MoonFox Analysis | Ctrip Leverages Increased Investment in Senior Travel, Cross-Border Tourism, and AI as New Engines for Growth By Investing.com

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SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — At the end of August 2024, Ctrip released its unaudited Financial Report for Q2 and the first half of the fiscal year. As a leading platform in the online travel industry, Ctrip achieved revenue of RMB 12.8 billion in Q2, showing growth both YoY and QoQ. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached RMB 3.833 billion, with a YoY increase exceeding 500%. Analyzing by business segment, hotel bookings, and transportation ticketing, as the main revenue contributors, showed steady growth. The tourism and vacation segment demonstrated remarkable growth rates. By focusing on the needs of the elderly, cross-border tourism, and overseas business, Ctrip has effectively formed a new growth engine. From a long-term strategic perspective, Ctrip has further increased investment in AI and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), which is expected to consolidate its competitive moat in terms of products, technology, and user experience.

I.       Stable Development of Tourism & Hotel Ticketing Business, Rapid Growth in Tourism and Vacation Revenue

According to the financial report, Ctrip achieved a YoY revenue growth of 13.55% in Q2 of 2024, reaching RMB 12.788 billion (USD 1.8 billion). Benefiting from the increasingly robust cultural tourism consumption market, Q2 revenue also saw a 7% QoQ increase compared to Q1.

Ctrip’s Revenue and Growth from 2022 Q3 to 2024 Q2

Data Source: Corporate Financial Reports
Data Cycle: 2022 Q3 – 2024 Q2

MoonFox data shows that as of August 2024, the Ctrip App maintained its leading position in the online travel industry’s MAU rankings with 110.7 million monthly active users. Observing the trends in active users, Ctrip’s UV advantage as a leading OTA platform remained solid in 2024.

Ctrip App Monthly Active Users and Penetration Rate from January to August 2024

Data Source: MoonFox iApp;
Data Cycle: January 2024 – August 2024

Analyzing by business segment, hotel bookings and transportation ticketing remain Ctrip’s two main revenue pillars, accounting for 39.8% and 38.3% of total revenue respectively. The tourism and vacation business showed outstanding growth performance, with a 42% YoY increase and a 16% QoQ increase in Q2, reaching revenue of RMB 1 billion. From a YoY perspective, all of Ctrip’s business segments achieved significant growth, especially in accommodation bookings and tourism and vacation services. This demonstrates the strong pull effect brought by the comprehensive recovery of the tourism market, as well as Ctrip’s capability as an industry-leading platform to meet demand and achieve growth.

II.     Intensifying Focus on Elderly Tourism and Cross-border Travel Sectors, Forging New Growth Engines

Since the Q2, Ctrip has intensified its focus on the Elderly Tourism sector, launching a new brand “Ctrip Elderly Club” to provide comprehensive travel services for users aged 50 and above, including specialized products, travel benefits, and exclusive customer service. Subsequently, they upgraded the platform with a Family Card function, enabling children to make bookings and plan itineraries on behalf of their elderly relatives, refining services based on the pain points of senior users on OTA platforms. As of July, Ctrip Elderly Club has launched over 700 elderly tourism products covering more than 40 city destinations nationwide, with nearly half being debut routes or exclusive products, achieving diversification of elderly tourism SKUs and customization for the target demographic. According to MoonFox iApp data, the proportion of Ctrip users aged 46 and above in August 2024 increased compared to the same period last year, exceeding 17%.

Age Distribution of Ctrip App Active Users in August 2023 and August 2024

Data Source: MoonFox iApp;
Data Cycle: August 2023 – August 2024

According to reports, Ctrip Elderly Club served over one million elderly travelers with a GMV of RMB 1.6 billion within 2 months of its establishment. Ctrip stated that it will focus on enhancing user travel experiences and building one-stop service capabilities, planning to collaborate with scenic spots, hotels, airlines, and other entities to launch comprehensive tourism products and services for elderly tourists, further tapping into the potential of the Elderly Tourism market.

On another front, capitalizing on favorable policies such as the 144-hour visa-free transit and the accelerating growth of cross-border tourism, Ctrip has intensified its business layout by introducing convenient inbound tourism products and services, continuously developing cross-border tourism products and routes, partnering with hotels nationwide to launch package products, and expanding global ticketing services. Financial reports show that Ctrip’s inbound tourism bookings in the first half of 2024 increased by nearly 200% YoY, accounting for 25% of revenue on Ctrip’s overseas platforms. Notably, outbound hotel and flight booking businesses have recovered to pre-pandemic levels for the same period. To date, Ctrip has established a global tourism ecosystem network, achieving extensive coverage of global hotels, airlines, travel agencies, and scenic spots in its supply chain, and plans to continue deepening its presence in key overseas markets and expanding its international business layout.

In the long term, we anticipate that the tourism consumption potential of the elderly demographic will continue to be unleashed, and the global tourism market will accelerate its recovery. Ctrip’s strategic moves to deepen its layout in elderly tourism, inbound & outbound travel, and overseas business are expected to enable it to establish advantages in the niche markets of silver tourism and cross-border travel, thereby securing broader space for performance growth in the future.

III. Investing in Performance & Travel and AI & Tourism: Driving Upgrades through Product and Technological Innovation

In Q2, Ctrip’s GMV for performance-related tourism products increased by over 70% YoY. Ctrip’s relevant strategic layout encompasses various forms including tourism combined with concerts, music festivals, sporting events, and film festivals, catering to young users’ travel demands oriented around performances and entertainment. From an industry development perspective, innovating tourism formats through a “Cultural Tourism+” model has become a crucial trend in the current industry. By deeply integrating tourism products and services with the cultural and entertainment industry, this approach achieves user-side experience innovation, fulfilling the need for cultural resonance and immersive experiences in travel scenarios. For platforms, this strategy facilitates benefit enhancement through resource sharing and complementary advantages, thereby promoting industrial upgrading and development.

Beyond the “Cultural Tourism” model, Ctrip’s innovation focus also centers on the implementation of AI technology in travel scenarios. Previously, Ctrip had developed its proprietary vertical large model for tourism, Ctrip Wendao, as well as the AI travel assistant TripGenie launched by Trip.com, establishing capabilities to provide travel content and services based on AI technology. During the Q2 earnings communication meeting, Ctrip adopted an AI Agent persona to communicate with investors, showcasing its AI technological capabilities and introducing its content product layout in the “AI & Tourism” direction – “Travel Hotspots” and Reputation Rankings. Both are AI-powered features based on big data from user search behaviors and reviews, intelligently providing users with inspiration and decision-making assistance across dimensions such as travel destinations, hotel dining services, and more.

To date, Ctrip’s AI capabilities have permeated pre-trip inspiration, in-trip planning and decision-making, and after-sales service stages. According to financial report data, Ctrip’s product research and development expenses have consistently achieved YoY growth in 2024, reaching RMB 3.1 billion and 3 billion in Q1 and Q2 respectively, maintaining a high level and accounting for over 20% of net revenue.

Ctrip’s Product Research and Development Expenses from 2023 Q3 to 2024 Q2

Data Source: Corporate Financial Reports
Data Cycle: 2023 Q3 – 2024 Q2

Against the backdrop of intensifying competition in the travel market, investment in AI technology development and application exploration will help provide more intelligent, convenient, and personalized services, matching diverse travel needs and amplifying the professional service capabilities and efficiency advantages of OTA platforms to address cross-industry competition. Ctrip has stated that it will continue to invest in artificial intelligence to promote product and service optimization and business innovation. In the future, Ctrip is expected to leverage its AI & Tourism capabilities to improve user experiences, enhance operational efficiency, and penetrate more niche markets including overseas segments, thereby consolidating its position in the OTA industry.

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