The collective income of the 20 largest tourism groups in China for this year has exceeded a trillion yuan for the first time, according to a travel industry report jointly issued by China Tourism Academy and China Tourism Association.
Ctrip topped this list, followed by CTS Group, HNA Group and Jin Jiang International.
The collective income of these 20 travel companies is 40% higher than that of last year. Two major factors have been identified for driving such growth, namely capital-driven mergers and restructuring, and consolidations of online and offline operations.
CTS Group has reported turnover of RMB 100 billion so far in 2016. HNA has chalked up more than RMB 180 billion in the same period and Ctrip expects to push transaction volume to RMB 1.2 trillion by 2020.
The report projects that other major players with the potential of joining the top 20 lineup are also growing rapidly as the tourism industry is becoming increasingly open and well established.
Fosun International's tourism and commercial unit has reported operating revenue of around RMB 8-9 billion so far this year and Shanghai Disney Resort has raked in more than RMB 30 billion during the time. Homestay “unicorn” Tujia and hotelier China Lodging Group are also growing fast.
Crossover players of social network giant Tencent, telecommunication operator China Telecom, car-hailing powerhouse Didi Chuxing, Alibaba's travel arm, daily-deal provider Meituan-Dianping and food delivery operator Baidu Nuomi are also tapping travel-related segments such as ground transport, hotels and vacations.
The landscape of China's travel industry will continue to evolve in the days to come.
