Top tourism website posts rebounded result in 2023

Trip.com Group posted a 122 percent growth last year, thanks to the substantial recovery of the traveling market both domestically and internationally, the Shanghai-based firm said on Thursday.

After the pandemic, China embarked on "a significant journey of reconnecting with the world driven by the rising travel sentiment" in 2023, said James Liang, Trip's executive chairman.

Trip, formerly Ctrip, posted revenue of 44.5 billion (US$6.3 billion) last year, representing a 122 percent increase from 2022. The fourth quarter revenue reached 10.3 billion yuan with a 105 percent growth, according to the Hong Kong-listed firm.

Trip has seen strong demand for accommodation reservations, transport tickets and seasonal opportunities such as peak winter tourism demand in some cities.

The Spring Festival tourism boom seems to fuel the company's 2024 business.

China's tourism market boomed during the holiday between February 10 to 17 with indicators such as the number of tourism trips reaching a new high.

Some 474 million domestic tourism trips were made during the Spring Festival holiday, an increase of 19 percent on a comparable basis compared with the level in 2019, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said recently.

Globally, Trip has operated in 39 counties and regions in Asia, Europe and America. The outbound hotel and air ticket reservation volume rebounded to 80 percent of the 2019 level before the pandemic in the fourth quarter, Trip said.

In 2023, it invested 12.1 billion yuan in technology innovation, a 45 percent growth from a year ago. The company, along with its partners, suppliers and related companies, had created 10 million jobs by 2023.