Online travel firms are set to up the ante with a slew of promotional prices and other incentives as the battle to grab a slice of the huge outbound tourism pie in China intensifies, industry sources said on Thursday.
Ctrip International Ltd, China's largest online travel agency in terms of market value, plans to invest 1 billion yuan ($162.47 million) next year to take on the competition, according to Liang Jianzhang, its chairman and chief executive.
The company will launch a huge promotion laced with special discounts on Dec 12 and make it an annual event, Liang said, with an eye on growing market share and profit.
During the third quarter of 2014, Ctrip's sales and marketing expenses increased by 69 percent over the corresponding period in 2013 to 598 million yuan.
Meanwhile, some online travel agencies have already started drafting plans to tap into the growing market, although Chinese online companies account for just 17 percent of the entire tourism market.
wangwen@chinadaily.com.cn
By Wang Wen ( China Daily )
