The tradicional brick & mortar model for travel agencies has been questioned for years and is certainly diying, with the exception of China, with Ctrip further integrating Traveling Bestone and Qunar vacation businesses to implement its strategy in second-, third-, and fourth-tier cities across China.
So far, Ctrip has opened over 5,500 retail outlets in 22 provinces and cities across China and the company plans to increase the number to 6,500 by the end of 2017. Consumers can enjoy the convenience of tourism consulting, travelbooking, and foreign visa application in those stores.
But are all the stores created equal? Certainly the answer is no and as Apple has demonstrated, if you add value to the physical presence of the client in your store, you will success. In this survey eMarketer highlights the vision of the Retail Industry, which is a good reference for the Travel industry.
