Dear Valued Partners,
The New Year is just around the corner, and we have every reason to be optimistic about the outlook of the travel and tourism industry in 2023.
As you are likely aware, China announced on Dec.26 that the management of COVID-19 would be downgraded to a Class B infection with effect from 8 January 2023, which includes removing the requirement for nucleic acid tests and quarantine for international arrivals from the same date. In addition, the National Immigration Administration will also resume the acceptance and approval of Chinese citizens’ applications for ordinary passports for the purposes of tourism and overseas visits.
We welcome this positive development, which provides a strong impetus for the global resumption and growth of travel and tourism. As you may likely recall, mainland Chinese tourists were an important part of the travel landscape prior to the pandemic, having made 155 million outbound trips and spent more than USD 130 billion overseas in 2019. Destinations and travel providers around the world can look forward to another boom in 2023, as mainland Chinese consumers return to the international travel market.
In anticipation of the recovery, and to ensure our partners are best placed to benefit from the impending boom in travel, Trip.com Group has established an overseas brand network and empowered our overseas offices with key competencies and resources, while continuously improving our service and technology development over the last three years to ensure that each key market can thrive and recover strongly. In fact, we have been working to support our partners in weathering the storm and towards the recovery of the travel and tourism industry throughout the pandemic – with various global campaigns, such as Travel On, and localised campaigns, including the Weekday Super Sale, launched at different times, across various markets.
Our recently launched 2023 Travel Revival ‘A Plan’ aims to reunite overseas destinations with Chinese travellers, and support them in capturing and maximising the pent-up travel demand. There exists a strong demand based on our data: Following the Government’s announcement on Monday, bookings for outbound flights from mainland China on Tuesday morning increased by more than 250% when compared to the same period a day earlier.
During the past few years, we deepened long-standing partnerships and also forged new collaborations with our customers, business partners, governments, and the media, among others.
Together with our global partners, Trip.com Group has developed a leading co-operative global network for the travel industry, including 1.2 million international accommodation services, more than 480 partner airlines, and over 30,000 tourism ecosystem partners. With the support of our leading network of partners worldwide, our international platform, which supports over 30 languages and covers over 52 countries and regions, services hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
Excellent and prompt customer support is also key to us. We are confident that through our 24/7, multilingual, and highly localised customer service teams, we will continue to empower international travellers with the world-class support they have come to expect from us and our partners as they prepare to plan their next perfect trip.
As 2022 draws to a close, my colleagues and I reflect on a great year of opportunity, investing in and strengthening our value proposition for customers and our global partners as we rekindle the magic of travel together.
Thank you for your trust and confidence in us. We are delighted to see the world reopening its doors and moving closer towards normality.
Together, let’s make 2023 the best year for travel yet.
Jane Sun
CEO, Trip.com Group