Concern has been mounting for some time now about a slowing Chinese economy, with export growth suffering from Europe's and America's economic malaises. But no one seems to have informed the Chinese traveler, and the hefty pipelines of new hotels and plane orders indicate the industry is betting on substantial long-term growth. The total Chinese travel market is expected to nearly double between 2009 and 2013, when it will exceed US$105 billion1, and the online travel market will more than quadruple over the same period, to exceed $15 billion2. Understandably then, pretty much any entity involved in travel distribution has been licking its chops at the prospect of getting a foothold in this burgeoning behemoth – none more so than the global distribution system (GDS) companies, whose growth is threatened by market uncertainty in Europe and the U.S, and global market share loss by traditional travel agencies amid the rise of supplier (and in particular airline) websites....