简体中文
Drivingforsightseeing,oncemarginalinthetourismindustry,iscominginvogueandstimulatingthecarrentalbusinessinChina.
Accordingtothelatestreport,morethan40percentofairlineandtraintouristswanttorentcarsfortoursaftertheirarrivals.Ctrip.comInternationalLtd,oneoftheleadingonlinetravelserviceproviders,releaseditsnewcarrentalreportonWednesday.
Itsaiditsdomesticcarrentalbusinesshasenjoyedstellargrowthrateof150percentyear-on-year.Accordingtothereport,DaliandLijianginYunnanprovinceandGuiyanginGuizhouprovincearethethreefastest-growingtourismdestinations,withayear-on-yeargrowthratealmostreaching200percent.
Bytheendof2015,therewere320millionholdersofdrivinglicensesinChina.Asanewwayoftraveling,self-drivingiswelcomedbytheyoungergenerationoftourists.
AccordingtotheChinaNationalTourismAdministration,in2015morethan4billionvisitsbyChinesetravelersweremadewithinthecountry,andmorethan3.2billionofthosetripsweretouriststravelingontheirown,amongthemthosewhotookroadtripswiththeirowncars.
AreportbyinternationalconsultantsRolandBergersaidinthenextfiveyears,visitsbyself-drivingtouristswillenjoyanaverageannualgrowthrateof16percent.
Ofthetouristswhorentcarsfortour,abouttwo-fifthsarefromShanghaiandBeijing,Ctripfound.ItsaidthatShenzhenandGuangzhouinGuangdongprovince,ChengduinSichuanprovinceandHangzhouinZhejiangprovincealsohadpotentialoffurtherdevelopmentintheself-drivingtouristtrend.
XuXiaolei,aspokesmanforChinaYouthTravelServiceCo,saidself-drivingtourismhadtriggeredtravelagenciestodevelopnewbusiness.
"Travelagenciesaregoodatprovidingpackageservicesincludingtravelroutes,transportationandhotelbookings,aswellasprovidingtourguides,"Xusaid.
"Withmoreandmoretouristsbookingtailoredservices,wehavebeendeployingcarrentalservicesinareascoveringvastterritoryandinareaswithalimitedpublictransportationnetwork,"Xuadded.
"Carrentalbusinessfortouristshavegreatpotential,notonlyinChinabutalsooverseas.Ithinkcarrentalismoreessentialfortourists.TakethewesternUnitedStatesforanexample,touristswouldnotenjoythetouriftheydidn'trentacar."
(China Daily)
