Hotelbeds Group has showcased the importance of the China source market at ITB Shanghai, which is now its fourth largest market worldwide.
It cites success in growing its China-US corridor, which accounted for 2.3% of all inbound Chinese hotel bookings into the US last year.
The key to this it says, is locally sourcing Chinese-friendly hotel inventory in major destinations for Chinese travel partners.
Hotelbeds Group, which comprises bedbank brands Hotelbeds, Tourico Holidays, and GTA, recently announced plans to increase its sourcing teams worldwide by 200 people with the goal of adding 10,000 more exclusively contracted hotels during the next three years.
"As recently as 2012 China was not even in our top 20 source markets globally, but we believed in the growth potential of the market. That’s why we invested considerable time and resources into sourcing Chinese-friendly hotels and also developing the right technology," said Sam Turner, wholesale sales & sourcing director for Hotelbeds Group.
The acquisition and integration of Tourico Holidays and GTA bedbanks into the Group last year has expanded the portfolio to more 170,000 hotels directly available to over 60,000 travel trade partners.
