China’s surging demand for travel has been highlighted by Trip.com with the China-based travel agency revealing domestic hotel and air traffic volumes for the June 2023 quarter far exceeded pre-COVID levels. International travel is also on the rise, up from 40% of 2019 levels in Q1 to 60% in Q2 and “surpassing the industry-wide recovery rate of 37% in terms of international air passenger volume for the same period.”
The company’s 2Q23 financial results showed a 170% year-on-year increase in domestic hotel bookings, which were also 60% higher than the same period in 2019. Likewise, air ticket bookings on its global OTA platform were up 120% year-on-year and double those in 2Q19.
Outbound hotel and air reservations recovered to over 60% of the pre-COVID level for the same period in 2019, helping Trip.com record net income of RMB648 million (US$89 million) – up from RMB43 million (US$5.9 million) a year earlier – and Adjusted EBITDA of RMB3.7 billion (US$507 million) compared to RMB355 million (US$48.7 million) in 2Q22 and RMB2.8 billion (US$384 million) in 1Q23.
“During the second quarter of 2023, the demand for both domestic and international travel remained resilient,” said James Liang, Trip.com’s Executive Chairman. “Despite limited air capacity recovery, the robust rebound of travel activities reflects travelers’ strong desire to explore the world. We remain optimistic about the enduring demand for travel and the long-term market outlook.”
CEO Jane Sun added, “With the thriving market demand and our outstanding performance, we are poised to take the lead in driving the industry’s recovery and actively creating an abundance of job opportunities alongside our esteemed business partners.”
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