China's younger generation big fan of sharing economy

A tourist poses for a photo on board a hot air balloon flying over the UNESCO World Heritage Rock Cave site of Cappadocia in Turkey, June 22, 2012. [Photo/IC]

Ninety-four percent of China's young people love sharing economy and seek real local experience when travelling abroad, said an Airbnb executive on Wednesday, as the lodging platform set sights on the country's booming outbound tourism.

Chinese tourists born in the 1980s prefer staying in local homes than traditional hotels, said Varsha Rao, Airbnb's vice-president of operation, said at the Boao forum citing industry findings.

In comparison, only 43 percent Americans said they would prefer such original experience when traveling abroad, Rao said.

Zhou Hang, CEO and founder of the car-hailing company Yidao Yongche, projected share economy to become an indispensible part of the society in the future, serving 30 percent of the transportation demand.

The percentage of private transportation will decrease from the current over 50 percent to 30 percent, while public transportation serving the rest 40 percent, said Zhou at a panel session titled "The Sharing Economy: What's Mine is Yours" at Boao Forum.