Saudi Tourism has tapped Trip.com Group to promote the destination. A MOU was signed by Trip.com CEO Jane Sun and Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority. They will launch joint marketing campaigns in several markets to drive awareness of the Kingdom, through global platforms, such as Trip.com, Ctrip, and Travix. These markets include Australia, China, Germany, Indonesia, , Singapore, South Korea and the UK, among others. In addition, both parties will also conduct capacity building and knowledge sharing initiatives, including digital payment solutions, sustainability, ticketing and training. Data from Trip.com Group showed keen intent for Saudi Arabia in recent months. From January to March 2023, the number of users searching for Saudi tourism products almost doubled compared to 2022. Flight bookings to Saudi have also seen a significant increase.

Trip.com Group recently hosted the China Traveler's Forum (CTF) in Wenzhou focusing on the future of China tourism. China Traveler's Forum is an annual event offering cross-border opportunities for China tourism professionals. The reopening for international travellers was a major focus of the Forum. “CTF provided a great opportunity to plan the post-pandemic future of China tourism,” said group CEO Jane Sun. In a panel discussion on inbound travel, Kimi Liu, the CEO of Tripadvisor China said: "We are ready and eager to welcome our international travellers back." Trip.com Group's Traveler's Forum has previously been held in Lijiang, Chengdu, Shanghai, Xi'an and Sanya. It allows industry leaders and experts to exchange insights on emerging trends and networking.

Trip.com has rolled out TripGen, a travel chatbot designed to provide travellers with live assistance. Trip.com implemented the AI technology to enable users to receive personalised travel routes, itineraries and travel advice in real time. TripGen expands Trip.com’s web search capability with advanced context-based Natural Language Processing. Users can ask complex or vague questions and get the answers they need. The travel chatbot allows users to enter any fragmented travel-related questions and receive instant suggestions. It works for flights, hotels, transportation and tours. Schubert Lou, COO of Trip.com said, " It provides real-time, question-and-answer services resulting in more diverse support for travellers." TripGen currently supports English, Japanese, Korean and traditional Chinese. More languages will be added depending on user needs. TripGen has integrated the OpenAI API, which developed ChatGPT.  

The report from World Travel & Tourism Council, Trip.com Group and Deloitte reveals a heightened appetite for sustainable tourism. It found 69% of travellers actively seek sustainable travel options. ‘A world in motion: shifting consumer travel trends in 2022 and beyond’ shows that sustainability is an aspiration. Three-quarters are considering travelling more sustainably and 60% have chosen sustainable travel options. Another survey also found that around three quarters of high-end travellers are willing to pay extra. Consumers were willing to stretch their budget, with 86% of travellers planning on spending the same or more. Nearly one third (31%) said they intend to spend more on international travel. Julia Simpson, WTTC CEO, said: "Sustainability is top of travellers' agenda, and highlights the value they put on protecting nature." Other findings included sun package holiday sales up 75% and city trips saw a 58% year-on-year increase.

Trip.com Group says demand continues to surge for Lunar New Year travel. China has officially abolished all quarantine restrictions. Trip.com has seen a huge increase in searches and bookings. On Chinese site Ctrip, search interest for outbound flights from mainland China increased by 83%. Bookings increased by 59%. Most popular destinations include Macau, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia. The Lunar New Year travel period is from 21 - 27 January 2023. Ctrip data shows overseas travel for Lunar New Year surged by 540%. Airline bookings to Hong Kong  increased by 36% month-on-month. As of January 12, overall travel bookings to Southeast Asian countries increased by 1026% compared to last year.

On the back of China outbound travel returning, Trip.com recorded an immediate surge in bookings. It saw a 254% increase in mainland China's outbound flight bookings. Flights bound for Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand led the surge. Singapore was the fastest-growing destination, with flight bookings up six-fold,. Long-haul flights to the UK, the United States and Australia also grew. Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou are the most popular departure cities. Trip.com data shows that bookings for inbound flights spiked 412% Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, said, "It creates enormous opportunities for both the inbound and China outbound travel markets.” Searches for outbound visas skyrocketed 300% as soon as news of China's border reopening broke. Lunar New Year holiday travel searches for package tours were up six-fold.

Trip.com Group has launched a promotional campaign with Tourism and Events Queensland, targeting travellers from six global markets The campaign is aimed at travellers in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore who are being lured to experience ‘a Beautiful Way to Be’ in Queensland. The campaign targets two key tourist segments - couple getaways and family vacations. It is now live and runs for one month, Trip.com will host dedicated localised pages sharing Queensland top tourism picks as well as hotel discount coupons to use when booking Queensland hotels on Trip.com According to Tourism Research Australia, Queensland welcomed 194,000 tourists in the June quarter. While still down on the pre-Covid period, it is up by 542% compared to the previous year. Data from Trip.com showed that searches for Queensland as a destination rose nearly 350% from January to August 2022 compared with the same period last year, with the upward trend continuing. "Powered by big data, this collaborative campaign delivers promotional content precisely according to user preferences," said Bo Sun, Chief Marketing Officer of Trip.com Group. "We are very excited to be working with such an incredible destination such as Queensland. We will be sharing the wonders of Queensland across various channels, maximising reach and impact."

Trip.com Group officially joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's (GSTC) global network as a member.  Jane Sun, Chief Executive Officer of Trip.com Group said, "We believe we can only solve big issues by working with our peers from across the industry. This is why we are very excited to become a member of the GSTC, joining their global community to collaborate on sustainable travel initiatives.” In order to delve into consumer sentiment on sustainable travel, Trip.com Group conducted a survey from over 7,700 travellers from 11 markets. The Sustainable Travel Consumer Report 2022 revealed that almost eight in 10 (78.7%) travellers recognise the importance of sustainable travel. The Report also found that the Covid-19 pandemic has been a major driver behind increased consumer awareness of their travels' impact, with 67.7% of travellers now open to paying more. To meet increased demand for sustainable travel options, the Group's consumer brand Trip.com launched its CHOOOSE carbon offsetting option for travellers to offset their flights' Co2 emissions. As a member of the GSTC, it will support the GSTC mission to promote sustainable tourism standards in. Being a GSTC member allows Trip.com Group to participate in GSTC's global network, in promoting the widespread adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles.

Trip.com has revealed a huge booking spike and high search volumes as Japan scrapped travel restrictions. From the UK, bookings to Japan in September increased by a massive 183% on those made in August. South Korea saw the largest leap, with a 194% increase in bookings to Japan in September, followed by a 169% from Spain and 103% in bookings from Germany. Trip.com has seen consistently high search figures to Japan across Europe, APAC and the US since May this year, it says. Singapore saw the biggest month-on-month search increase in September, with a 520% surge. Even the country with the lowest spike, the Philippines, saw a 91% increase in searches. Trip.com plans to monitor this trend in the coming months. Hironori Katsuse, Trip.com's Japan General Manager, said: "The twofold effects of easing entry restrictions and a weaker yen have led to a rapid expansion of inbound tourism to Japan.” "Trip.com Japan anticipates a more robust recovery from Q4 to Q1 2023." In September, Trip.com held its first Mega Sale in Japan, featuring deals on luxury hotels across the country.

Trip.com Group and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have deepened their existing collaboration to boost tourism to the city state. Expanding on,the three-year MOU signed in late 2020, the partnership extends to new markets Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia. The reopening of borders in the region has led to a strong growth in Singapore's international arrivals with 418,310 visitors in May, up from 295,100 in April. Trip.com Group will promote Singapore to travellers from key markets through initiatives including marketing campaigns, public relations activities, and promotions through Trip.com Group's brands including Trip.com and Ctrip. Juliana Kua, Assistant Chief Executive (International Group) STB, said: "We are delighted to deepen our partnership with Trip.com Group, which has a growing network of services, users and data.” “We will tap these to showcase Singapore's refreshed destination offerings, and encourage travellers to reimagine travel to Singapore ." Among various initiatives, Trip.com Group and STB will deliver content via Trip.com's app and website to showcase Singapore. Trip.com Group and STB will also continue to launch targeted programmes to promote and position Singapore for urban wellness and sustainability.

Trip.com Group and Tapatrip Ltd have inked a two-year MOU to promote Mongolia as a tourism destination. Under this partnership, both will jointly drive destination awareness through marketing and media activities across global markets. The MOU was signed by Trip.com Group's Managing Director and Vice President (International Markets) Boon Sian Chai and Tapatrip founder and chairman Batmunkh Unubukh. Batmunkh Unubukh said:  “The Mongolian government has announced 2023 and 2024 as a year to visit Mongolia and therefore, we are cooperating with Trip.com with the mission to bring one million Boon Sian Chai said: "We will leverage our strengths and resources to promote Mongolia as a tourism destination to the international community through targeted campaigns. In addition, we will also collaborate with our partners in Mongolia to further develop the tourism sector.” "These partnerships are especially important in view of how the tourism landscape has evolved in the past few years due to Covid."

Trip.com Group has inked a strategic partnership with Tiqets, a booking platform for cultural and leisure experiences It provides Trip.com and Ctrip users with access to experiences at over 4,000 locations globally. The new partnership enables users of Trip.com Group's travel platforms – including Trip.com, Ctrip and partner channels – to experiences embedded directly in the Trip.com Group's sites. The partnership follows on from similar deals Tiqets has struck with Apple Maps and MakeMyTrip. Ctrip and Trip.com customers will get instant access to Tiqets' product inventory of tours, passes and tickets. Customers will also have access to 'skip-the-line' ticket options. Chang Liu, General Manager of Attractions International Business, Trip.com Group, said: "We are pleased to partner with Tiqets to provide our users seamless access to more attractions and activities offerings globally." New data shows Tiqets' museum and attraction bookings across the UK and the EU have soared by an average of 400% comparing Q2 2022 with Q2 2021.