China online travel market exceeds ¥100bn in the second quarter

China's quarterly online travel market exceeded 100 billion yuan (16.1 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time in the second quarter of the year, boosted by a travel boom and more use of smartphones.

Revenue for the online travel market reached 106.2 billion yuan between April and June, up 12 percent quarter on quarter and 56.7 percent year on year, Internet research agency Analysys International said in a research report on Tuesday.

In the first half of the year, 2.02 billion tourist trips were made in China, up 9.9 percent year on year. Meanwhile, Chinese nationals made 61.9million overseas trips, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

With the rapid proliferation of smartphones in the world's second-largest economy, more Chinese are booking hotels and air tickets through the apps of major online travel companies.

Many travel agencies have also stepped up cooperation with popular web portals to promote online bookings.