Students to be vital cogs in travel sector

College students born between 1995 and 2000 are becoming a vital new part of the dynamic travel market in China, with most of the young students making their first summer trips after enrolling in colleges, a new study said.

Though the motivation for making tours is relatively high among college students, their choices are limited due to economic constraints with price being the major criteria for booking flight tickets, said the study conducted by Qunar, an online travel firm owned by Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency.

During summer vacations, students tend to choose flights that depart between midnight and 2 am, as well as between 5 am and 9 am. The number of bookings of red-eye and budget flights is nearly three times higher than other regular flights, the Qunar study said.