News that Ctrip is boosting its tours and activities footpint isn't surprising given a recent Phocuswright report on the prospects for the sector.
While it's true that in many ways not much has moved on since 2011, when PCW wrote its initial report on the sector, there is also much light at the end of the tunnel.
Back then the biggest challenges were fragmentation, lack of technical sophistication and the economics of making it work for distributors.
Fast forward four years and the same challenges remain but startups, more cost efficient technology, mobile penetration and developments from online travel agents are pushing the sector into the spotlight.
For a number of reasons, Chinese travellers could be seen as the darlings for tours and activities - they are not only more likely to plan and book tour and activities in advance but also they use mobile to do it.
For example - 56% of Chinese travellers plan activities before travel and 45% actually book it compared with 47% planning and 37% booking for US travellers.
Europeans are even less likely to plan and book pre-departure tours with most purchasing in-destination on the same day as the activity.
When it comes to mobile, Chinese again tip the balance with 50% researching activities via smartphone and almost 40% booking them via the devices.
Brazil and Russia are right up there for researching via smartphone with 44% and 39% respectively although the figures dip considerably when it comes to booking.
In comparison about a quarter of US and Australian travellers research activities on a smartphone.
Millennials are also an exception in terms of smartphone usage to research and buy activities - 25% of US millennials use a smartphone to plan and book tours compared to 20% of those aged 35-54 and 6% of travellers aged 55 and over.
These numbers can only increase especially in light of mobile developments unveiled in the past year by online travel players including Expedia, TripAdvisor and Ctrip.
The PCW study shows that generally booking in person is pretty much the preferred option although UK, US and Australian travellers are also quite likely to book via the activity operator's website.
Less than 10% book via OTAs with the exception of Chinese travellers with almost a third saying they book via an online travel agent.
Reasons for lack of online booking include poor presentation, the content is not easy to compare, search results lumped together with no context.
On top of the consumer drivers, change is happening within the industry including increasing connectivity via technology startups, improvements in how content is displayed and the advent of marketplaces which should further drive both connectivity and content improvements.
Investment in the sector is also helping although it's interesting to note that 70% of $300 million funding in the sector since 2003 has been in the past two years.
The economics of selling tours and activities remain a challenge for online intermediaries although the report concludes they will be likely to continue their endeavours as part of a strategy to add value and create customer loyalty.
Related reading:
The wait is over, tours and activities finally hits the big time
Tours and activities comes of age - but challenges may take an age to fix
All signs continue to point north for tours and activities
The In-Destination Experience - Shopping, Dining, Activities & Tours report is available to purchase here.
NB: Tours and activities image via Shutterstock.