Booking Holdings gets big return on Meituan investment
>> Booking Holdings' equity investment in Meituan Dianping has generated a return of more than USD 1 billion. In 2017, the company invested USD 450 million in preferred shares of the leading e-commerce platform for local services in China. The investment had fair values of USD 1.8 billion as of June 30, 2020.
Hilton hotels' occupancy exceeds 60% in China
>> Hilton CEO Christopher J. Nassetta said the hotel chain lost USD 432 million in the second quarter this year. Performance in Asia Pacific is largely driven by rebounds in both leisure and business transient travel in China, where occupancy is more than 60%. As of July 31, 96% of Hilton's system-wide hotels were open.
Trip.com Group, AirAsia join forces to boost travel in China, Southeast Asia
>> Trip.com Group formed a strategic partnership with AirAsia's travel and lifestyle online platform on a range of cooperation including transit information for connecting flights, membership benefits and product marketing.
Ctrip releases China’s first car rental standards
>> Trip.com Group's domestic brand Ctrip.com released nine service standards for the domestic car rental industry, marking the first car rental standard in China. Standards include free cancellation, worry-free guarantee, high-quality car conditions, no deposit for good credit, clean car delivery, fuel quantity guarantee, unlimited mileage, online certification and available car guarantee, the company said on Thursday during its first offline conference this year in Shanghai.
Fosun Tourism rebrands Thomas Cook as a lifestyle online platform
>> Fosun Tourism Group, the leisure travel unit of Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, announced that it has re-launched the Thomas Cook brand as a lifestyle online platform globally. The iconic homas Cook brand went into liquidation in September 2019, and Fosun Tourism subsequently acquired its intellectual property rights for £11 million. The acquisition and integration of Thomas Cook’s brand assets converge with Fosun Tourism’s strategy of integrating industry operations with strategic investments.
China leads in domestic flight recovery
>> Latest tracking data from Cirium highlights the extent to which the recovery of international passenger markets is being suppressed by cross-border travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, coupled with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Global scheduled passenger flight numbers were down 54% on August 5 this year compared with August 7 in 2019. However, domestic flights were down only 41%, compared with a 75% decline for international. Among the top five countries for the number of domestic flights tracked on August 5, the recovery was lead by China (down just 8% year-on-year), followed by Russia (-9%) and Japan (-18%).
China remains no-go areas in US travel advisory
>> The U.S. State Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lifted global advisories recommending U.S. citizens avoid all international travel because of the coronavirus pandemic, and instead issued a raft of high-level warnings for individual countries. China remains a no-go area. China has been on the State Department’s “Do Not Travel” advisory since June.
Radisson Collection to debut in China
>> The Radisson Collection will arrive in China for the first time next year when it opens a low-rise resort, which will form a part of a new tourism complex in the Jiangsu Horticultural Exposition Park. Shanghai-based hotel group Jin Jiang International acquired a majority stake in Radisson back in 2018.
