Surge in outbound travel in China fuels strong Q1 results for Trip.com

Trip.com reported a robust set of financial results for the first quarter of 2024, driven by a significant uptick in both domestic and international travel demand.

The company’s net revenue for Q1 2024 grew 29% year-over-year to reach RMB11.9 billion, according to data provided by the leading one-stop travel service provider.

The recovery of China travel continued to gain momentum during the first three months of 2024, with the group reporting a better than 100% year-on-year increase in outbound hotel and air bookings, and better than 20% increase in domestic bookings.

Domestic hotel and air bookings each saw over 20% growth compared to the same period last year. Even more impressive was the surge in outbound travel, with hotel and air bookings for international trips both increasing by more than 100% year-over-year.

“The year 2024 has begun with a substantial increase in travel demand in China, both domestically and internationally,” said James Liang, executive chairman of Trip.com Group. “Our global business has also experienced robust growth, driven by our improved product offerings.”

The company’s flagship online travel platform, Trip.com, was a standout performer, with total revenue increasing by around 80% compared to Q1 2023.

“We are delighted to see our first quarter results demonstrating the resilience of the travel market and the strong execution of our team,” said Jane Sun, chief executive officer of Trip.com Group.

“We remain dedicated to generating greater value for our stakeholders by creating more job opportunities and contributing to the development of the travel industry through collaboration with our partners.”

Data from the Public Security Police Force show Macau registered about 88.84 million visitor arrivals in the first quarter of 2024. Average daily visitor arrivals was close to 98,000, up 79.6% from the first quarter of 2023 and 84.8% of levels in the first quarter of 2019.

The surge in visitor numbers was driven by a significant increase in mainland Chinese tourists who accounted for 6.30 million arrivals, which is a 94.6% year-on-year increase.

Recent data from Ant Group, the parent company of Alipay, shows that Alipay saw a remarkable 77% year-over-year surge in overseas transactions during the April Golden Week holiday.

Total spending by Alipay users also climbed 10% compared to the previous year’s holiday period. This surge in outbound travel was led by destinations within the region, with Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, South Korea, the United States and Thailand emerging as the top spots for Chinese tourists. Howard Tong