Despite Recession, Chinese Still Eager To Travel

While Chinese consumers may be cutting back in some areas as a result of the economic downturn, one area that is not taking a hit is travel.  According to the latest China Outbound Travel Monitor from Nielsen, 85 percent of Chinese travelers said that they “definitely” or “probably” will travel outside the country at some point over the next 12 months.

“Even under current financial pressures, the Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor shows that the Chinese travel market continues to boom and is likely to grow further.  The interest lies not only among the experienced traveler, but also among novice travelers.  This should serve as a boost of confidence to the travel industry,” said Dr. Grace Pan, Head of Travel and Leisure Research with Nielsen China.

Short haul trips, such as those to Hong Kong (the most mentioned place to visit), Macau or Taiwan, were the most popular, with more than 60 percent of travelers intending to visit those destinations.  Thanks to a recent agreement that allows Mainland Chinese to travel to Taiwan in groups, Taiwan showed the greatest increase in interest.  In 2007, just three percent of respondents said they planned to visit Taiwan.

“Historic ties with Taiwan - a destination that has not been an option for many years - make it a destination of much interest to Mainland Chinese, and we expect to see tremendous growth potential for travel to Taiwan in the years to come,” said Dr. Pan.

Top Planned Destination Countries

* Note: multiple answers allowed

China 2008 Ad Spending Buoyed by Olympics; Taiwan Slumps

2008 was a year of highs and lows for China - the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing were a monumental achievement while the Sichuan earthquake in May was tragedy.   The economy recorded 9 percent growth - the first year of single-digit growth since 2003 and below the average rate of 9.8 percent in the past 30 years.  Contrary to experiences in other countries, metrics actually rose in the last quarter of 2008: industrial output, private consumption, retail sales and bank lending all increased.  For the whole year, ad spending posted 17 percent growth.

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Weathering the Storm: Asia Pacific Ad Spend Holds its Own

The economic decline has affected most parts of the world, but some have been hit harder than others.  One region that seems to be holding its own is Asia Pacific (APAC).  Although consumer confidence in APAC has declined in recent months, those declines have generally not been as steep as in Europe or North America.  Eight of the twelve markets for which Nielsen tracks ad spending posted growth in 2008 over 2007.  That said, most of the markets were registering declines by the fourth quarter.

Main media, defined by Nielsen as free to air TV, newspapers and magazines, increased 13 percent in 2008, while all other media (radio, outdoor, pay TV, cinema and other) posted an 8 percent increase for the year.

In 2008, three markets recorded declines in ad spend versus 2007, while another posted no growth:

• Taiwan (-11%)
• South Korea (-8%)
• Thailand (-4%)
• New Zealand (0%)

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Taiwan’s Consumers Adjust To Economic Downturn

Like most people in countries around the world, Taiwanese are experiencing record low consumer confidence.  And just as consumers in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere have become more value-driven, so too have the Taiwanese, according to the latest Nielsen ShopperTrends report.

62 percent of Taiwan’s grocery shoppers claim to have become more price-sensitive, while among females over 35 and low income households, that number rises to 75 percent.  One store, Post Exchange, has capitalized on this trend with its low price strategy. As a result, 17 percent of all Taiwanese shoppers spend the majority of their grocery dollars at the chain.

Brand loyalty for some categories has suffered: more than 60 percent of consumers would buy an alternative brand of biscuit, snacks, shampoos and laundry detergents if their usual brands were out of stock.  That said, vitamins and face care products seem to engender the highest levels of brand loyalty, with high levels of consumers saying that they would wait until their brand was available or locate it at another retailer.

Read the full press release about Taiwanese consumer trends here.

It’s A Recession, Consumers Agree — But Until When?

Most global consumers agree that their countries have hit recession, but opinion on how long the recession will last remains mixed, Nielsen reported Wednesday.

While 53% of those surveyed by Nielsen think their country has hit a prolonged recession that will last more than 12 months, 18% of consumers, concentrated in a handful of emerging markets, like India, Vietnam, China, and Russia, told Nielsen they expect their countries to be out of recession within the next 12 months.

In contrast, consumers in Japan, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey, Italy, Taiwan, the U.S., and Spain were the least optimistic about the prospects for quick economic recovery.

Nielsen surveyed 28,663 Internet users in 52 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas, and the Middle East between September 22 and October 6, 2008, as part of its Global Online Consumer Survey.

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Global Advertising Up Slightly In Q2 2008

Advertising in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America grew by 1.5%, year-over-year, in the second quarter of 2008, Nielsen reported Wednesday.

Strong advertising growth in the Asia-Pacific region (+7.6% over Q2 2007) drove the increase, according to data released in Nielsen’s latest Global AdView Pulse report.

Ad spending trends worldwide showed significant variations — with overall advertising declines recorded in North America (-1%) and Europe (-3%).

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Golden Week Holiday Travel Surges In China

Chinese are more likely to travel this week for the National Day Golden Week holiday than they were earlier this year during the Chinese New Year holiday, Nielsen reported Tuesday.

According to a survey conducted by Nielsen, six in 10 Chinese plan to travel between September 29 and October 5 for Golden Week, while just 42% of Chinese reported making plans to travel this past February for Chinese New Year celebrations. 

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Taiwan Ad Market Up 1% In First Half Of 2008

Advertising in Taiwan grew by one percent to reach NT$22.23 billion during the first half of 2008, according to a report released Wednesday by Nielsen Advertising Information Service.

The modest first-half increase — driven largely by Kuomintang (+2,134%; NT$164 million) and Democratic Progressive Party (+2,938; NT$70 million) political advertising — is the first advertising growth since 2004 for Taiwan’s struggling advertising market.

Radio (+19%) and terrestrial TV ads (+12%) recorded significant growth, while print and outdoor advertising continued to struggle.

The FarGlory Group, a leading property developer in Taiwan, was again the top advertiser position for the period, spending NT$368 million, despite cutting its advertising budget by 6% in the first half of 2008.

Among the top 20 advertisers, the Kuomintang political party (+2,134%; NT$164 million), Jaysanlyn Real Estate & Advertising Co. (+812%; NT$255 million), and Highwealth Construction (+535%; NT$188 million) recorded the largest percentage increases during the first half.

View the full press release.