Ctrip, the largest online travel agent in Asia and the second
largest in the world, announced an initiative to promote safe and
responsible travel. Ctrip, The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), China International Center for Economic and Technical
Exchanges (CICETE) and China Tourism Academy (CTA) today jointly
announced the launch of the "Safe and Responsible Travel
Initiative” in Beijing. The formation of this travel safety
alliance sets to highlight sustainable travel, enhance security
support, develop travel industry protocols for emergency situations
and minimize travel risks for all travelers.
“Safe Travel” Initiative for Chinese
Travelers
With the increasing number of Chinese outbound
travelers, overseas security has become an important issue for all
stakeholders.
Chinese made more than 130 million outbound
trips in 2017 and are, for many countries, their largest source of
inbound visitors. Since 2017, there have been more than 10 natural
disasters and emergencies around the world that required swift
responses. Whether it was the Phuket ferry crash, the Lombok
earthquake or the Bali volcano eruption, an emergency mechanism is
needed to ensure the safety of all travelers.
Agi Veres, Country Director of UNDP China, Zhang
Yi, the Deputy Director of CICETE, Li Zhongguang, Vice President of
CTA and Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip, announced a joint initiative to
implement “Safe Travel” for Chinese tourists.
Preventing security risks and establishing
emergency rescue mechanisms to ensure the safety of travelers is a
top priority for Ctrip. Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip, said, “Ctrip serves
hundreds of millions of travelers every year and through
cooperation with UNDP, we are able to connect with more countries,
people and institutions to create a working platform for the
learning and sharing of security knowledge, skills and safety.”
Agi Veres, Country Director of UNDP China, said,
“We have been making full use of our global network and development
experiences to support countries to develop solutions to address
challenges related to poverty alleviation, good governance and
more. The launch of this project has given UNDP new insights into
areas such as disaster risk management.”
The project was also recognized by Zhang Yi, the
Deputy Director of CICETE. “We hope that through our joint efforts,
our cooperation can become a model where public and private sectors
can make great contributions to social innovation and public
welfare.”
"Safe and responsible travel have always been
important research topics for China Tourism Academy. We will
continue to promote innovative research and contribute to
developing such services for the travel industry,” said Li
Zhongguang, Vice President of CTA.
The “Safe and Responsible Travel Initiative” not
only educates travelers about the importance of responsible and
safe travel but also will provide humanitarian assistance if needed
during their overseas journey. Consensuses in four key areas have
been reached by all participating partners including: combining
innovation and technology to establish a security alliance allowing
the coordination of international humanitarian relief; helping
raise public awareness of green, safe and responsible travel; and
reducing negative impacts that come with travel.
As the world’s first online travel company to
provide emergency response services for travelers, Ctrip has
already been implementing safe travels through its International
SOS program. In addition to a Ctrip natural disaster security
travel fund where travelers are reimbursed for any losses
encountered during their trip, the International SOS service is an
additional support mechanism to deal with emergency situations.
Responsible Travel
Initiative
According to our recent research, five million
bars of soap are thrown away every day. Since the early 1990s,
hotels in China have been providing customers with disposable soap,
toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower gel, slippers and combs. According
to statistics, in 2017 around 440,000 hotels in China served more
than 4.8 billion travelers leading to more than 400,000 tons of
soap being discarded in one year alone.
As an important component of the “Responsible
Travel” initiative, “Travel More – Impact Less” highlights the
importance of environmental protection and the need to reduce the
usage and wastage of disposable hotel amenities. This includes
giving away environmentally friendly and biodegradable travel
products such as reusable foldable slippers, water cups and soap
boxes. These amenities aim to encourage travelers to leave behind
positive footprints during their travels and also support poverty
alleviation projects, with the embroideries on the slippers coming
from ethnic minority women supported by UNDP.
As the first hotel group to participate in this
initiative, Langham Hospitality Group will actively support and
promote the initiative across its hotels in China. “We want to
encourage our guests to join us in developing effective modes of
sustainable travel. Through this initiative, we want to prove that
luxury hotels can be sustainable too,” says Carmen Ng, Director of
Sustainability, Langham Hospitality Group.
Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip, said, “Ctrip is
delighted to join forces with Langham Hospitality Group and many
more partners in the travel industry to protect our environment and
to minimize wastage in the travel industry. Raising such awareness
amongst travelers is crucial since travel needs to be green,
sustainable and responsible. Ctrip attaches great importance to
environmental education and protection.”
Agi Veres, Country Director of UNDP China, said,
“Companies have the capacity and the incentive to be a powerful
driving force in achieving the sustainable development goals.”
Guided by the concept of giving back to society,
Ctrip has been at the forefront of fulfilling social
responsibilities ranging from launching a “Ctrip Forest” in Alxa
where it has planted more than 630,000 seedlings since 2008, to
launching low-carbon travel programs and establishing 100 travel
itineraries throughout nearly 20 provinces in China that are part
of the national poverty alleviation strategy.
About Ctrip.com
International, Ltd.
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. is a leading
travel service provider of accommodation reservation,
transportation ticketing, packaged tours and corporate travel
management in China. It is the largest online consolidator of
accommodations and transportation tickets in China in
terms of transaction volume. Ctrip enables business and leisure
travelers to make informed and cost-effective bookings by
aggregating comprehensive travel related information and offering
its services through an advanced transaction and service platform
consisting of its mobile apps, Internet websites and
centralized, toll-free, 24-hour customer service center. Ctrip also
helps customers book vacation packages and guided tours. In
addition, through its corporate travel management services, Ctrip
helps corporate clients effectively manage their travel
requirements. Since its inception in 1999, Ctrip has experienced
substantial growth and become one of the best-known travel brands
in China.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available
at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8ffbac2a-55a8-4665-8e69-6860834b6b27
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7335b5cf-3a1e-4443-9698-5fd31bcea638
For further information, please contact: International PR Ctrip.com International, ltd. Tel: (+86) 21 3406 4880 ext 196455 Email: Pr@ctrip.com
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