Trip.com Group launches IHG flagship store
Ctrip, the Chinese-consumer-facing unit of Trip.com Group, launched the IHG Flagship Store on its platforms, as part of a collaboration with the InterContinental Hotels Group. This makes Ctrip the first online travel agent to have worked with IHG to open an online flagship store, and will allow over 300 million Ctrip members in Greater China to register with the IHG Rewards Club.
Hong Kong regulator accepts OTA giants' pledge to drop rate parity
The Competition Commission of Hong Kong said it has accepted the voluntary commitments by Booking.com, Expedia and Trip.com Group, the world's three largest online travel agencies, to amend their rate-parity contract terms with local accommodation providers in the city. Each of the OTAs has 90 calendar days to amend their existing and future contracts for compliance with the commitments.
70% of OYO hotels in China have reopened
While 70% of OYO hotels in China are now operational, it plans to open the remaining hotels in the next 30 to 45 days, the company told Business Insider. OYO is present in over 337 cities and has 500,000 rooms in China. In FY19, OYO China contributed to USD 307 million or 32.3% of OYO’s global revenue.
Amadeus appoints president for its China unit
Amadeus IT Group has appointed Kevin Wu as President for Amadeus China, in a bid to deepen the commitment to the dynamic Chinese travel market. Amadeus has a strong team of around 68 employees located across the mainland in three offices - Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Travel recovery to peak after September in China
A consumer sentiment survey by McKinsey shows that confidence in the safety of domestic travel by car, even over distances of more than three hours, is high. Mostly young people and those without families that are returning to travel early in China. McKinsey projects that the majority of the Chinese travelers will not go on trips until the National Holiday in late September and early October.
International airlines to resume China flights in June
With regulators in Europe, America and Asia easing restrictions on travel, airline companies across the world have planned to resume some flights to China in June. Qatar Airways has taken initial steps in restoring 52 flight destinations by the end of May, and 80 destinations by the end of June which include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Korean Air will resume flights to Beijing, Shanghai Pudong and other places in June.
Marriott’s Q1 RevPAR declines 63% in Greater China
The world's largest hotel operator Marriott said its RevPAR in Greater China dropped 63.1% in the first quarter of 2020. Occupancy levels are currently slightly more than 30%, up from the lows of less than 10% in mid-February. The resiliency of demand is evident in the improving trends in Greater China, where new bookings continue to pick up with demand driven primarily by domestic travelers, said Arne M. Sorenson, CEO of Marriott.
Travel short video service provider raises millions of yuan
Jufeng Network, a travel short video service provider, announced that it has secured millions of yuan in a seed round of funding. The company wants to help tourist attractions, homestay businesses, hotels and itineracy providers build quality travel brands.
China sees surge in new travel-related virus cases
As China opens up for businesses, the country is witnessing a new surge of travel-related COVID-19 cases in Jilin province in northern China. The country had successfully kept the new cases in the single digits for a while, but there have been more than 40 new cases in the last five days, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.
China’s passenger number down by nearly 70% in April
The decline in all major performance indicators of China’s civil aviation services in April had slowed compared to March. Data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) during a press conference on showed that the total volume of air transportation was 3.95 billion ton-kilometers last month, decreasing 62.4% year-on-year. The decrease rate was one percentage point lower compared to the previous month. Passenger throughput declined 68.5% year-on-year to 16.715 million, 3.2 percentage points lower than that of March.
Chinese visitor arrivals to Australia decline 99.8% in April
Australia's statistics bureau said the country received 98.7% less overseas arrivals in April than the same month last year. The number of Chinese visitor arrivals to Australia declined 99.8% from 132,360 in April 2019 to just 320 in April 2020.
