China-based global travel agency Trip.com Group returned to profit in the three months to 31 March 2023, with the easing of China’s border restrictions from 8 January helping revenue climb by 124% year-on-year and 83% sequentially to RMB9.2 billion (US$1.3 billion).
Releasing its Q1 financial results on Thursday, the Hong Kong-listed firm’s Executive Chairman James Liang pointed to an “upsurge in both domestic and outbound travel activities in China” for the improved results as net income reached RMB3.4 billion (US$476 million), reversing a loss of RMB1.0 billion (US$140 million) in 1Q22. Adjusted EBITDA of RMB2.8 billion (US$392 million) compared to RMB91 million (US$12.7 million) a year earlier.
Q1 highlights included outbound hotel and air reservations recovering to over 40% of 2019 levels – outpacing the recovery pace of the overall outbound aviation market – and air-ticket bookings on the company’s global online travel platforms rising by over 200% year-on-year. Domestic hotel bookings grew by more than 100% versus Q122 while same city staycation hotel bookings grew by 150%.
“We are delighted to see that our first quarter results have demonstrated the long-term growth prospects of the travel industry and the strong execution of our team,” said Trip.com CEO, Jane Sun. “Over the past three years, we have focused on strengthening our supply chain, content offerings, and service quality. Such improvements empower us to better capture the pent-up demand for travel and establish a solid foundation for sustainable growth.”
