Ctrip Sets Its Sights Globally -- WSJ
June 14 2017 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
CEO Jane Jie Sun says that while her company is No. 1 in China,
it is an 'infant' around the world
China's outbound tourism industry is growing rapidly. Ctrip.com,
China's biggest online travel site, is challenging Priceline to
become the world's biggest online travel platform.
To discuss Ctrip.com's growing ambitions, Wall Street Journal
senior editor Yun-Hee Kim spoke with the company's chief executive,
Jane Jie Sun. Here are edited excerpts of the discussion.
Buying strategy
MS. KIM: You did a major acquisition last year, the $1.7 billion
deal to buy travel search site Skyscanner. When you look at
acquisitions, what do you look for?
MS. SUN: First, it needs to be closely related to our core
business, which is travel. The second thing is, normally when we
look at the target, it needs to be the No. 1 or No. 2 industry
leader in that vertical. The third criteria is the valuation needs
to be reasonable.
MS. KIM: You have also been acquisitive in the U.S. How is your
strategy in the U.S. different from Europe?
MS. SUN: In the United States, we saw a very strong trend for
customers to move from the rest of the world to the United States.
The visa restrictions in the United States were finally lifted up.
Chinese citizens were able to get 10-year visas. Second, lots of
young kids are very curious and want to study in the United States.
And third, the U.S. has lots of travel resources, and it's
relatively very safe.
So when we saw the trend to move customers from the rest of the
world to the United States, then we needed to make sure our
customers were provided the best service, best products.
So our three investments in the United States will be able to
block the best hotels, the best transportation for our
customers.
MS. KIM: Has your business been impacted at all by the political
climate in the U.S.?
MS. SUN: So far, not significantly, because travel is not
political. When we send a customer to the rest of the world, I
always encourage our team to tell our customer, "You represent
China. You are the best diplomats of China. Please bring the best
of the culture of China to the rest of the world. And when you come
back, bring the best of the world back to China." Travel encourages
international cultural exchange and therefore promotes peace. So
far, so good.
Going global
MS. KIM: Ctrip.com has pretty much consolidated China's online
travel market. Do you see further room for consolidation in the
global market?
MS. SUN: We are the No. 1 player in the China market. There is
lots of room for us to further penetrate into the second-tier and
third-tier cities. In the global space, though, Ctrip is an infant.
I think the golden years are yet to come. So we are very excited
about the future opportunities.
MS. KIM: You have a 10% stake in MakeMyTrip in India. India's a
very competitive market, but also very different from China. What
are the biggest challenges there and why did you decide to
invest?
MS. SUN: India will overtake China as the most populous country
in the world. Although the GDP per capita is quite low, it has
potential to grow the affluent portion of its people. And these
people will be able to travel.
The India market is very similar to China in the sense that it's
very localized. Only local people know how to deal with the
government, how to develop that market. We believe MakeMyTrip is a
very good player in that market.
MS. KIM: Let's talk about regulatory challenges. What are the
headwinds that you see coming from the government?
MS. SUN: The government is very supportive of travel, because we
are nonpolitical. We bring people together. So our government
supports us. And enterprises also like us because to conduct
business meetings, they need a good supplier to make good
arrangements for their travel.
And the citizens like Ctrip because after they buy a house, buy
a car, they want to travel. So as long as we deliver a high level
of service, provide the most comprehensive products and offer the
best price, I think we will be able to serve the government,
enterprise and individuals very well.
Write to reports@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 14, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Ctrip Com (NASDAQ:CTRP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Ctrip Com (NASDAQ:CTRP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024