Mobile gadgets play a growing role in business travel market

Improving technology sees a rise in apps and tools to book on the go

Smartphones and tablets are expected to become the most important hotel-booking tool for business travelers in the next three years, according to industry insiders.

Jiang Jun, general manager of hotel reservation company HRS China, said about 12 percent of orders the company received were submitted through mobile gadgets. She estimated the figure will exceed 50 percent by 2017.

"Thanks to the popularity of smartphones and new technologies like 4G, mobile phones are pushing forward the trend of online business travel management and becoming another reservation tool in addition to desktop computers," Jiang said.

She said the booking trend was directly linked to business travel as 75 percent of people who booked rooms from mobile gadgets checked in the same day or the day after and most of them stayed for just one night.

"Different from leisure travelers, those who are out on business need to submit, edit or cancel their orders in a fast way and smartphone apps meet those requirements," she said.

As 4G technologies improve the speed of data flow, it will become even faster to manage orders through apps and attract more and more business travelers to follow suit, said Jiang.

Laura Li, an analyst at HVS Global Hospitality Services, said online booking was an obvious trend in the business travel market as smart phones and similar gadgets have changed people's lives.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed there were 139 million 4G mobile phone users and another 471 million people using 3G phones by the end of June.

A Carlson Wagonlit Travel report revealed the increasingly important role of mobile gadgets in the business travel market, especially in China and other Asian countries.

The report indicated that 62 percent of business travelers in Asia would like to book hotels through smartphones. The figure was 55 percent in North America and 45 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

This could be good news for app developers in China, which is estimated to soon overtake the United States as the largest business travel market.

One app that is gaining popularity is called Tuniu, which was ranked among the Apple Store's top five travel planning apps.

Although there are many travel planning apps, including Ctrip, Qunar and Tripadvisor, Tuniu is one of the few that provides a specific segment for tailor-made tour planning for business travelers.

Tuniu's business tours normally require at least 10 people. The team is provided with an exclusive tour guide and door-to-door transport services based on requirements such as departure time, city, budget, accommodation and conference needs. Twenty-four hours after submitting a requirement table a customer service representative contacts the team leader to provide several tailormade tour options.

Summer customizations include cruise liners, which are becoming more popular. European aristocrats originally led this travel style at the end of the 18th century. Cruises have become more and more popular around the world as they offer relaxation, top services, ample social time and privacy.

Tuniu designed a tailormade tour that offers travelers a four-to-five-day journey on a cruise liner to the Three Gorges landscape belt at the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The journey includes ample leisure-time surrounded by attractive landscapes along the river, cuisine specifically created to relieve summer heat, as well as exclusive and private conference halls on the liner. The average budget per person for the journey is 1,999 yuan ($325.6).

For business groups that want to travel overseas but not too far during the summer, another highly recommended tour is to South Korea's Jeju Island, the so-called "Hawaii in South Korea".

The four-day tour includes a taste of traditional spicy and fiery South-Korean food.

Local hotels that serve business travelers can provide spacious conference rooms and other services for team building and relaxation.

Jeju Island's climate helps travelers forget the summer heat and enjoy the natural landscape.

The average charge for the tour is 5,000 yuan per person.

For business groups with more money to spend Tuniu suggested going further away to somewhere like Australia.

With a budget of about 18,000 yuan per person, groups can enjoy a seven-night and nine-day journey to almost all the renowned tourism destinations along the eastern coast of the country.

Sydney Blue Mountain National Park has vast areas of jungle and subtropical rainforests. Business travelers will feel a world away from busy, crowded cities and the pressures of work when they step into the picturesque natural landscapes and breathe in fresh fragrances from plants and trees.