Over half of Chinese international holidaymakers are booking their hotel accommodation via the web or mobile apps, up from 45% in 2013, according to a survey conducted by Hotels.com.
The survey of 3,000 Chinese travellers found that just under half use online accommodation websites and online reviews sites to research their trips, and a third check social media for tips.
Hotels.com EMEA vice president Matt Walls said: "Our study shows that Chinese travellers are becoming increasingly reliant on technology, both before they travel and whilst they are abroad, with amenities such as free Wi-Fi particularly popular."
"To appeal to tech-savvy Chinese guests, hoteliers are responding with over two-thirds (70%) offering free internet access and many more making their websites available in Mandarin. In addition, we’re also seeing hoteliers start to sign up to Chinese social networks like WeChat and Weibo to engage with potential guests, as is now commonplace on sites like Twitter and Facebook elsewhere," Walls added.
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Last year, 97 million Chinese people travelled overseas, an increase of 14 million on 2012. Over 36% of hoteliers who participated in the survey said the influx of Chinese tourists is one of the factors that will have the most impact on their business in the next 12-24 months.
It is predicted that Chinese tourists will spend £1bn in the UK by 2017, a surge of 84% over 2013 figures.
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The survey report also says that Chinese travellers were the seventh highest spending nationality on hotel rooms when travelling abroad in 2013, paying an average rate of £107 per night.
Geographically, Australia topped the wishlist of travel hotspots for Chinese travellers, with European destinations such as France and the UK also in the top ten.
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