Overview

Ctrip is the original Chinese online travel brand operated within Trip.com Group, one of the world’s major digital travel companies. Founded in Shanghai in 1999, the business initially focused on hotel reservations and used a combination of internet distribution, telephone customer service, and supplier partnerships to make travel booking more convenient in China’s rapidly expanding consumer economy. It added air-ticketing services in the early 2000s and broadened its offering into packaged holidays, business travel, rail tickets, accommodation, destination experiences, and travel-support services. The company’s early differentiation came from combining technology with a large service operation. At a time when Chinese online commerce was still developing, Ctrip’s call centers helped customers complete bookings and resolve itinerary problems, while its supplier network gave hotels and transport providers access to a growing population of digitally engaged travelers. This hybrid model supported rapid expansion beyond the largest cities and helped establish Ctrip as a leading domestic online travel agency. Ctrip completed its initial public offering on Nasdaq in December 2003 under the ticker CTRP. The listing provided capital and public-market visibility as China’s internet and tourism sectors expanded. During the following decade, the company invested in mobile applications, travel content, customer service, supplier connectivity, and international distribution. It also participated in consolidation of China’s online travel market, including a major 2015 transaction involving Baidu and Qunar. In 2016, Ctrip acquired Skyscanner, a United Kingdom-based travel metasearch company, strengthening the group’s international reach and flight-comparison capabilities. The Ctrip brand is primarily associated with Chinese-language travel booking and with reaching travelers departing from or traveling within China. The wider group also operates or has operated internationally oriented brands and platforms, including Trip.com, Qunar, and Skyscanner. In 2019, the corporate group changed its name from Ctrip.com International to Trip.com Group, reflecting the breadth of its international portfolio. The Ctrip name nevertheless remains important in mainland China, where it continues to serve consumers, hotels, airlines, tour operators, destination organizations, and corporate-travel customers. Ctrip’s business spans accommodation reservations, domestic and international flights, train tickets, car rentals, packaged tours, cruises, attraction tickets, local activities, visa and travel-support services, and corporate travel management. It also sells marketing and distribution services to destinations and hospitality companies. These services can include sponsored placement, destination campaigns, audience targeting, promotional landing pages, and bookable itineraries. The platform’s value to tourism marketers rests on its large, travel-intent-rich audience and the behavioral data generated when users search, compare, and book trips. The COVID-19 pandemic sharply disrupted travel demand and forced the group to emphasize domestic tourism, flexible booking, livestreaming, local experiences, and recovery-oriented supplier support. As international travel resumed, Ctrip and the broader Trip.com Group renewed their focus on outbound Chinese tourism and overseas supply. The platform remains active as a consumer booking service and as a business-to-business distribution and marketing channel. Its competitive position is shaped by scale, mobile usage, loyalty programs, supplier breadth, customer service, data-driven merchandising, and competition from other online travel agencies and direct supplier channels.

History

Ctrip was established in Shanghai in 1999 by James Liang, Neil Shen, Ji Qi, and Fan Min. Its initial proposition was to simplify hotel reservations for Chinese travelers through an online platform supported by telephone service. This was a significant operating choice in an emerging internet market: technology made search and distribution more efficient, while trained service staff helped customers who were not yet accustomed to completing complex travel purchases entirely online. The company soon expanded from accommodation into air-ticketing and other travel categories. Its growth was supported by supplier relationships, centralized customer service, and the increasing adoption of computers and mobile phones by Chinese consumers. Ctrip developed a nationwide presence and became one of China’s most influential online travel agencies as domestic tourism, business travel, and outbound travel all increased. Ctrip went public on Nasdaq in December 2003. The offering gave the company additional resources for technology development, customer acquisition, call-center operations, and market expansion. Over time, its product range grew to include hotels, flights, train tickets, package tours, cruises, attractions, local activities, car services, and corporate travel. The business also developed tools for hotels, airlines, destinations, and tourism organizations to reach high-intent travelers through search results, advertising, promotions, and bookable campaigns. During the 2010s, competition intensified across China’s online travel market. Ctrip responded through mobile investment, loyalty and membership features, supplier integration, and corporate transactions. In 2015, it reached a strategic arrangement with Baidu concerning Qunar, a major Chinese travel-search and booking platform. In 2016, it acquired Skyscanner, extending its presence in international metasearch and travel discovery. The group also maintained a portfolio approach in which different brands served different geographic, linguistic, and customer segments. Ctrip’s destination-marketing business became more visible from 2013 onward. It worked with tourism boards and attractions to create campaigns aimed at travelers who had shown interest in particular destinations. These programs could combine Ctrip’s own website and mobile application with external channels such as WeChat, Weibo, and other digital media. The objective was not simply awareness: campaigns were often linked to itineraries, accommodation, transportation, and measurable booking activity. The COVID-19 pandemic produced an exceptional interruption to the company’s historical growth pattern. Restrictions on domestic and international movement reduced hotel, air, tour, and corporate-travel demand. Ctrip and its parent group promoted domestic destinations, flexible products, livestreaming, virtual and local experiences, and supplier-support programs while travel markets were constrained. The later reopening of domestic and international travel restored the importance of outbound tourism, overseas hotels, international flights, and global destination partnerships. In 2019, the corporate parent adopted the name Trip.com Group Limited, signaling that the enterprise had become broader than the Ctrip brand. Ctrip remains the principal China-facing name, while Trip.com serves international consumers and Skyscanner continues to operate as a global metasearch brand. The group’s current model combines consumer booking, travel content and discovery, supplier distribution, advertising, corporate travel, and technology-enabled personalization. Its competitive strengths include brand recognition in China, a large inventory, customer-service infrastructure, data on travel intent, and an integrated ecosystem across transportation, accommodation, and experiences.

2020
Pandemic response
[1]Trip.com Group investor relationstrip.com
The business pivots toward domestic travel, flexible booking, livestreaming, and local experiences during the COVID-19 disruption.
2019
Corporate rebranding to Trip.com Group
[1]Trip.com Group investor relationstrip.com
Ctrip.com International changes its corporate name to Trip.com Group Limited.
2016
Skyscanner acquisition
[1]Trip.com Group investor relationstrip.com
The group acquires Skyscanner and strengthens its international travel-discovery portfolio.
2015
Qunar strategic transaction
[1]Trip.com Group investor relationstrip.com
Ctrip enters a major strategic arrangement involving Baidu and Qunar, reshaping China’s online travel competitive landscape.
2013
Destination marketing unit established
[3]Ctrip destination marketing coveragephocuswire.com
Ctrip creates a dedicated business for destination organizations and attractions.
2003
Nasdaq listing
[2]Ctrip initial public offering filingsec.gov
Ctrip completes its U.S. initial public offering and begins trading on Nasdaq under CTRP.
2002
Air-ticketing is added
[1]Trip.com Group investor relationstrip.com
The company expands beyond hotel reservations into air-ticket bookings.
1999
Ctrip is founded
[1]Trip.com Group investor relationstrip.com
Ctrip is established in Shanghai as an online travel and hotel-reservation business.

Products and positioning

A large-scale, full-service online travel agency and travel-commerce platform for Chinese consumers, international travelers, travel suppliers, and destination marketers.

Hotel and lodging reservations · 1999
Ctrip accommodation booking
Ctrip provides searchable and bookable inventory for hotels and other accommodations in China and international destinations. The service combines property information, room availability, prices, reviews, promotions, loyalty benefits, and customer support. Accommodation distribution is a core part of the brand’s relationship with both leisure and business travelers.
Air-ticketing · 2002
Ctrip flights
The flight service supports domestic and international air-ticket search and booking. It allows users to compare schedules, fares, carriers, and ancillary conditions, while the wider platform connects flight purchases with hotels, transfers, packages, and customer-service support.
Rail transportation
Ctrip train tickets
Ctrip distributes rail tickets, particularly for travel within China, and integrates rail planning with accommodation, attractions, and broader itinerary services. This category extends the platform beyond air travel and supports high-frequency domestic journeys.
Tours, packages, and activities
Ctrip tours and experiences
The tours and experiences portfolio includes packaged holidays, guided trips, cruises, attraction tickets, local activities, and destination products. These offerings allow Ctrip to monetize the trip beyond an individual hotel or transport reservation and give destinations and suppliers a way to present bookable products.
Travel advertising and marketing · 2013
Ctrip destination marketing
Destination marketing services help tourism boards, attractions, hotels, and other travel businesses reach users who demonstrate interest in particular destinations or products. Campaigns may use Ctrip placements, audience targeting, partner media, promotional pages, and bookable itineraries to connect exposure with travel demand.

Controversies

2018
Eight management and caregiving staff sentenced in first instance in Ctrip parent-child center child abuse case
In 2017, Ctrip's parent-child center was exposed for caregivers abusing young children by smearing mustard on them, intimidating them, and pushing them. In November 2018, the Changning District Court sentenced eight management and caregiving staff to fixed-term imprisonment or probation in the first instance, and imposed occupational bans. The defendants in this case were specific staff of the parent-child center; their sentences should not be regarded as the Ctrip CEO or the corporate legal person being sentenced.
Source

Marketing campaigns

2020Ctrip CAST hotel advertising integration
China
Ctrip CAST was added to DerbySoft’s marketing solutions, enabling hotels to purchase sponsored placements and native recommendation advertising across Ctrip-related travel properties.
Source
2019Brand USA–Ctrip cooperative campaign
China · United States
Brand USA and Ctrip created destination marketing packages for U.S. tourism partners. Campaign pages included bookable itineraries and were supported by Ctrip display placements and programmatic advertising.
Outcome. Brand USA reported that participating partners recorded at least 19% year-over-year growth in booking sales on Ctrip during the campaign.
Source
2017VisitCanberra cooperative marketing campaign
China · Australia
Ctrip and VisitCanberra promoted Canberra tourism products to Chinese travelers through a multi-month campaign on Ctrip’s China-facing platform, with the stated goal of building destination awareness and driving bookings for participating partners.
Source

Brand decisions

2020
Travel-recovery and domestic-tourism pivotStrategy
Background
COVID-19 restrictions caused an unprecedented reduction in air travel, accommodation demand, tours, and corporate travel.
Action taken
The group emphasized domestic destinations, flexible products, livestreaming, local experiences, and initiatives designed to support suppliers and stimulate travel demand.
Aftermath
The pivot helped maintain engagement during the disruption and positioned the platform for the later recovery of domestic and outbound travel.
Source
2019
Corporate name change to Trip.com GroupStrategy
Background
The parent company had expanded beyond the original Ctrip brand through international operations and a broader collection of travel platforms.
Action taken
Ctrip.com International changed its corporate name to Trip.com Group Limited.
Aftermath
Ctrip continued as a major China-facing brand while the corporate identity emphasized the group’s international portfolio.
Source
2016
Acquisition of SkyscannerM&A
Background
Ctrip sought to broaden its international presence and strengthen travel discovery and flight-comparison capabilities.
Action taken
The group acquired the United Kingdom-based travel metasearch company Skyscanner.
Aftermath
Skyscanner became part of the group’s international brand portfolio.
Source
2003
Public-market expansion through Nasdaq IPOOther
Background
Ctrip operated in a fast-growing but still developing Chinese online-travel market and required capital to expand technology, service operations, and supplier relationships.
Action taken
The company completed an initial public offering of American depositary shares on Nasdaq.
Aftermath
The listing increased Ctrip’s access to capital and visibility among international investors.
Gross IPO proceeds. $76 million (December 2003 IPO)
Source

Recent events

2026.10.21
Reported2026.10.21
Ctrip announces planned Shenzhen technology-and-culture experience project[11]携程宣布计划在深圳推出科技文化体验项目travel.china.com.cn
Ctrip said it plans to launch the “锦绣科技中华嘉年华” project in Shenzhen in late December, offering domestic and international visitors an immersive technology-and-culture experience. The article describes the launch as planned, not completed.
Unconfirmed
Reported2021.11.18
Ctrip and Wyndham sign a global strategic cooperation agreement[12]携程与温德姆签署全球战略合作协议prnasia.com
Ctrip Group and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts signed a global strategic cooperation agreement to deepen their cooperation. The agreement includes access through Ctrip’s platform to Wyndham’s more than 9,000 hotels worldwide and further online distribution and marketing cooperation.
2021.11.02
China Mobile launches the TOP100 Brand Alliance plan[13]中国移动启动“TOP100品牌联盟”计划donews.com
China Mobile and participating companies launched the TOP100 Brand Alliance plan to develop customer-service cooperation among brands.
2021.05.26
Reported2021.05.27
Trip.com Group and Suzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau sign strategic agreement[14]携程集团与苏州文旅局签订战略协议finance.sina.com.cn
Trip.com Group and the Suzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau signed a strategic agreement to integrate Suzhou’s cultural and tourism resources and explore joint consumer-subsidy and marketing approaches.
2021.05.19
Ctrip Group reports first-quarter 2021 results[15]携程集团公布2021年第一季度业绩wenweipo.com
Ctrip Group released unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, reporting RMB 4.1 billion in net revenue and RMB 1.8 billion in net profit attributable to shareholders.
2021.04.07
Reported2021.04.07
Trip.com begins Hong Kong listing share offering[16]携程启动香港上市招股finance.sina.com.cn
Trip.com announced that it had formally started the share subscription process for its Hong Kong listing, planning a global offering of 31,635,600 shares with a maximum price of HK$333 per share.
2021.03.29
Reported2021.03.30
Ctrip and Sanya announce destination-brand collaboration[17]携程与三亚宣布目的地品牌合作voc.com.cn
Ctrip Group and the Sanya Tourism Promotion Bureau announced that they would jointly build the destination brand “Travel Should Be Sanya.”
2021.03.29
Ctrip unveils its tourism marketing hub strategy[18]携程发布“旅游营销枢纽”战略donews.com
Ctrip announced a tourism marketing hub strategy built around a “1+3” model: a Planet account platform combining traffic, content and merchandise. The article says the strategy is intended to create new transaction scenarios and help tourism-industry partners manage their private traffic.
2021.03.29
Reported2021.03.29
Ctrip launches tourism marketing hub strategy[19]携程发布“旅游营销枢纽”战略finance.sina.com.cn
Ctrip announced its “tourism marketing hub” strategy on March 29, describing a plan to connect tourism-related user and merchant needs and develop a marketing ecosystem.
2020.12.24
Reported2020.12.24
Ctrip-affiliated stores introduce eight services for older adults[20]携程旗下门店推出面向老年人的八项服务finance.sina.com.cn
Stores under Ctrip, Tuniu Travel Service (旅游百事通), and Qunar introduced eight services, including help using smartphones and health codes, online bill payment, and free Wi-Fi. More than 630 stores across 25 provinces were ready for the first rollout.