How Big Data Drives Tourism Decision‑Making and Marketing – Insights from Ctrip CTO at the 2016 China Big Data Industry Summit

On May 25, 2016, the China Big Data Industry Summit and China E‑Commerce Innovation Development Summit were held in Guiyang, attended by Premier Li Keqiang, who emphasized that big data and cloud computing should transform traditional industries and foster new economic drivers.

Ctrip's Chief Technology Officer Eric Ye (叶亚明) participated as a guest speaker and delivered a keynote titled “Big Data Drives Tourism Decision‑Making and Marketing,” showcasing Ctrip's extensive data collection and advanced big‑data processing capabilities.

Ctrip's visual order system attracted many attendees; it enables analysis of travel trends by visualizing user origins and destinations, where more frequent connections indicate higher order volumes and greater travel heat, providing actionable references for planning and development.

Using Guiyang as an example, Ctrip predicted a 45% year‑over‑year increase in travel heat around the May 1 holiday, matching the local tourism bureau's forecast, while the actual increase was 47%, a deviation of only 2%. Predictions for 2014 and 2013 also showed errors below 5%, demonstrating high reference value for the market.

Such data benefits all three parties—users, platforms, and suppliers. For instance, hotel occupancy rates in locations like Fenghuang, Dali, and Lijiang reveal regional tourism heat, allowing destinations to increase staff, platforms like Ctrip to allocate resources efficiently, and travelers to consider off‑peak trips for better experiences.

Premier Li also stressed the need to respect personal privacy and commercial secrets while developing big data and cloud computing. Ctrip, serving 250 million users with services ranging from flights to hotels, handles personal and payment data with strict control and encryption measures to prevent leakage, underscoring respect for user privacy.

In summary, delivering big data that is closely aligned with user needs creates the greatest value, enabling more accurate predictions, stronger decision‑making, and a thriving “Internet+” tourism industry.