On December 16, Ctrip Group announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021. In the third quarter, it achieved revenue of 5.3 billion yuan, and by business, the accommodation reservation income was 2.2 billion yuan, the transportation ticketing income was 1.8 billion yuan, the tourism and vacation income was 392 million yuan, and the business travel management income was 338 million yuan. Adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA) was $537 million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10%.
In the absence of a recovery in outbound travel business, Ctrip's total revenue still recovered to 56% in the same period in 2019 in the first three quarters of this year. Previously, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism disclosed that domestic tourism revenue in the first three quarters was 2.37 trillion yuan, recovering to 54.4% in the same period of 2019.
In the third quarter of 2021, the international travel market recovered rapidly due to factors such as the relaxation of travel restrictions by many countries. Ctrip's international business competitiveness and market share increased significantly, with its international brands Trip.com Europe air bookings up 170% month-on-month, and its market share in Europe increased by about 5 times from the beginning of the year, and Skyscanner air bookings increased by about 100% year-on-year. On the other hand, Ctrip's overseas direct hotel coverage increased by 38% compared with 2019, and the number of overseas "home hotel" package orders increased by more than 10 times compared with the beginning of 2021.
In the domestic market, Ctrip's fundamental advantages remain solid, and the recovery of air ticket and hotel businesses has outperformed the industry market. Compared with 2019 before the epidemic, the industry-wide hotel occupancy rate and air ticket booking volume fell by about 30% in the third quarter, and Ctrip's domestic air ticket booking data in the same period was ahead of the market, and Ctrip's domestic hotel booking volume also maintained positive growth year-on-year.
According to reports, Ctrip Live has now attracted more than 3,000 tourism merchants to settle in, with more than 10,000 business broadcasts; community content production has increased by 120%, the number of head creators has increased by more than 240%; the number of high-star hotels covered by hotel packages has exceeded 6,000, with more than 10 times growth so far this year, and the average daily transaction volume of hotel packages has increased by 1.5 million yuan.
In the international market, taking Singapore as an example, as of August 2021, orders for booking local travel in Singapore through Trip.com increased by 434% from the previous year, and the transaction volume increased by 270%; the number of new Singaporean users in trip .com increased by more than 10 times. Ctrip said that with the improvement of vaccination rates and the improvement of epidemic response capabilities in various countries, the international travel market will continue to open up, and the restart of China's inbound and outbound travel will also be put on the agenda. It is foreseeable that the integration of the domestic and international tourism markets will usher in dividends, and companies that maintain their advantages in the basic market will also usher in unprecedented opportunities.
Image source: Visual China
![Ctrip's total revenue in the first three quarters recovered to 56% of the pre-pandemic period, and local travel in Singapore quadrupled[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)