In the face of major changes, where will the new growth in China's hotel and business travel industry be in 2026?

The New Era

In 2026, the hotel industry’s internal competition is intensifying.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has launched an antitrust investigation into OTA platforms, with the battle over traffic distribution between OTAs and hotels becoming increasingly fierce; Alibaba’s Qianwen is making a strong entry into AI-based accommodation booking, reconstructing industry traffic channels through conversational services, aiming to change the traditional distribution pattern; Beijing’s three departments jointly held talks with twelve platform companies including OTAs and social media, explicitly demanding the rectification of “internal competition.”

Meanwhile, the business travel market is also facing a brand-new challenge: under the wave of going abroad, how should the value of travel management be reshaped?

Amid multiple transformations, both the hotel industry and the business travel management sector are facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges for transformation and development.

On April 2, the 2026 Global Travel Information Digital Intelligence Forum – Shanghai Edition, divided into [Hotel Session] & [Business Travel Session], was held as scheduled at the Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Center.

This event invited over 450 industry veterans, who through more than ten in-depth dialogues and speeches, reached a consensus, directly addressing the latest changes and pain points in the tourism industry this year, and exploring practical paths for efficiency improvement and business growth.

01

Hotel Session

Deepening specialization to break through traffic competition through practice

The opening keynote was delivered by Li Chao, Founder and CEO of Global Travel Information, with an independent speech titled “Understanding the Client: Demands and Business in 2026,” which systematically interprets the new landscape of business travel management from dual perspectives of corporate and hotel sides.

On the corporate side, the focus was on analyzing the evolution of travel management goals, deepening data requirements, trends in travel budgets, the logic behind hotel standard adjustments, and how employee experience has become a new decision variable.

On the hotel side, the discussion focused on the current industry status and prospects, analyzing the true direction of market size, iteration of hotel management strategies, changes in cooperation models between principals and agents, and the key conflicts and breakthroughs in the current supply-demand game.

Global Travel Information Founder and CEO Li Chao

Next, Liu Tingting, Founder of Islander Travel Beijing Yuzhou Network Technology Co., Ltd., interpreted the “Tourism Marketing White Paper,” stating that in the face of diverse demands behind large travel groups, new growth points in the industry lie in AI search and decision-making scenarios and channels.

The report also systematically compared GEO and traditional SEO marketing differences, helping hotels find breakthroughs in stock competition and making marketing actions more aligned with current travelers’ decision-making paths.

Beijing Yuzhou Network Technology Founder Liu Tingting

Practically, Zhang Chujun, General Manager of Integrated Marketing at Guangdong Jincheng Cultural Media Co., Ltd., focused on “From Content Seeding to Direct Sales Conversion” through full-channel media matrix operations. Using numerous practical cases, she dissected how hotel and travel marketing can connect customer recognition, content production, and private domain sedimentation, providing a replicable and implementable operational method for achieving “being seen, being seeded, and being converted” in travel products.

Guangdong Jincheng Cultural Media General Manager Zhang Chujun

As the market shifts toward more segmented customer needs, Zhu Mingsheng, initiator of Misen Laboratory, hosted the roundtable “Understanding the Business Behind the Healing Economy,” which delved into the real needs of the new middle class, business elites, and Generation Z in combating spiritual exhaustion.

This forum, together with Fu Quanyong, Vice President of Yuanzhou Travel, Chang Tao, Co-founder and CEO of Zhejiang Tinjian Cultural Tourism Group, and Chen Cong, Co-president of Hulan Hotel, discussed and proposed that high-end hotels, urban light resort hotels, resorts, and homestays should develop differentiated healing products based on their own DNA.

From left to right: Zhu Mingsheng, Fu Quanyong, Chen Cong, Chang Tao

Alongside the healing economy, a new trend has emerged: the silver economy.

In response, Echo, head of Global Travel Information planning, and Li Ping, General Manager of Shanghai Dongli Retirement Club, along with Cai Qihui, General Manager Assistant of Shanghai Dongjiao Hotel, discussed in depth the topic “True Needs, Hidden Investments, and Premium Logic of Silver Travel.”

Guests broke cognitive boundaries with their actions—today’s silver-haired clientele have shed the “low-price consumption” label, demanding higher-quality accommodation experiences, cultural experiences, and exquisite photo opportunities. Travel routes and hotel products need to shift from aging-friendly renovations to comprehensive upgrades in products and services.

From left to right: Cai Qihui, Li Ping, Echo

Turning attention back to global tourism, in 2026, inbound tourism remains hot. While focusing on overseas markets and exploring inbound growth dividends, the industry is also seeking more efficient growth models internally.

Centered on “Grasping Inbound Traffic: From Understanding Foreign Preferences to Proactive Attraction,” Echo, along with Li Pingzhang, Founder of Shenzhou Travel, Chen Yu, Ctrip’s Travel Marketing Director, Shao Yuhua, General Manager of Asia-Pacific at Shanghai Spring Autumn Travel Agency, and Song Wei, Senior Director (Greater China) at Marriott International, shared how hotels, OTAs, and travel agencies should actively cooperate to attract foreigners and how to handle accommodation bookings and guest services after arrival.

Left to right: Echo, Li Pingzhang, Chen Yu, Shao Yuhua, Song Wei

After several dialogues, the morning session concluded with a keynote. Xiangwang Technology CEO Wu Xiangguo delivered “Leap to 2026: Practical Breakthroughs in Travel and Hospitality Marketing from Traffic Competition to AI-Driven Management,” demonstrating how AI, live streaming, and short videos can be used practically to enhance content delivery at cultural tourism nodes, and showing how to use AI-driven staff to reshape marketing workflows, achieving real improvements in efficiency and revenue.

Xiangwang Technology CEO Wu Xiangguo

02

Business Travel Session

Value Reconstruction to Unlock New Opportunities in Going Abroad and Service

With the upgrade of overall tourism consumption, the corporate travel market has also undergone profound changes, shifting from the traditional focus on “cost control” to a new stage emphasizing “value and efficiency.”

The afternoon’s first session featured Li Hanming, General Manager of Travel Information Digital Technology, interpreting the report “Tides in the East | China Business Travel Without Limits,” which clearly states that by 2026, corporate travel management will become more refined and digitalized, with data services gradually becoming an important reference for travel managers and TMCs to analyze needs, understand market supply, and adjust policies.

Travel Information Digital Technology General Manager Li Hanming

On the other hand, China’s corporate globalization process continues to accelerate, bringing new challenges for outbound travel services.

Hè Changhua, Head of Growth at Airbnb China, shared in his speech “Redefining Business Travel: Unlocking New Possibilities for Outbound Business Travel,” that as Chinese companies go global, there is a significant increase in multi-person travel and long-term team stays; non-standard accommodations, with flexible space layouts and lifestyle scenarios, are becoming a new choice for many companies, requiring accommodation providers to have “global resource integration + localized service” capabilities.

Airbnb China Growth Head Hè Changhua

Based on this shift, Li Chao, Founder and CEO of Global Travel Information, and Hè Changhua held a one-on-one dialogue titled “The Value of Non-Standard Accommodation for Chinese Companies Going Abroad,” revealing that non-standard accommodations have upgraded from “supplementary options” to “advantageous choices,” and suggesting hotel groups and non-standard platforms collaborate to complement resources and jointly improve the overseas accommodation system for Chinese enterprises.

From left to right: Li Chao, Hè Changhua

In practical operations, senior procurement expert Liu Yang hosted a roundtable titled “Evolution of Overseas Resource Procurement Needs in the Context of Chinese Outbound Travel,” inviting Wu Xiaowen, CEO of Red Power, Huang Bishi, Head of Major Accounts at Grab, and Hu Baichuan, Director of Channel Operations at Hui Zhi International Travel, to analyze core pain points and solutions in overseas hotel resource procurement, as well as how to streamline payment links and ensure invoice compliance to safeguard Chinese companies’ outbound efforts.

From left to right: Liu Yang, Wu Xiaowen, Huang Bishi, Hu Baichuan

Later, Liu Yang again moderated the roundtable “How TMCs and Hotels Can Add Value Through Service to Break Free from Price Competition,” with Gao Siwei, General Manager of Greater China at BCD Travel, Wu Jia, Head of Travel at Geely, and Zhou Chang, Marketing Director at Jinling Hotel Management, engaging in in-depth discussions on industry core topics:

How can international TMCs charge service fees transparently without prepayment? Are companies willing to pay service fees? What is the biggest survival challenge for domestic TMCs? The guests shared their insights, offering new ideas for industry breakthroughs in low-price competition and value growth.

From left to right: Liu Yang, Gao Siwei, Wu Jia, Zhou Chang

At the end of the event, Global Travel Information officially launched China’s first Business Travel Awards, aiming to promote high-quality development of the business travel industry through industry benchmarks.

From left to right: Liu Yang, Wang Weili, Wu Jia, Li Chao, Gao Siwei, Zhou Lijuan, Wang Mingjie

Innovating within foresight, breaking through through transformation. Looking from the starting point of 2026, the tourism industry is crossing cycles and undergoing a profound and inspiring reshaping.

For hotel and business travel practitioners, this is a year of both challenges and opportunities, and also a year to return to the original intention of tourism and deepen value creation.

Only by closely following industry trends and actively embracing change can one stand firm amid industry cycles and achieve long-term growth.