Trip.com Group shared its vision of ‘Reconnecting the World’ at ITB Berlin, the largest international show for the travel and tourism industry. Trip.com Group is in attendance in force at the first in-person ITB Berlin after a two-year hiatus, with representatives from eight Trip.com Group business lines, including accommodation, flights, attractions, marketing and partnerships.
Ray Chen, Senior Vice President and chief executive officer of accommodation business at Trip.com Group, delivered a keynote speech to an in-person audience of over 400 people that was live streamed to viewers around the world. After his keynote speech, Ray Chen said: “There is a lot of reason for optimism. Our latest financial results show we are making solid headway as we enter 2023 and look toward complete recovery.
“Trip.com Group has long been preparing for the reopening of China’s borders to enable the return of mass inbound and outbound travel, which will have a huge economic benefit for the global travel and tourism sector.
Released yesterday, Trip.com Group Q4 financial results show a strong return to form. Overall hotel bookings on the Group’s global platforms outperformed the pre-pandemic level for four consecutive quarters. On a constant currency basis, overall air-ticketing revenue from Trip.com Group global platforms in Q4 also fully recovered to the pre-pandemic level.
Demand for China’s outbound travel surged in Q4. Searches for outbound flights departing from mainland China hit a three-year peak following the downgrade of COVID-19 to a Class B infectious disease and China’s reopening in December. Such encouraging data reveals increasing consumer confidence in January and February 2023.
Meanwhile, according to Trip.com Group data, flight bookings for outbound travel from mainland China to Europe in February 2023, increased by 59%, compared to January 2023 and it rose by an impressive 405%, compared to 2022.
Ray Chen, commenting on the outlook, said: “As the industry adapts to the maturation of post-pandemic trends, whilst capacity lags, we must continue to work with partners to enable the release of pent-up demand. “We are excited to be back in Berlin for ITB to reconnect with partners and industry fellows to further share ideas and trends that continue to shape travel.”
As part of the strategy to support the recovery of travel and tourism, Trip.com Group launched a series of livestream activities promoting regional destinations to Chinese travellers. The first session that focused on Thailand, and was jointly hosted by the Director of the Thailand Tourism Authority, generated GMV of US$5.7 million and sold over 20,000 room nights through a total of over 10,000 bookings.
Trip.com Group’s strong attendance at this year’s ITB Berlin follows ITB Asia held in October last year where Trip.com Group also had a significant presence and Boon Sian Chai, Managing Director and Vice President (International Markets) at Trip.com Group, delivered a keynote.
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