2017 年全球旅游目的地访客突破 9 亿人次，连续 8 年增长。千禧世代引领自由行潮流，正在重塑旅行模式。吸引包括中国自由行游客在内的外国旅客，是国内住宿业的新机遇。
千禧世代旅行时代 – 抓住全球旅行者！
Dawn of Millennials: Time to Capture Foreign Travellers!
中文 / 英文
作者 Booking.com
联合国世界旅游组织(UNWTO)发布的《世界旅游晴雨表》最新数据显示，2017 年 1 月至 8 月期间，全球旅游目的地访客总数高达 9.01 亿人次，实现连续 8 年增长。全球旅游业正迎来史无前例的长期繁荣。
这对国内市场同样意义重大。同期，包括韩国在内的亚太地区旅游访客增长了 6%。我们的行业该把目光投向哪里，答案已经很明确 —— 吸引带着不同目的、探索多样目的地的全球旅行者来到韩国。
外国旅客的优势
外国旅客的潜力不只体现在数字上。从他们的旅行特点看，吸引外国旅客的理由更加充分：他们从远方专程而来，通常比国内旅客停留时间更长、消费金额更高，而且因为行程确定性强，往往提前预订且很少取消。另外，各国假期和旺季时段不同，只要策略性地吸引外国旅客，就能有效填补我们的淡季空档。
读懂最新趋势，抓住外国旅客
要吸引全球旅行者，必须快速把握最新旅行趋势。当前旅游市场最值得关注的两个关键词是：千禧世代崛起和自由行强势增长。
所谓千禧世代，指 1981 年至 2000 年间出生的年轻群体。他们在各类服务行业中形成独特的消费模式，引领着潮流，旅游业也不例外。内容营销机构 EnVeritas Group 将千禧世代旅行消费的特征总结为以下五点：
1) 相比实用性，千禧世代更看重特别的体验 —— 比如主题住宿或独特的旅游活动；2) 他们偏好能与陌生人交流的开放空间；3) 积极寻求像本地人一样吃喝的体验；4) 对融入最新技术的旅行体验驾轻就熟；5) 高度关注性价比。
与此同时，随着千禧世代旅客增多，旅行形态也在从跟团游转向自由行。这些年轻人善用信息技术、语言障碍相对较低，不愿跟着团队游固定行程走，而是更喜欢通过网站搜索和资料收集，自己规划交通、住宿和路线。尤其是中国自由行游客的增长，近年来成了全球旅游业的焦点。预计未来 5 年将占中国总消费 55% 的中国千禧世代，大多偏好自由行而非跟团游。TripAdvisor China Unbounded 的调查显示，52% 的中国自由行游客选择停留时间相对较长的海外旅行。
全球旅游业高度关注中国自由行游客动向，理由不言而喻。既然中韩关系的冰冻期已经过去，我们行业也需要更快行动起来，抓住中国自由行游客。
用 Booking.com 接触全球旅客！
酒店预订解决方案提供商 SiteMinder 总结了住宿业吸引全球旅客需要掌握的五条经验：
1) 尽可能提供更多国家的语言和货币
2) 积极利用社交媒体
3) 快速接入 OTA，同时重视搜索引擎优化(SEO)
4) 与全球性网站合作推广住宿
5) 加强网站和用户评价管理
如果你已经在使用 Booking.com，这些经验里的多数你其实已经在实践。首先，Booking.com 支持全球 43 种语言和货币 —— 这个数字不仅远超主要 OTA，甚至超过了亚马逊、eBay 等电商平台。在 Booking.com 注册的房源会根据需求被翻译成 43 种语言，向全球旅行者展示，房价也能轻松转换成用户想要的货币。
此外，我们在搜索引擎优化(SEO)上投入大量资源，确保按目的地或住宿类型等关键词搜索时，我们的网站能排在高位，让注册的房源能被更多用户看到。
Booking.com 拥有超过 1 亿条客户评价，这些数据连 NAVER 这样的在线搜索引擎也在使用。Booking.com 网站上发布的评价经过严格验证，保证准确性和客观性。不仅如此，我们还在合作伙伴的 Extranet 管理后台设置了评价回复系统，让你能实时快速回应客户评价。
就从今天开始，在 Booking.com 上接触全球旅客吧！
International tourism is on the rise! Statistics from UNWTO(World Tourism Barometer) show that from January till August 2017, there were 901 million international tourist arrivals. Upward trajectory of international tourism has been continuing for the last 8 consecutive years without any signs of stopping.
This is not a story from a distant land. During the same period above, number of international visitors in the Asia Pacific Region that includes S.Korea also increased by 6%. How then do we capture international tourists flooding in on an unprecedented scale? In this article, We will be looking at how hosting international guests can benefit your business and practical measures we can take to draw attentions of foreign tourists all over the world.
Why Host International Guests?
Untapped giant pool of demand from foreign travellers really exists and it is for us to exploit this opportunity. Not so convinced how international guests can be a cash cow? Benefits are obvious if you look at their travel patterns. According to Booking.com's own database, foreign travellers tend to book early, cancel less, stay longer and spend more whilst their stay! Plus, differences in high seasons among the different nationalities can play to your advantage as this can make up for low demand in domestic market. (e.g. high season for Americans can be a low season for Korean market!)
Get into Swing of Latest Travel Trend
How then do we attract foreign guests? One needs to be in the constant look out for the latest travel trend. Right now, the hottest two buzzwords for travel industry are 'Rise of Millennials' and 'Free Independent Traveller(FIT)'.
So called Millennials (born between 1981~2000) are now considered to be trend setters in the industry and they are showing different purchasing behaviour. EnVeritas Group, a content marketing agency has typified consuming behaviours of millennials as follows. 1) Millennials want an experience, not just functionality. 2) Millennials love open public spaces to meet new people and gather with friends. 3) Local dining and drinking options are a must**. 4)** Technology is no longer an option, but a necessity. 5) Millennials want more bang for their buck.
Influence of millennials is such that they are reshaping the way travelling is traditionally done i.e. Package Travelling is giving ground to Free Independent Travelling(FIT). Tech savvy millennials are less bound by language barrier and tend to prefer independent way of travelling. Rather than following the itinerary set by others, making own plans based on the hand picked information is their preferred method of travelling. What is interesting and noteworthy is the fact that same trend can be found among Chinese youth. Growth of Chinese FIT has now become a new buzzword for global travel industry. Chinese millennials are expected to take up more than 55% of Chinese consumers within next 5 years and their preferred way of travelling is that of independent way. According to TripAdvisor China Unbounded, 52% of Chinese FITs are said to be opting for overseas travelling with longer stay period. And this bit of information becomes all the more relevant for Korean property owners as existing tension between the Chinese and Korean government is beginning to thaw.
Host Internal Guests through Booking.com
SiteMinder – the hotel reservation solution provider suggested 5 know-hows to capture international guests. And they are as follows:
1) Increase your language and currency capabilities
2) Stay active on social media
3) Keep up-to-date with OTAs and maximise SEO
4) Partner with international websites and showcase your destination
5) Maintain your website and manage your reviews
Luckily, if you are with Booking.com, you are more or less covered for all five know-hows above. Booking.com is offering service in 43 languages and currencies – an industry leading figure, even exceeding other e-commerce websites such as Amazon and Ebay. Once your property is registered with Booking.com, your property page can be translated into 43 languages according to demand and be exposed to global audiences. It is also easy to convert your room rate to other currencies that customers want to see.
Main strength of Booking.com has always been SEO(Search Engine Optimization) and we are continuing to invest heavily in this area so that any keywords relating to your property can rank higher on all majour search engines round the world.
As for guest reviews, Booking.com possesses over 100 million guest reviews written by customers who actually stayed at the property. This is why majour search engine such as Naver is using our guest reviews. We are proud to keep our reviews genuine yet objective. And partners are happy as they can directly reply guest reviews. This feature is helping property owners to maintain high level of service and manage their reputation even after guest's stay is over.
At Booking.com, it is easy to meet your guests all around the world!
参考资料 (References)
https://enveritasgroup.com/campfire/5-ways-attract-millennial-travelers-hotel/
Booking.com
注册咨询(Contact)
李夏妮(Hani Lee) hani.lee@booking.com
郑有珍(Rachel Jeong) rachel.jeong@booking.com