Airbnb expects 44% spike in Chinese guests

Airbnb Inc, the United States-based home-sharing service provider, expects guest arrivals by Chinese travelers during the upcoming National Day holiday will rise 44 percent from the same period a year ago, with short-distance trips becoming a trend.

The peak of Airbnb guest arrivals will be from Oct 2 to 4, with maximum guest arrivals on Oct 3, based on booking data from Sept 30 to Oct 8.

The guest arrivals for domestic destinations by Chinese travelers during the National Day holiday are expected to increase by 116 percent year-on-year, accounting for 47 percent of the total guest arrivals.

The top five domestic cities to be visited by Chinese travelers are Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’an. Guest arrivals in Chengdu, Chongqing and Shanghai will increase by 127 percent, 125 percent and 77 percent respectively, compared with the same period last year.

It is noteworthy that shortdistance trips during the National Day holiday are becoming a trend, and Airbnb expects a significant number of domestic travelers to try them out.

For example, its Beijing users are choosing to stay in Qingdao and Xi’an. Shanghai and Suzhou are the popular destinations for Shanghai guests, while its Hangzhou users prefer Hangzhou and Guangzhou. The most popular routes for domestic travel are concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta.

When it comes to outbound travel, Chinese Airbnb users will visit nearly 3,800 cities in 140 countries and regions during the National Day holiday.

Japan, the US, Thailand, Australia and South Korea are the most popular outbound destinations for Chinese guests. The average length of stay for outbound travel is four days, which is higher than the domestic travel.

Chinese millennials constitute the main source of guest arrivals on Airbnb during the National Day holiday, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total.

“The demand for shortterm leisure tourism is on the rise as more and more people prefer to get close to nature and stay away from the hustle and bustle of the city,” said Lai Zhen, an analyst at market research firm iResearch.

Nathan Blecharczyk, chairman of Airbnb China, said in an earlier interview with China Daily that the Chinese market has been Airbnb’s fastestgrowing market around the world, and the country is also Airbnb’s second fastest-growing outbound market.