China Business Travellers Ranked First In Asia Pacific In Number Of Trips

, August 22, 2011 /ChinaNewswire.com - Xinwengao.com/ - Mainland Executives are also the most hardworking on their travels.

Shanghai, China (August 22, 2011) /ChinaNewswire.com/ — Accor has revealed the findings of its Accor Asia Pacific Business Traveller Research 2011, which seeks to better understand the travel and behavioural preferences of business travellers based in Asia Pacific. The survey interviewed over 10,000 respondents who made business trips in the first half of this year. Of these, close to 2,000 of the business travellers surveyed were executives based in Mainland China, with 3 in 4 business travellers being male.

Based on data collected, Hong Kong SAR (73%) is the leading destination for Mainland Chinese business travellers, with Singapore and Thailand coming in second and third with 25% and 22% respectively. In terms of outbound travel, executives from Mainland China (8.7 trips), were the most frequent travellers in the first half of 2011,followed by India (7.3 trips) and Singapore (7.1 trips). Moving into the second half of the year, Mainland Chinese business travellers are expected to remain top of the list increasing to 9.2 trips, with Singapore (6.9 trips) and India (6.7 trips) swapping positions as second and third.

Said Mr. Evan Lewis, Vice President Communications – Asia Pacific, "The sheer number of business trips made by Mainland Chinese business travellers can be possibly attributed to the importance of "Guan Xi" or positive interpersonal relationships as a crucial element for business dealings. An observation which supports this hypothesis is that 51% of Mainland Chinese respondents travel for external company business such as sales and client visits. This exceeds that of Singapore business travellers who are second, with less than half (46%) making trips for such a purpose."

Chinese executives from the Mainland are the second most budget conscious (US$99), behind Indonesian business travellers (US$92). Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mainland China has one of the highest incidences of domestic only business travel (25%), behind only Australia (34%) and New Zealand (26%) business travellers. Like other Asia Pacific business travellers, executives from the Mainland choose hotels mainly due to location (43%). Other key factors which influence their choice of accommodation include loyalty points accrual (29%) and having a positive experience on their previous stay (26%).

Mainland Chinese business travellers top the chart in terms of their environmental consciousness with 91% of the business travellers surveyed willing to choose a hotel which is more environmentally conscious ahead of a similar standard hotel in the same location. The same percentage of executives were also willing to pay a premium for a hotel with a superior environmental commitment.

From the perspective of inbound travel, Mainland China is most popular amongst business travellers from the Hong Kong SAR (79%), followed by Singapore (44%) and Malaysia (35%) business travellers in the first half of 2011. Overall, respondents from the research cited China's Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong and Singapore were the most popular business destinations (38% each), with Thailand (29%) third. Mainland China was a close fourth with 28%.

In terms of the most hardworking business travellers, the research suggests that Mainland Chinese (82%) and Singaporean (82%) business travellers are the most diligent, working most often in the hotels whilst travelling for business. The most popular time slot for work is from 21:00 to Midnight (52%). Based on their relatively longer working hours, only 49% of Mainland Chinese business travellers use the fitness centre and 29% of them use the spa. This contrasts with the overall findings from the research, which has found that 53% of Asia Pacific's business travellers use the hotel's fitness centre and 36% them go to the spa facilities at the hotel.

From these observations, it can be deduced that the typical Mainland Chinese business traveller is on the road most often than his Asia Pacific peers. This executive is most typically male who travels an average of between 8.7 to 9.2 trips every half year (which adds up to an average of a whopping more than 17 trips in a year. He also works most dutifully (82%) at the hotel during business travel as compared to other Asia Pacific business travellers, especially from 21:00 to Midnight (63%). So much so, that the typical Mainland Chinese business traveller hardly has time to enjoy any of the recreational facilities at hotels (as compared to his Asia Pacific peers). This extraordinary work ethic of Mainland Chinese business travellers could potentially be attributed to the ingrained culture which places a great emphasis on hard work.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

• Accor Greater China
  Mabel Liu
  Communications Director
  86(0) 21 6119 9833
  Mabel.Liu@accor.com

  Accor Greater China
  Angel Liu
  Communications Manager
  86(0) 21 6119 7676
  Angel.liu@accor.com