, micro-videos, etc., so that users in need can understand the destination in all aspects and quickly and formulate travel plans.
Thanks to the optimization and improvement of various aspects, Tuniu Free Travel's user stickiness has been continuously improved, which has led to the continued increase in the proportion of old customers' transaction volume.
Establish exclusive procurement of destinations. In 2018, Tuniu will continue to increase its investment in free travel
Following the product innovation and service optimization in 2017, Tuniu will continue to increase its investment in 2018 in response to the continued growth of free travel market demand.
At the Tuniu 11th Anniversary Annual Conference Ceremony, CEO revealed at Dunde that Tuniu will make breakthroughs in five major aspects in the next year, including promoting destination sales and free travel, direct procurement and self-operation.
Yu Dunde said that this year, in addition to the content organization and product presentation centered on the departure point, Tuniu will add content organization and product presentation centered on the destination. At the same time, "Niu Follower" will cover more services during travel, and use retail platforms to strengthen the supply of fragmented products at destinations, quickly improve the richness of destination products, and provide more diverse choices for free travel users.
In addition, this year Tuniu will also establish exclusive procurement at its destination and strengthen sales and service during travel to fully meet the diversified needs of customers during travel.
In the important customer acquisition scenario of destination, this series of measures will bring new sales opportunities to Tuniu's products and services, and at the same time improve the existing free travel service mechanism to provide assistance to Tuniu's in-depth layout of the free travel market.
