Tujia has big ambitions. Not only does China's answer to Airbnb aim to triple the number of outbound Chinese tourist bookings on its property rental platform in just one year, it also wants to help its main backer, Trip.com, China's biggest online travel agency, become the world's leading travel brand five years after that.
As China's rising middle class consume more and travel more, the Beijing-based operator, which gained a $3 billion valuation in its latest fundraising, said it was working closely with Trip.com to expand its listings in Japan, South Korea and Thailand, and other cities located within a six-hour flight time from China.
"We are optimistic about our coverage and transactions abroad growing threefold next year," Jennifer Lee, Tujia's chief business officer, told the Nikkei Asian Review, adding that Trip.com was aiming to become the world's leading global travel brand by 2025.
China's largest home-sharing company with an inventory of around 2.3 million units available for short-term rental, about one-fifth of which are located outside China, Tujia is dominating China's home-sharing sector with a market share of around 60%.
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