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Recently, Ctrip announced that it would develop its presence overseas to provide a more comprehensive set of travel experiences to Chinese tourists. One of its most significant efforts to achieve this end is its partnership with Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s largest hotel group. “We’re very excited about this strategic cooperation with Ctrip,”said Thomas Roger Russell, Centara’s Vice President. “Ctrip is China’s leading online travel business, with the capacity to serve 300 million members. With Ctrip’s recent series of global efforts, Centara can see the prospects for cooperation from both sides. Xiao Yuan, Deputy general manager of Ctrip Hotel Business, said that both sides will work closely on the issues of supply support, online marketing, user rights protection, and system direct connection. These efforts will create a better travel experience for Chinese tourists who travel to Thailand. Ctrip’s cooperation with with Centara Hotels & Resorts comes highly anticipated. For awhile, both sides have been cooperating in using Ctrip’s platform. A Centara official disclosed that its major hotel brands are currently being sold on the Ctrip platform, which has won attention from both Centara users and Chinese customers, and even other global consumers as well. “Ctrip is Chinese tourists’ preferred website for booking outbound travel. With the support of Ctrip’s site traffic, we have a great opportunity for exposure, which will further enhance public awareness of our brand. At the same time, Ctrip’s superiority in its industry will be even better on display,” Thrussell said. In response, Xiao Yuan said, “Centara is one of Thailand’s largest hotel groups, but its hotels are more than just major destinations in Thailand—they are also located in the Maldives, Bali, Vietnam, and other places. Soon, Centara Hotels & Resorts’ entire hotel line will be introduced onto Ctrip, which will allow Chinese consumers to have more choices.” According to reports, Ctrip will also seize the opportunity from this cooperation to create more travel package deals in Thailand, giving consumers more comprehensive products. Industry sources say that there are two meanings to the launch of this cooperation: it signifies that Ctrip received a high degree of approval from with Centara Hotels & Resorts, and that the overseas hotel domain will continue to expand. The basis of this cooperation is that Ctrip values the Thai market. Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports released data that show that in 2016, the number of Chinese people who travelled to Thailand had reached 8.77 million. Among them, 2.5 million had used Ctrip, a year-on-year increase of 91%, meaning that almost one in every three Chinese tourists who went to Thailand booked through Ctrip. As Ctrip rapidly expands in the international market, the partnership with Centara is an important step for its overseas hotel service, and it also releases a signal about the strength of the Thai market. “Thailand is one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists, and will remain so for a long time. Therefore, through closer cooperation between the two sides, Ctrip’s overseas presence in Thailand will continue to deepen and will extend elsewhere in Southeast Asia, better serving customers,” Xiao Yuan said. “Ctrip also has a branch in Singapore, which will help business and service functions expand to relevant areas.” Xiao Yuan also noted that Ctrip will accelerate the pace of its overseas expansion this year. In addition to Thailand, Ctrip will also focus on Japan, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and eight other countries. Moreover, Ctrip recently fully upgraded its overseas hotel services again. “In addition to Ctrip’s 24/7 service, we have also been the first in China to launch a 24- hour ‘global travel SOS’ service that protects all Ctrip users,” Xiao Yuan said. “With Ctrip’s branches all over the world, its office workers, and local teams, we can provide Chinese tourists who travel overseas with faster, timelier service.” |
