• NEWS
    • SUBSCRIBE TO TD
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • EVENTS
    • THIRSTY THURSDAY
      • RSVP PORTAL
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
    • COMPETITIONS
    • TRAINING
    • CONFERENCES
  • JOBS
    • SEARCH FOR JOBS
    • POST A JOB
  • EVERYTHING TD
    • About TD (Travel Daily Media)
    • Advertise with TD
    • What is Native Content?
    • Executive team
      • Gary (Founder/CEO)
      • Chris (GM & Managing Editor)
      • Mali (Finance Mgr)
    • Content team
      • Kristin (Senior Editor)
      • Kanchan (Editor)
    • Sales team
      • Anthony (Regional Director-APAC)
      • Paul A (BDM-Asia)
      • Martin (BDM-Asia)
      • Paul M (BDM-Bangkok)
    • Events team
      • June (Director)
      • Arlene (Snr Events Mgr)
      • Krystal (Attendee Relations)
      • Zy (Snr Sales Mgr)
      • Mary (Snr Sales Mgr)
      • Arjay (Snr Sales Exec)
  • SELF SERVICE
    • 2023 TD Media Kit
    • Submit Press Release
    • Self Service portal
    • Upload your Travel Blog

Travel Daily Travel Daily - Informing, connecting and developing the world’s travel industry professionals.

  • MARKETS/SECTORS
  • FEATURES
    • Partner Articles
      • Airlines / Airports
      • Car Rental
      • Conferences
      • Cruising (Ocean)
      • Cruising (River)
      • Destination Management (DMC)
      • GDS / CRS
      • Hotels & Resorts
      • Hotel Management Company
      • Hotel Technology
      • HR / Appointments
      • Insurance
      • Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions (MICE)
      • Travel Agents (all)
      • Travel Technology
      • Tourism Boards
    • Interviews
    • Industry appointments
    • Podcasts – Features
    • Guest Writers
    • E-Turbo News
    • PR Newswire
  • TRAVEL GUIDES
    • Destination NaJomtien BanAmphur BangSaray *NEW*
    • จุดหมายปลายทาง นาจอมเทียน หาดบ้านอำเภอ บางเสร่ *NEW*
    • South Australia Rewards Wonders *NEW*
    • Ponant Yacht Cruises and Expeditions
    • Encore Tickets (Chinese Guide)
    • Affordable Luxury in Thailand by Centara Hotels
    • Rising Above the Oridinary by Conrad Bangkok
    • The Best of Thailand
  • IWTA SERIES
    • Who is IWTA
    • Meet our featured leaders
    • Refer Someone
    • Refer yourself
  • IWTA AWARDS
    • Awards site
    • Nominate
    • Buy tickets
    • Sponsor
Travel Daily
Travel Tech

Pocket translator to open opportunities for Chinese travel

By Simon Willmore On Jan 4, 2018
Guest Contributor

Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly

22
Share

Travellers from mainland China took more than 62 million outbound trips in the first half of 2017 with an increase in preference for self-guided tours, as per the China Tourism Academy. Existing forecasts suggest that Chinese outbound tourism will grow to 200 million trips by 2020, with overseas travel spend to hit US$429 billion the following year.

With that in mind, Chinese online travel agency Ctrip joined forces with Internet and voice recognition giant Baidu to launch a new pocket translation device for use by Chinese tourists travelling overseas. The handy gadget connects to the internet through an embedded SIM card that can work in more than 80 countries and regions, and also doubles as a portable WiFi hotspot.

According to Yu Xiaojiang, a Ctrip senior manager in charge of overseas travel, the yet-unnamed portable translation gadget can help break down language barriers that phone apps are still slow to address.

Ctrip-Baidu pocket translator prototype
Ctrip-Baidu pocket translator prototype

Users can talk into the oval-shaped gadget while pressing a button in the center. Through online connectivity, the device will access artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technology in order to decode speech into the target language in real-time.

The travel and hospitality industries stand to benefit from this, as hotels around the world have been seeing a surge in the number of visitors from China. Access to quality translations on-the-go will only speed up the growth of Chinese business. At the very least, the portable translation device provides the ability to communicate at the touch of a button, which is expected to encourage more middle-aged and elderly Chinese to travel abroad.

According to Wang Haifeng, vice president of Baidu, the pocket translator currently supports translation between Chinese and English, with service for other languages to be added in the future. Announcements on pricing or worldwide availability are as of yet forthcoming.

While this is not the two companies’ first joint project – Ctrip and Baidu rolled out a translation app in early 2017 that allows tourists to translate English text into Chinese using phone cameras – if plans push through it will be their initial foray into the Japanese market, where they plan to introduce the device in spring 2018.

technologytranslatorChinahandheld gadgetCtriphandheld deviceBaidupocket translator
22
Share
You might also like
Airlines and Aviation

British Airways restarts flights to Beijing, China, debuting its new ‘club suite’

Airlines and Aviation

Finnair serves up 35 years of flights to China

MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions)

Riyadh prepares to host the 10th Edition of Arab-China Business Conference

Features

Songtsam supports reprinting of “Murals of Gongga Qude Temple: A Milestone in…

Prev Next
Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.

POPULAR STORIES

A robust return to growth for AFTA – Board elections, new…

CLYMB Abu Dhabi to hold ‘Ladies Night’ this Thursday

Thai Vietjet supports operating Bangkok – Yangon flights

Booking.com reveals the contrasting world of caution and…

Prev Next 1 of 5,898

PARTNER CONTENT

  • How short-term rental platforms in Asia can protect their hosts and customers

    Read More...
  • Exploring Europe seamlessly with Rail Europe’s point-to-point journeys

    Read More...
  • The Role of a Revenue Manager in Uncertain Economic Times

    Read More...
  • The ultimate guide to the 5 best resorts in the Maldives

    Read More...
  • Summer in Monaco: Exploring art, culture, and exquisite delights

    Read More...
  • FutureLog’s procure-to-pay solution enables hotels to focus on what they do best

    Read More...
STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST TRAVEL NEWS, JOBS & EVENTS!
Join over 180,000 travel agents, professionals and executives subscribed to our daily newsletter.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Search
MENU
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

MARKETS

  • Asia
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • India
  • Middle East
  • UK & Europe
  • USA

SECTOR

  • Airlines
  • Airports
  • Cruise
  • Hospitality
  • HR & Careers
  • Luxury Travel
  • MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions)
  • Travel Tech
  • Tourism
  • Travel Agents
About
  • BOOK A SALES CALL
  • About TD (Travel Daily Media)
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2023 - Travel Daily. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up here to get the latest news, updates and special offers delivered directly to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Close

Welcome, Login to your account.

Forget password?

Sign in with Google

Powered by wp-glogin.com

No account? Sign Up
Sign in

Recover your password.

A password will be e-mailed to you.

CREATE A NEW PROFILE
SIGN IN TO EXISTING PROFILE
back

LOG IN

Welcome back, Log in to your account.

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
Continue with Twitter
Continue with LinkedIn

OR
Log in using your email
Forgot password?
back

Recover your password.

back

SIGN UP FOR FREE

(New User)

Be part of our community of seasoned travel and hospitality industry professionals from all over the world.

I want to
Only letters and numbers are allowed
Please enter a valid email address
Must be between 6-8 characters
Must be the same with Password
  • LOGIN / SIGN UP
  • NEWS
    • MARKETS
      • Asia
      • China
      • Pacific
      • India
      • Middle East
      • UK & Europe
      • USA & Canada
    • SECTORS
      • Airlines
      • Airports
      • Cruise
      • Hospitality
      • HR & Careers
      • Luxury Travel
      • MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions)
      • Travel Tech
      • Tourism
      • Travel Agents
    • FEATURES
      • Partner articles
        • Airlines / Airports
        • Car Rental
        • Conferences
        • Cruising (Ocean)
        • Cruising (River)
        • Destination Management (DMC)
        • GDS / CRS
        • Hotels & Resorts
        • Hotel Management Company
        • Hotel Technology
        • HR / Appointments
        • Insurance
        • Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions (MICE)
        • Travel Agents (all)
        • Travel Technology
        • Tourism Boards
      • Interviews
      • Industry appointments
      • Travel Bloggers
      • Podcasts – Features
      • Mergers & Acquisition
        • Buyers/Investors wanted
        • Business for sale
        • News
  • EVENTS
    • Thirsty Thursday
      • RSVP Portal
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Competitions
    • Conferences
  • JOBS
    • Search for Jobs
    • Post a Job
  • TRAVEL GUIDES
    • Destination NaJomtien BanAmphur BangSaray *NEW*
    • จุดหมายปลายทาง นาจอมเทียน หาดบ้านอำเภอ บางเสร่ *NEW*
    • South Australia Reward Wonders *NEW*
    • Ponant Yacht Cruises and Expeditions
    • Encore Tickets (Chinese Guide)
    • Affordable Luxury in Thailand by Centara Hotels
    • Rising Above the Oridinary by Conrad Bangkok
    • The Best of Thailand
  • IWTA SERIES
    • Who is IWTA
    • Meet our featured leaders
    • Refer Someone
    • Refer yourself
  • IWTA AWARDS
    • Awards site
    • Nominate
    • Buy Tickets
    • Sponsor