Shanghai, January 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/
The Spring Festival of the Year of the Rooster will usher in another peak travel season. In the transition from sightseeing tourism to all-for-one tourism, various types of domestic scenic spots remain important destinations for travelers, and pre-booking electronic tickets has become a habit for most people. Recently, the China Tourism Electronic Ticket Research Center, jointly founded by Lvmama — the top domestic brand for electronic tickets — and Fudan University, released the "China Tourism Electronic Ticket 2016 Annual Report" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report")..One is the pioneer of electronic tourism tickets, the other a prestigious Chinese university. Their research findings on the industry overview, product features, user profiles, user experience, industry pain points, and development trends of electronic tourism tickets hold significant guidance and reference value for the development of the tourism industry.
Wang Xiaosong, CEO of Lvmama, said that the "China Tourism Electronic Ticket 2016 Annual Report" is the industry’s first in-depth research achievement in the field of electronic tickets. He hopes that through analyzing the industry’s characteristics, pain points, opportunities, and highlights, it can help propel the progress of scenic spots and the entire tourism industry, bringing tourists better travel products and improved travel experiences.
Electronic tourism tickets have vast room for growth Lvmama offers 5Ascenic spots more than any other OTAFirst
The Report shows that in 2016, the total transaction volume of China’s scenic spot ticket bookings reached 120 billion yuan, of which online channel ticket bookings amounted to approximately 12.8 billion yuan, up 64.5% year-on-year. The penetration rate of electronic tourism tickets was about 10.7%, an increase of approximately 35.4% year-on-year, indicating strong competitiveness and development potential for electronic scenic tickets in the coming period. In 2016, 85% of the nation’s ticketed scenic spots were available for online sales, with OTA-issued tickets exceeding 130 million. As of December 2016, among the 227 national 5A-level scenic spots (sites) in China, Lvmama Travel Network sold tickets for 197, accounting for 87% and ranking first among OTAs. The average consumption frequency of travelers rose from 1.2 times per person in 2014 and 2 times per person in 2015 to 3 times per person, marking the true arrival of the mass leisure tourism era.
Number of 5A scenic spots (sites) available online via Lvmama/Ctrip/Tongcheng
Comparison of the number of online sellable scenic spots among Lvmama/Ctrip/Tongcheng
Currently, one in every 10 people chooses to book scenic spot tickets online. The development potential of China’s electronic tourism ticket industry is enormous. With the advancement of mobile internet and the continued boom in the investment market for tourist attractions, as one of the few standardized products in the tourism industry, electronic scenic tickets present significant commercial opportunities.
95.2%Electronic tickets require collection for entryScenic spot ticket-checking facilities need upgrading
The Report shows that as of December 2016, among scenic spots selling electronic tickets on travel websites, the proportions of online payment and on-site payment were 94.8% and 5.2%, respectively. The main methods for entering with electronic tickets are either requiring ticket collection or not. Ticket collection accounts for 95.2%. Among the ticket collection methods, they can be divided into obtaining tickets via SMS or ID card. SMS-based entry is the most widely used, accounting for 93.3% of the number of online sellable scenic spots that require ticket collection. Regarding ticket collection locations, the main options are at the scenic spot box office or self-service ticket machines. Among online sellable scenic spots, the proportions are 85% and 15%, respectively.
The characteristics of electronic tourism ticket products in terms of payment methods and entry methods further highlight the urgency of integrating tourism electronic tickets with internet technology. Supporting intelligent ticket-checking methods are of great significance for complementing and improving smart scenic spot systems, enhancing the convenience of ticket purchasing for users, and alleviating crowd congestion at scenic spots.
80Post-80sand post-90s are the biggest “players” of electronic tickets Holiday travel numbers reach 8times that of regular days
The Report shows that post-80s and post-90s account for 75.5% of orders. Nowadays, young people with certain spending power who are accustomed to using internet-connected mobile devices to make bookings have become the main force of travelers. With the popularization and upgrading of smart technology and mobile devices, booking and traveling anytime has become a reality. In 2016, 90% of online users placed orders via mobile devices. It is estimated that in 2017, the proportion of users booking electronic tickets via mobile devices will reach 93%.
In terms of the number of visitors to domestic scenic spots across regions in 2016, East China had the highest proportion, accounting for 36.7% of the total, followed by Southwest China, Central China, and South China. This phenomenon is related to the distribution of scenic spots in different regions, the popularity of electronic ticket sales at these scenic spots, as well as the construction of smart scenic areas and per capita consumption levels in those regions.
Holiday travel booking situation
In terms of seasonal travel choices, the number of scenic spot visitors fluctuates significantly with the seasons, showing clear off-peak and peak periods. The number of visitors in the first quarter accounted for only 14.4% of the annual total. With the consecutive arrival of New Year’s Day and Spring Festival, some winter scenic spots (especially hot springs) began to see increased traffic. The second quarter saw a small increase due to statutory holidays such as Qingming and Dragon Boat Festival, reaching 22.8% of the annual visitor count. The third quarter, especially July and August during the summer vacation, saw most domestic scenic spots enter their peak travel season, with a 95.1% increase in visitor numbers compared to the second quarter, accounting for 44.5% of the annual total. By the fourth quarter, after National Day, most domestic landscape scenic spots entered the off-season, with visitor numbers making up 18.1% of the annual total. Notably, weekend travelers are about four times the number of weekday travelers, and during statutory holidays, the number can reach nearly eight times that of a regular day.
In terms of user experience, current complaints from electronic ticket users mainly focus on four aspects: scenic spots, suppliers (non-scenic), tourists, and OTAs, with scenic spots accounting for the largest proportion, about 40%. Complaints caused by scenic spots mainly center around network/system failures, premature/temporary closures, and temporary adjustments to business hours/prices.
Scenic spots are the core of all-for-one tourism Innovation in electronic tickets needs improvement
The Report points out that the uneven level of smart scenic spot development across different regions, coupled with insufficient attention from relevant authorities and conservative thinking among scenic area managers, has to some extent hindered the growth of electronic tickets in tourism. Currently, China's electronic ticketing industry faces three major pain points: first, the low rate of digitization among scenic areas—apart from Jiangsu, Beijing, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, other regions are still in the early stages of smart tourism. Second, some scenic spots rely too heavily on traditional distribution channels. Third, due to a shortage of skilled personnel and outdated marketing methods, the innovation capacity of electronic ticketing remains weak.
In 2017, the development of electronic tickets in tourism showed four key trends: mobile bookings became the absolute mainstream, with instant bookings accounting for 78.1% in 2016—a year-on-year increase of 11.1%. The industry structure of electronic ticketing stabilized, with major online travel agencies directly sourcing around 93% of scenic spot resources in 2016, up 6% from the previous year. After years of intense competition, small and medium-sized travel e-commerce platforms gradually exited the market, making the barriers to entry in the scenic electronic ticketing industry increasingly high. Scenic areas are at the core of all-for-one tourism—not a tourism model without attractions, but one that relies on high-quality scenic spots to form the backbone, linking individual attractions into routes and regions to create a pattern where many stars surround the moon, and the moon illuminates the stars. Ticket products are becoming increasingly diverse. The competition in electronic tickets is no longer just about price (the 1.0 era) or generic scenic activities (the 2.0 era), but a comprehensive battle in focus, professionalism, and specialization. This signals that the entire industry is rapidly advancing toward the 3.0 era of electronic tickets, aiming to build differentiated product barriers with "tickets + X" offerings, enhancing the richness of ticket products by incorporating entertainment and voucher-based options, and transforming tickets from mere entry points into integrated gateways for both foot traffic and consumer spending.