Social travel site predicts growth of independent travel

China's largest social travel site Mafengwo said package tours, the country's traditional preferred travel style, will decline this year.

"2015 is the watershed year for free independent travel to boom," Chen Gang, Mafengwo's CEO said on Wednesday in Beijing as the website, which has 80 million users, launched a new platform that provides independent travel products (stand-alone air-tickets, hotels, visas, themed travels etc.).

Chen said the trend became evident when searches didn't peak on September 30 last year, the beginning of China's golden week when most people travel at the same time. Instead, they began nearly a month early.

"It shows that people are more into personalized travels, more in control of their time," Chen said.

70 percent of all Chinese outbound tourists chose to travel independently instead of on a package group tour in 2014, according to statistics from the China Tourism Academy.

"With the young, mobile-using post 80s and 90s generation coming along, free independent travel that addresses their personal needs is the key to success," Chen said.

Revenue from the independent travel products' segment of Mafengwo reached 900 million yuan last year.

The website, similar to the US website Tripadvisor, plans to analyze its data to arrange and suggest purchases that best suit a tourist's needs.

The website, with investors like Expedia's founder, Rich Burton, now has more than 80 million users who generate 16 million commentaries each month.