Airline sales in Singapore skyrocket as CNY approaches; China’s tourism industry surges

Airline sales are expected to shoot up as Chinese travelers rush for bookings leading to the start of the Chinese New Year. Worldpay data shows a 12% increase in the volume of flights being arranged during the three weeks leading up to the start of the festival.

The same trend goes for Mainland China. Flight bookings in Hong Kong have experienced comparable increases reaching 72% in the lead up to the New Year. Notably, the standard booking value in China has lowered by 17% from the US$485 in 2017 to US$402, implying an increase in tech-savvy consumers who are shopping around for the best travel deals and lower cost flights, combined with greater overall competition within the airlines industry.

Philip Shi, Country Manager for China at Worldpay said: “The weeks preceding the Chinese New Year is an increasingly significant period for the travel and tourism industry in China with more and more consumers looking to get away and celebrate with family and friends. To some extent, this is reflected by the number of new airports being built in China to cope with the surge in air travel.”

“With increased competition within the industry, it is now even more important for airlines and travel operators to prepare for this travel spike in advance. Mobile payments are used by 68% of the online population for purchases ranging from personal shopping to travel booking. It is imperative for airlines and travel operators to ensure their check-out pages are optimized for mobile, and that customers are given the option to book in the most convenient way possible.”

Figures quoted are based on Worldpay’s Global Enterprise eCommerce transaction data for airlines and online travel agents and operators from January 2016 to February 2018.

Worldpay

Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY) is a leading payments technology company with unique capability to power global Omni-commerce. With an integrated technology platform, Worldpay offers a comprehensive suite of products and services, delivered globally through a single provider. Worldpay processes over 40 billion transactions annually, supporting more than 300 payment types across 146 countries and 126 currencies. The company is focused on expanding into high-growth markets and customer segments, including global eCommerce, integrated payments and B2B.