Ctrip.com International Ltd. (Nasdaq: CTRP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) assures customers that they will get the lowest price for online booking of hotel rooms and promises compensation if they are cheated.

The promise is made in partnership with hotel chains at home and abroad, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Accor and Jinjiang Inn Co., Ltd.

Since the beginning of 2010, Ctrip.com has acquired Hong Kong-based Wing On Travel for HKD 684 million, announcing a foray into the holidaymaking market.

To Ctrip.com CEO Fan Min, the acquisition will bring oversea tourism resources to the company. Moreover, Ctrip.com will take control of tourism resources in the tourist destinations of Wing On Travel through the latter’s service network.

Then, Ctrip.com announced a plan to issue 5.7 million ADSs for a fundraising of more than USD 200 million. The raised capitals will be put into its pillar business like air ticket booking, hotel room booking, holidaymaking and business tour, for example, the acquisition of traditional travel agencies in Beijing and provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Actually, Ctrip.com is not the first online travel agency to foray into the tourism industry. Previously, eLong Inc. (Nasdaq: LONG) aroused repulsion from archrivals including traditional travel agencies because of blind expansion of product lines. Different from Ctrip.com, eLong says currently that it will still focus on hotel room booking, since it just began to make profits from 2009.

In foreign countries, major tourism service providers all offer integrated services. Holidaymaking products are not only standardized, but also individualized.

In the first ten years after its foundation, Ctrip.com focused on business tour. In the second ten years starting from 2010, the company will adjust its strategy, providing services for individual travelers on an integrated platform.

In recent 20 years, individual travelers accounted for 70% to 80% of the tourists in countries of Europe and America. The proportion will top 70% for China in a few years.

Moreover, individual travelers tend to book services on the Internet. In 2010, China’s online air ticket booking, hotel room booking and packed tourism products will generate 27% more revenues from a year earlier to CNY 4.75 billion or USD 695.8 million, according to the latest report released by iResearch Consulting Group. The figure will jump to CNY 9.01 billion in 2013.

Individual travelers provide more opportunities for Ctrip.com, which started its business from the Internet, to snatch market share from traditional travel agencies and consolidate tourism resources.

(USD 1 = CNY 6.83)

Source: www.nanfangdaily.com.cn (March 12, 2010)