As competition in the OTA market intensifies, the price war in the travel industry continues to deepen across all aspects of travel, including transportation, hotel bookings, dining, and more. Major players are eyeing each other aggressively, repeatedly pouring in massive investments in an attempt to secure the future market landscape in one fell swoop.
Making Every Penny Count: HNA Tourism Group Launches China’s First Local Travel App
Following the entry of internet giants, the two-year-long OTA price war shows no signs of abating. This “value” battle between traditional OTAs and emerging channels over products and user resources seems far from over. Whether it’s the initiator of the price war or the high-profile competitors, the intensity of the competition and the sheer amount of money being poured into the market are staggering.
As the sixth-largest modern travel group among China’s top 20 tourism enterprises, HNA Tourism Group has cleverly avoided the fiercely competitive price battlefield. Instead, it has finely segmented the travel industry and invested efforts in launching China’s first local travel app: EasyGo.
The EasyGo app is a mobile travel client dedicated to weekend getaways, offering friends who enjoy spontaneous weekend trips a brand-new, comprehensive travel experience. It boasts several leading and industry-first features. Among them, the standout is its one-stop self-guided travel booking platform. EasyGo provides users with a full range of services for local travel, including attractions, hotels, dining, and shopping. Voice-guided tours and interactive maps significantly reduce the burden on independent travelers. Features that may seem minor—such as finding restrooms or parking lots at scenic spots—prove surprisingly useful during trips. The one-stop mobile booking and payment platform maximizes user convenience, fully demonstrating HNA Tourism Group’s accurate understanding of niche markets and strong resource integration capabilities.
Sports Marketing Fuels Leapfrog Growth: EasyGo Launches Its First World Cup Campaign
To quickly capture the attention of its target audience, EasyGo capitalized on the immense global interest in the Brazil World Cup by uniquely focusing its themed activities on sports marketing. Thus, for the world’s most-watched sporting event held once every four years, EasyGo spared no expense in launching the “You Watch the Game, We Make Your Dream Come True” free World Cup viewing campaign to draw even more attention to itself. Industry insiders note that compared to similar travel apps, EasyGo’s bold move to launch a World Cup campaign at the initial stage of product release highlights its distinctive promotional strategy.
According to the announcement, during April, all users who download the EasyGo app can participate in the “2014 Football Feast: EasyGo Takes You to Brazil” campaign via the “Activity Square” and stand a chance to win a luxurious 100,000 RMB Brazilian World Cup trip. In addition to free World Cup tickets, EasyGo is also offering other equally enticing prizes: one lucky domestic flight ticket per day, two 5,000 RMB Henna Cruise tickets per week for one fortunate winner, and occasional giveaways such as iPhone 5S and other exciting rewards.
Clearly, for the far-sighted HNA Tourism Group, these appealing promotional offers will continue. For travel enthusiasts and loyal users of the EasyGo app, in addition to providing comprehensive product services, the company will roll out multiple long-term marketing campaigns and discounted prices. In today’s experience-driven market, the strategic push of a niche travel market app demonstrates HNA Tourism Group’s determination to compete in emerging markets.