Tang Geng’s poem “Presenting to a Traveler” reads: “Though travelers part on different roads, at dusk each longs to return.” The World Tourism Organization definestravelas a person going out and being at least 55 kilometers away from home. Whether for tourism, vacation, or business trips—from modes of transport such as airplanes, trains, buses, and ships, to accommodations like hotels and homestays, and including services provided by travel agencies, tour guides, visas, and insurance—modern-day travel is entirely different from the mountain-wandering and sightseeing of ancient literati or the exploratory journeys akin to those of Xu Xiake, or scientific expeditions. Pure tourism, business travel, and the “travel” that combines both business and leisure have become an evolving way of life and work in human society. The 13th Five-Year Plan proposes “to cultivate the tourism industry into a key driver of economic transformation and upgrading, an important leading industry in ecological civilization, a significant medium for showcasing the nation’s comprehensive strength, and a vital force in winning the battle against poverty.” The tasks and positioning of China’s tourism industry have undergone new changes.
In 2014, the internet began connecting users with services, marking the start of the development of travel-related transportation services. In 2015, during the Two Sessions, Premier Li Keqiang announced the “Internet+” strategy, which directly ignited enthusiasm among all stakeholders in the broad travel sector, including air tickets, train tickets, hotels, accommodations, and travel services, forming a convergence point driven by macroeconomic trends, capital factors, and user demand. Travel mobile applications have since seen widespread adoption among service providers, participants, and users across intercity, cross-regional, and cross-border travel.
To promote the developer values of openness, innovation, competition, health, safety, and integrity, and to foster positive development in social culture and the economy, based on comprehensive data covering over 2 million mobile apps across four aspects—market, operations, product, and R&D—across 14 dimensions, and utilizing the 2016 Mix YGR@ttm (Mix Yearly Growth Rate of Trailing Twelve Months) compound annual growth rate figures, after one month of continuous data screening, user voting, and due diligence, the list of the Top 50 High-Growth Travel Mobile Apps in 2016 driven by consumption upgrade has been finalized.
The 2016 China Good Apps Next Big 50 in High-Growth “Travel,” with the highest 2016 compound growth rate Mix YGR reaching 532% and an average of 84%, and a median of 30%. The specific apps are listed below (in no particular order):
1) Qunar Trip, Developer: Beijing Qunar.com Technology Co., Ltd.
2) Tongcheng Travel, Developer: Tongcheng Network Technology Co., Ltd.
3) Ctrip Trip, Developer: Ctrip Computer Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
4) Amap, Developer: Amap Information Technology Co., Ltd.
5) Feichangzhun, Developer: Hefei Feiyou Network Technology Co., Ltd.
6) Navigation Dog 2013, Developer: Beijing Tengrui Wanli Technology Co., Ltd.
7) Railway 12306, Developer: China Railway Cheng Technology Co., Ltd.
8) Tujia, Developer: Tujia Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
9) TripAdvisor, Developer: Tqu Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
10) China Southern Airlines, Developer: China Southern Airlines Co., Ltd.
11) Shenzhen Airlines, Developer: Shenzhen Airlines Co., Ltd.
12) Pocket Home Inns, Developer: Home Inns & Hotels Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
13) Tiger Map Mobile Edition, Developer: Beijing Laohu Baodian Technology Co., Ltd.
14) Air China, Developer: Air China Limited
15) Lvtu, Developer: Jingcai Lvtu (Beijing) Technology Development Co., Ltd.
16) Super Train Ticket, Developer: Meituan Travel Co., Ltd., Tianjin Binhai New Area
17) Yao Chufa Weekend Trips, Developer: Guangzhou Kulv Travel Agency Co., Ltd.
18) Hong Kong Airlines, Developer: Hong Kong Airlines Limited Beijing Representative Office
19) UTour & CYTS Travel, Developer: UTour International Travel Service Co., Ltd.
20) Hainan Airlines, Developer: Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd.
21) Pin Hotel, Developer: Hangzhou Pinmei Network Technology Co., Ltd.
22) Shandong Airlines Mobile App, Developer: Shandong Airlines Co., Ltd.
23) Aoyou Travel, Developer: CYTS Tours Holding Co., Ltd.
24) Muniao Short-term Rental, Developer: Beijing Aiyuyi Technology Co., Ltd.
25) 12580 Travel, Developer: Beijing Xunqi Liancheng Business Service Co., Ltd.
26) Baicheng Travel, Developer: Beijing Baicheng International Travel Co., Ltd.
27) Youduoduo Inn, Developer: Shanghai Youyou Network Technology Co., Ltd.
28) Ctrip Youth Edition, Developer: Ctrip Travel Network Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
29) Qu Travel, Developer: Shenzhen Luyou Network Technology Co., Ltd.
30) Chumenr, Developer: Chengdu Yihua Interactive Technology Co., Ltd.
31) Weilv’er, Developer: Weilv Network Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
32) Meituan Hotels, Developer: Beijing Sankuai Technology Co., Ltd.
33) Biqutravel, Developer: Shenzhen Congyou Network Co., Ltd.
34) Youyou Japan, Developer: NTT Communications Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
35) 12306 Ticket Booking, Developer: Chengdu Changxiang Tianxia Technology Co., Ltd.
36) M Capital Airlines, Developer: Beijing Capital Airlines Co., Ltd.
37) Laoma Shitu, Developer: Shenzhen Laoma Shitu Travel Agency Co., Ltd.
38) Taipei Travel Guide, Developer: Hangzhou Shuaiyou Technology Co., Ltd.
39) Pengyoujia, Developer: Guangzhou Fulunzi Information Technology Co., Ltd.
40) Yanjing Travel, Developer: Yanjing Zhihui (Beijing) International Travel Agency Co., Ltd.
41) Xiantu Travel, Developer: Jinglianmeng (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.
42) 8 Little Pigs, Developer: Shenzhen Bajie Travel Technology Co., Ltd.
43) Sixth Sense, Developer: Shanghai Shuvacation Network Technology Co., Ltd.
44) Wangfan, Developer: Hangmei Group
45) Zhidao Travel, Developer: Zhidao Travel (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.
46) 114 Business Travel, Developer: Haobai Commercial Travel E-commerce Co., Ltd.
47) Mileage Manager, Developer: Beijing Master Unlimited Network Technology Development Co., Ltd.
48) Mioji Travel, Developer: Beijing Huixing Technology Co., Ltd.
49) Golden Deer Travel, Developer: Golden Deer (Beijing) Business Aviation Co., Ltd.
50) CTS Online, Developer: China International Travel Service Head Office Co., Ltd.
"The world is so big, I want to see it." Travel is gradually permeating every aspect—products, services, guides, scenic spots, hotels, shopping, dining. In the past, the travel industry grew at an astonishing rate, and future market demand continues to surge. People’s concept of travel has also been upgraded. Today, travel is no longer just an adjunct to improving life or business activities, but has become a necessity. However, the service quality across all aspects of travel is still far from meeting user expectations and satisfaction. The race for travel iteration and evolution has only just begun. Being ahead now or at any point in the future does not necessarily guarantee the final outcome. Those temporarily in the lead should stay calm and keep moving forward; those lagging behind should not panic, but observe carefully and seek opportunities.
From being selected among the "Travel" high-growth 2016 China Good Apps Next Big 50, we are pleasantly surprised to find that many leaders have not stopped advancing and continue to grow rapidly. More followers are executing dimensional attacks and overtaking across industries, and an increasing number of traditional transportation, hotel, and service enterprises are joining the Internet+ Innovation in China action under the banner of "Travel." Keep Calm and Carry On—stay calm and keep moving forward.
Qingke Research Center was founded in 2001 and is dedicated to providing professional information, data, research, and consulting services to a wide range of limited partners, VC/PE investment institutions, strategic investors, as well as government agencies, law firms, accounting firms, investment banks, and research institutions. Its scope covers investors, venture capital, private equity, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, real estate funds, and industry market research in sectors such as TMT, clean technology, healthcare, consumer goods, modern agriculture, and advanced manufacturing. Qingke Research Center has become one of the most professional and authoritative research institutions in China’s private equity investment field.
Testin Cloud Testingis currently the world’s largest cloud testing service platform for mobile applications and games, providing essential mobile application quality assurance for developers. It has continuously served over 800,000 developers, conducted more than 150 million tests for over 2 million mobile applications, and established strong cooperation and communication relationships with ARM, Intel, Imagination, MediaTAC, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, 360, Xiaomi, and numerous global mobile internet ecosystem companies. It has cumulatively received over $80 million in investments from IDG, IDG-Accel, Gaorong, Haiyin, and CEL. It has been recognized as one of China’s Top 50 Most Investment-Worthy Enterprises in 2014 and 2015 by Qingke, one of China’s Top 50 High-Tech High-Growth Companies in 2015 and 2016 by Deloitte, and ranked among the Red Herring 100 Asia in 2014 and Red Herring Global 100 in 2015.