UGC, User Generated Currency?

How Ctrip became the biggest on-line travel agency in China.

With the rapid development of technologies, the tourism and event industries are revolutionized by the new technologies and media. According to the speech given during the “Global Tourism Economy Forum 2012” in Macau, by Zhou Li, the mobile technology and internet generated $6 trillion of the global economy (which represents 9 percent of global GDP) and created 260 million jobs worldwide. The new technologies changed the way of travelling – traveler not only try to find useful information about many potential destinations, but also try to find interesting destinations activities and hotels before, during, and give comments after the trip. But, according to the researches, the technologies are useless without users. This is why many state that the UGC- User Generated Content – is the most effective tool for any marketing process.

As can be understood from the name, the User Generated Content gives internet users the chance to give advices or comment, using their own knowledge and opinions on the website. Being very aware of the huge potential of this opportunity, Ctrip, the biggest on-line travel agency in China, successfully linked the UGC to their website and mobile applications. On those, you can find the advices and experiences given by and to the travelers during the trip. This includes the destination recommendation, current activities, sight spots information, and hotels booking. Both Ctrip’s website and app of are not only providing information, but mainly forwarding to the users the most accurate and up to date comments in order to fully inform and satisfy their customers.

Let’s take a closer look at Ctrip’s strategy, and understand how it became the biggest online travel agency in China thanks to the UGC.

1.      The first step consist of using a marketing strategy with the combination of contact on-line (website), on app (mobile application) and sometime with telephone services, which supports eight languages including Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese and Russian, in order to reach a target as broad as possible within their own territory.

2.      The second step is implementing what everybody expects from a travel agency: providing Information about the destination, the local activities, the possible hotels to be booked, the flights that can be taken, the affordable organized tours and other various services (including electronic maps, trains, bus, weather forecasts, events and exhibitions information and car rentals).

3.      Finally the most important step of their strategy is based on the UGC, which can be found in three different areas.

a)       Hotels. Ctrip doesn’t only recommend hotels to users but also provides customer comments about the hotels, and creates a ranking based on those comments. Clients who booked and slept in a specific hotel can give their comments about their stay and their experience. This is essential for potential customers because it can greatly influence their choices and purchases. It also extremely useful for the hotels that want to improve the satisfaction of their guest by focusing on some positive comments or correcting, solving problems that induced negative comments. The UGC comments gathered from the clients will directly appear under the basic information of the hotel. Thus, users have direct access to both types of information and can build their choice based on either or both.

b)       Destination guides written officially by Ctrip and improved by tourists. The contents can include activities, hotel, restaurant, spa and other information. Travelers are willing to share their experience with others in this space. In one hand, the clients UGC helps other clients to find information. In another hand, it gives a platform for the clients to show their travel experience to others. Moreover, as comments can be given for all the guides, it gives an opportunity for travelers to communicate with each other, creating a forum of some sorts. It is also widely used for lonely travelers wishing to find a companion for their prospective trip by posting a message on a forum and receiving an answer from someone with similar travelling interest.

Mobile APP

c)        Mobile application. Ctrip mobile application boasts that it can fully satisfy your travel experience by combining travel guides, hotels and flight bookings; but also traditional information completed with the UGC. In addition, it gives you some surprises – you can use this to find the nearest tourist attraction and the comments left by others who have been there, you even can see the time when others posted. It provides the latest information and the real feeling of others. For example, whether it is the right place you want to visit, the food or services provided there, the activities you can go to, how to get discount; even if the weather is good for your trip there. With this UGC, you can plan your trip better and you can even find friends who are nearby and chat with each other through this platform.

UGC is important for travelers because they can get the “true” information and experiences felt by their peers that can help them make the purchasing desicion. It is also critical for the companies and marketers by gathering the satisfaction information of the customers and creates data files that can be used for generating loyalty, or for selling to any tourism focused company wishing to learn about the potential market. The UGC brings a new travel model for travellers which is more convinent and effective before, during and after the consumer travel process

Reference: 
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2012-09/12/content_15751370.htm
http://english.ctrip.com

Posted by: Qian GE, Alexis Brenet