Nasdaq-listed Tuniu Corp has started selling air tickets and hotel rooms directly online, making it a direct rival of market leader Ctrip in the 400 billion yuan ($60 billion) Chinese online tourism market, the company said yesterday.
China's tourism market is worth over 2 trillion yuan annually and the online tourism market takes up 400 billion yuan to account for about 20 percent, said Donald Yu, Tuniu's co-founder, chairman and CEO, adding that this gives enough room for more companies and business models to enter the market.
China's online outbound market revenue is set to hit 49.5 billion yuan this year, up 75 percent year on year and above the growth rate of the domestic travel market, said Analysys International.
Tuniu also said yesterday that it will cooperate with Air China and China Eastern Airlines as well as more than 800 hotels to provide the services.
China's effort to transform its economy from investment-driven to one driven by consumption and increasing purchasing power are set to fuel the Chinese tourism market, according to industry insiders.
