KUALA LUMPUR, 30 May 2024 – Trip.com Group set the stage for transformative growth at the Envision 2024 Global Partner Conference, sharing its strategic vision with over 1,600 partners from more than 50 countries and regions. The conference, focused on the forward-looking theme of “Charting the Next Chapter of Our Growth Together”, revealed pivotal trends and opportunities that will drive the travel industry forward.
The Spirit of Innovation in Travel
As the travel industry moves beyond the recovery phase and enters a period of rapid growth, a pressing question arises: “What comes next?” This anticipation was met with enthusiasm at the conference, where future growth areas were a focal point. The sustained investment in innovation and technological advancements emerged as a pivotal strategy, with a particular emphasis on the transformative potential of AI.
Mr. James Liang, Co-founder and Chairman of Trip.com Group, highlighted the key role of innovation in staying at the forefront of the travel industry, citing TripGenie, Trip.com’s AI travel assistant, as one of the innovative ways technology can revolutionise the travel planning and booking process.
“Every industry needs to innovate and so does the travel industry. We are constantly innovating in terms of efficiency, quality, customer service and even marketing. For instance, AI such as TripGenie can enhance customer service and marketing by integrating technology and content, to provide the best value to our customers,” he said.
Mr Liang also emphasised AI’s widespread impact on the travel industry, boosting productivity, enhancing customer service, and providing users with highly personalised travel recommendations.
For example, Trip.com’s AI-curated lists are able to provide travellers with the top-ranked offerings as well as the best deals. This enables a higher level of personalisation at every stage of the travel journey, with AI as a powerful enabler.
Expanding Fast on the World Stage
Ms. Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, highlighted that Trip.com Group has seen unprecedented growth in 2023. The Group’s international growth last year has been especially remarkable, with 100% international growth year-on-year. The first quarter of 2024 was also off to a strong start, with global travel provider Trip.com generating revenue with over 80% growth year-on-year.
Plans were shared for significant investments in the Asia-Pacific region, and further expansion into the rest of the world, positioning the company to capitalise on global opportunities. Additionally, the Group has forged strategic partnerships with tourism bureaus, major hotel chains, airlines, train operators, and local travel providers worldwide.
Currently, the company has over 1.7 million global accommodation listings, flights from over 600 airlines, and a network of over 90,000 ecosystem partners, including group tours, attractions, and car rental providers.
At the conference, China’s burgeoning potential in the global travel arena was also shared, with the further relaxation of visa-free restrictions, payment facilitations, and tourism promotion strategies such as free layover transit tours launched in Shanghai and engaging marketing campaigns that showcase the country’s offerings.
The Group also reiterated its commitment to quality customer service, revealing that the human touch is key to ensuring travellers enjoy a wonderful trip.
Sustainability was also another key theme, with Trip.com Group integrating strong ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) commitments into its business goals. These ESG initiatives include promoting low-carbon travel options, supporting family-friendly policies, and community revitalisation, all to ensure mutual benefits for customers, partners, and the wider community.
Sector Highlights
Key leaders from the Group also spoke on the breakthroughs and new developments in each sector, showcasing the multi-faceted world of travel. Highlights include:
Air Travel: Achieved record domestic travel and strong outbound growth, securing the top OTA position in the Asia-Pacific region.
Hotel Bookings: Significant growth with over 8,000 hotels offering Hotel+X products. Preferred Partner Program attracted 2,000+ partners, while Trip.Best expanded to over 20,000 hotels, with new themes: “boutique homestays” and “newly opened hotels”.
International Train Business: Expanded operations in Europe, and international ticket sales doubled in the latter half of 2023. Shown 122% year-on-year growth in early 2024.
Vacation Business: Record sales in vacation packages, and will expand ticketing services globally in the year ahead with 16 new sites and 8 new service languages. Plans to expand car rental services to Thailand, Japan and other markets.
Corporate Travel: Trip.Biz showed three-digit growth, with significant increases in hotel and flight bookings. Plans for expansion in Greater China, North Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and site deployment in Europe, North America, and Oceania.
FinTech and TripLink: Expanded global presence by supporting 35 payment currencies, all international card schemes, and 25 local alternative payment methods. Expanded global insurance coverage for flights, hotels and rental cars.TripLink offers premium payment solutions to tourism partners.
Marketing Innovations: Successful mega-sales events, TV advertising and airport activations. Increased new user registrations and attained high conversion rates. Made strong destination marketing efforts with tourism boards worldwide.
Technological Advancements: Investments in technology centres. AI travel assistant TripGenie now supports voice and text conversations in nine languages, with new support for Italian, Dutch and Malay available by end June.
Customer Service: Trustpilot rating improved to 4.2 stars. Continuously enhancing AI capabilities in diverse markets and production lines to enhance service efficiency.
With diverse new developments launched by the company, Ms Sun took the opportunity to thank the Group’s partners for their support.
“The travel industry is a vital driver of global GDP and job creation, and at Trip.com Group, we are proud to be at the forefront, using travel as a bridge for peace and prosperity. With the support of our partners, we are ready to turn the page to the next chapter of our journey and embrace fresh opportunities together.”
