Trip.com Group has set a target to bring in 200 million international visitors to China over the next five years as visa liberalization and improved payment access make the country more accessible to foreign travelers.
The online travel agency said on Thursday it served about 7 million inbound travelers in the first quarter alone, after handling roughly 20 million inbound visitors last year, highlighting the pace at which overseas travel to China has rebounded.
“We have set an ambitious goal to serve 200 million inbound travelers over the next five years,” Executive Chairman James Liang said on Thursday’s first quarter earnings call.
Trip.com increasingly sees inbound tourism as one of its biggest long-term growth opportunities, with management describing the company as a bridge between international demand and thousands of domestic tourism businesses that have had little previous exposure to overseas visitors.
Trip.c
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