What role does Facebook play as people plan their trips to China? It seems a very specific question, but that's exactly what Facebook's asked, commissioning Ipsos to interview users from Australia, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US who've visited China in the past year, or are planning to visit in the coming year, in order to get their perspectives on how they went about researching their trip and how they've used Facebook in that process.
It's difficult to know the exact motivation behind the focus on China in this regard. Facebook's been blocked in China since 2009 and The Social Network's been putting in work of late to get back into the Chinese market and plug their 1.3 billion citizens into their ever-expanding user base. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently gave his first ever speech delivered entirely in Mandarin at a university in Beijing, part of various official visits and commitments to the region, all designed to ingratiate Facebook with China's powers-that-be with a view to getting back in to compete with China's dominant social media player, Sina Weibo.
In this sense, maybe this research is part of an effort to highlight the important role Facebook plays in Chinese tourism as an effort to demonstrate The Social Network's value to the Chinese market. Maybe it's a means to show the value of connection for Chinese businesses.
Either way, Facebook's compiled some interesting stats, and those figures extend beyond just those traveling to China, making them worthy of note for any brands looking to market to travelers or people making holiday plans. For example, findings like friends photos are the most cited source of inspiration for travel plans and the fact that Australians and South Koreans prefer to travel in groups would likely apply to more nations than China alone.
Facebook's compiled the findings into the below infographic, check it out for more insight.