China Rising: Inside the World’s Largest B2B Travel Market

China’s travel sector is the largest in Asia and one of the fastest-growing worldwide. By 2033 it is projected to reach USD 170.4 billion, supported by an 8.23% CAGR and an unprecedented development pipeline. By the end of 2025 alone, 1,156 new hotels with more than 170,000 rooms will open, adding to a total pipeline of over 3,700 projects nationwide.

International arrivals are rebounding sharply, growing 30% year-on-year, while outbound tourism is at record highs. With urban upgrades, new airports, and strategic government reforms, China is building both capacity and accessibility. Yet the country’s sheer scale brings complexity. The question is not whether demand exists, but whether distribution systems can keep up.
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From Shanghai Skylines to Sichuan Trails‍

China’s pipeline reflects unmatched diversity:

• National Development: More than 3,700 projects and 672,000 rooms planned through 2025.
• Corporate Growth: Nearly 61% of projects fall in the upper midscale and upscale segments catering to business and events.
• H World Expansion: Over 2,300 hotels planned by 2030, focused on midscale and budget travelers.
• Global Brands: Hilton, Marriott, and Jin Jiang among 800+ properties now operating in key urban hubs.
• Heritage and Eco Projects: Government-backed partnerships driving high-end and cultural resorts across Chengdu, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Xi’an.

While Tier 1 cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen continue to dominate supply and corporate demand, development is accelerating in Tier 2 markets such as Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Xi’an, which combine large populations with rising business and leisure appeal. Even Tier 3 cities, smaller but fast-emerging hubs including places like Zhuhai, Kunming, and Hefei, are seeing new hotel builds and regional tourism investment.

For buyers, this shift means opportunity comes with complexity. Supply is no longer concentrated in just a handful of urban hubs but spread across a vast network of destinations. Without smarter B2B distribution, many of these Tier 2 and Tier 3 properties risk being invisible to global demand despite meeting quality and infrastructure standards.
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The Great Divide: Frictions Holding Back China’s Travel Growth

Even with this momentum, China’s B2B travel distribution faces structural barriers:

• Fragmented supply: Chain hotels have visibility, while Tier 2 and 3 hotels outside top cities remain disconnected to global buyers.
• Manual workflows: Contracting, reconciliation, and payments still heavily rely on offline or siloed systems, increasing costs and slowing settlements.
• Data opacity: Without standardized data, lack of real-time availability and rate parity complicates procurement across multiple properties and regions.
• Regulatory complexity: Visa reforms, service policies, and local compliance operating cross-border adds friction for international buyers.
• Regional digital divide: Tier 1 operators modernize quickly, while many regional SMEs lag behind.

For procurement teams, agencies, and corporate buyers, these inefficiencies make it harder to capitalize on China’s scale.

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Breaking the Bottlenecks: Smarter B2B Travel for China

To capture its potential, China’s travel sector needs a unified, automated B2B ecosystem that can handle scale and diversity with consistency.

This is where B-Marketplace adds value. Designed for complex markets, it provides the digital backbone that simplifies connections between suppliers and buyers.

What B-Marketplace enables in China:

• Aggregated inventory: Consolidates chains, independents, and new properties into one standardized ecosystem.
• Built-in PayDocker integration: Streamlines contracting, reconciliation, and cross-border payments in one digital workflow. Settlements are completed faster, FX exposure is reduced, and both suppliers and buyers benefit from greater accuracy and predictable cash flow.
• Data-driven insights: Real-time benchmarking, unified rates and availability help buyers manage parity and procurement
• Localized integration: Adapts to Chinese compliance, contracting norms, and language requirements for seamless adoption.
• Global reach: Integration into 230+ channel managers enables visibility for secondary and tertiary city hotels to access global demand instantly.

Rather than disrupting existing systems, B-Marketplace enhances them—transforming how buyers and suppliers connect in a market as vast as China.

The Digital Silk Road: China’s Hidden Travel Infrastructure

Travelers will see new hotels, upgraded airports, and accessible adventure routes. But what they will not see is the backbone that makes it all work: how suppliers connect to buyers, how bookings are managed, and how payments flow.

For operators and procurement teams, this backend is critical. It shapes efficiency, reliability, and profitability. With B-Marketplace, China’s B2B ecosystem can finally move beyond manual processes and fragmented systems into a smarter, faster, and more transparent model.
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China’s Travel Future: Scale Meets Smart Distribution

China’s travel market is defined by scale and ambition. With over 1,100 new hotels opening by 2025 and inbound recovery accelerating, the opportunity is immense. Realizing it depends on modernizing the systems that support B2B travel distribution.

B-Marketplace provides that foundation: aggregating inventory, automating operations, and ensuring compliance at scale. The result is a market that is not only large, but also efficient, transparent, and accessible.

📩 Ready to explore how streamlined distribution can unlock new opportunities?
Let’s connect: sales@bakuun.com

Because China’s travel growth deserves distribution systems as powerful as its scale.