Industry experts said this relatively new trend is a result of the rising travel and increasing demand from tourists for affordable access to the internet while in a foreign country.
Many travel agencies have been offering free portable Wi-Fi devices to their customers at no or nominal additional charges. This, in turn, is encouraging many more people to travel abroad.
Using internet for such heavy data needs on roaming feature could punch a big hole in a traveler's wallet.
That is where a portable Wi-Fi device, which offers high-speed access and unlimited data, and could be shared by several people, could prove very useful. It is now popular among outbound travelers.
The service is relatively cheap or sometimes even offered as a freebie, part of the overall tour package deals of travel firms.
The device could be obtained at the airport or is home-delivered to travelers in advance. Charges have dropped in the last year or two, and now vary from 10 yuan ($1.5) per day in Japan and South Korea to about 30 yuan per day in European countries.
Portable Wi-Fi service providers generally tie up with telecom firms at tourist destinations. For instance, Tuniu launched the outbound Wi-Fi rental business in 2013. It cooperates with 200 carriers, and its network covers 123 countries and regions.
Such services have become essential because hundreds of millions of people are given to wanderlust and active life on social media. From China alone, 120 million people traveled across the world last year, spending $194 billion in all.
Story by By Fan Feifei (China Daily)
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