Chinese tourism is going mobile

Chinese visitors take a selfie in the French president’s office at the Elysee Palace in Paris.[Photo provided To China Daily]

"It has also led to more Chinese traveling independently rather than in groups."

It's not just tourists who have benefited. Travel agencies have also been able to reduce costs, while tech firms have latched on to the opportunities created by a fast-growing market.

"The Internet has allowed travel agencies to close brick-and-mortar offices, cut out the middleman and gain easier access to target customers," Zhu says.

In fact, despite China coming late to the Internet, studies suggest the nation's tourists are now the most connected in the world.

The Chinese International Travel Monitor, compiled by online-booking agency Hotel.com, says at least 50 percent of tourists arranged a holiday through a smartphone app in 2015, up 17 percent year-on-year.

In December, TripBarometer, the research arm of TripAdvisor, also released its 2016 Travel Trends. The report includes a poll of 44,000 global travelers that found 75 percent now see mobile devices are the most essential item for a holiday, overtaking toiletries. Among Chinese respondents, it was 87 percent.

Tech companies have been quick to see the potential in China's outbound-tourism market.

One example is Yidao Yongche, an Uber-like app that provides Chinese-speaking drivers to Chinese travelers in 25 cities overseas. Launched as a car-rental website in 2010, the company shifted focus when mobile-Internet devices started to become popular in China.

"Most Chinese don't speak English, so they find it difficult to communicate with foreign drivers after they land in another country," founder and CEO Zhou Hang says.