Trip.com, a leading travel service provider based in Shanghai, has reported impressive revenue growth in Q1 2021, mainly driven by the post-pandemic recovery of domestic and international travel in China. The company’s earnings reached RMB 9.2 billion ($1.3 billion), a significant increase of 124%, while its net income surged to RMB 3.4 billion, compared to a net loss of RMB 1.0 billion in the same period last year.
The executive chairman of Trip.com, James Liang, attributed the company’s strong performance to the remarkable rebound in China’s domestic hotel bookings, which recorded YoY growth of over 100%. Additionally, outbound hotel and air reservations exceeded 40% of 2019 levels, indicating a gradual recovery to pre-pandemic travel trends.
During the related earnings call, CEO Jane Sun announced that Trip.com launched a plug-in for ChatGPT last May, leveraging the widespread popularity of generative AI to streamline the travel planning and booking processes.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Trip.com’s booming earnings signify a promising outlook for the travel industry as a whole. With the ease of travel restrictions and ongoing vaccination campaigns, it is expected that more people will feel confident and encouraged to travel domestically and internationally, creating new opportunities for companies like Trip.com.
