Ctrip is running an instant booking trial with Skyscanner, the metasearch site it bought recently, revealed its CEO Jane Jie Sun, in a live Q&A at ITB China Conference on Wednesday.

Interviewed on stage by Phocuswright founder Philip Wolf, Sun said: “We are doing a trial run with Skyscanner…originally, we planned to have the first transaction of direct booking by the end of the year but it has moved faster than expected.

“The reason we can do the test run is because we have invested in Skyscanner; we feel the two companies are one entity. The engineers day in and day out are talking to each other.”

Sun said metasearch sites have an advantage in that they can scale quickly, however the absence of a direct booking facility for customers means users need to jump to another site to finish the transaction.

When approached by TTG Asia for more details on the trial, Sun said: “It’s just a test run, so far it’s been positive.”

Sun: trial moving faster than expected

Google is also dabbling in instant bookings where, in the footsteps of TripAdvisor, users can complete a hotel room booking without ever leaving the search giant’s desktop interface. Skyscanner in March joined forces with Finnair and Amadeus to enable travellers to book Finnair directly with the airline without leaving Skyscanner.

One analyst report said though Ctrip offers metasearch options in China, Skyscanner being a global leader in metasearch will significantly increase Ctrip’s international reach. If Skyscanner’s capability is provided with Ctrip’s booking functionality, the synergy can increase bookings for Ctrip significantly.

But the jury is still out if instant booking on metasearch engines will work, with Wolf pointing out that TripAdvisor’s pivot to this is “by all indications a disaster”.

He said: “Ctrip manages its own successful future with an uncanny ability to make the right bold moves at the right time. They don’t follow anyone else’s footsteps. That’s the true sign of leadership. And I would keep watching out for pioneering breakthroughs on mobile apps for search/shop/buy/memorialise in travel.”

Ctrip’s unaudited financial results for the first quarter ending March shows a 46 per cent year-on-year net revenues increase to RMB6.1 billion (US$883 million). In a statement, executive chairman James Liang said: “This is the first quarter we consolidated Skyscanner results. By leveraging Skyscanner and other strategic overseas investments, we expect to further strengthen our international product offerings and improve user experiences for both Chinese and international travellers.”

Sun also gave insights into Ctrip’s culture during the Q&A. “We want the company to have the spirit of innovation and the innocence of a small company, but the discipline and focus of a big company,” she said, admitting this is a challenge as Ctrip grows bigger, with 33,000 employees. She said most of them are 25 to 26 years old. “Sometimes I feel we’re in a high school,” she said.

One way she keeps the innovation spirit up is through a “baby tiger” programme, where all young employees are able to pitch business plans to executive members. To-date, there are more than 30 baby tigers, which run as separate businesses.

On how Ctrip decides what to acquire, Sun said: “We’re very disciplined about our investments. First, it must be closely related to our core business, i.e. travel. A lot of people want us to buy a piece of land, for example, we’re not interested, even though it may be a good investment. Secondly, the target must be number one or two in its vertical. Thirdly, it must not only be the leader, the valuation must be reasonable.”

On what advice she has for females leaders, Sun said: “We women have lots of advantages.We are team players, for one, and we always try and strike win-win (results) in any negotiation. If we focus on our strengths, we will go a long way.”

Messe Berlin is keeping modest about the future growth of ITB China even though the inaugural show this year sold out ahead of the event and early feedback shows some exhibitors want to expand their presence next year.

Interviewed by TTG Asia yesterday on how big ITB China could be next year, Messe Berlin’s senior vice president-travel & logistics, Martin Buck, said: “Based on demand, we can be hopeful.”

Buck: recent frequency of ‘incidents’ calls for flexibility 

ITB China this year fields 600 exhibitors from nearly 70 countries, occupying 12,000m² of space, meeting around 600 hosted Chinese buyers and another 100 international buyers who make their own way here, beating other more established shows in China on the first salvo.

But Buck is keeping jubilation levels down, saying that the industry is more vulnerable than ever to geopolitics, safety & security issues, and huge changes, all of which have made it “difficult to forecast growth, even though we are optimistic”.

He pointed out how consolidation in the hotel industry, for example, could impact tradeshows. “Before you have two or three exhibitors. With consolidation, it’s not likely you will have three stands,” he said.

Added Buck: “(Before) we had only isolated incidents, say, the tsunami, one (incident) over 12 months. Now, there is a dramatic increase in frequency of incidents, be it geopolitical or terrorism, where certain destinations which are in could be out of the picture easily. The world is changing and we have to stay flexible and cautious about capacity and space. One never knows.”

He said he wasn’t surprised ITB China sold out ahead of the event. “We saw that the Chinese market has incredible potential but the shows available in China left room for improvement, especially when it comes to getting professional buyers and the right composition (tour operators, meeting planners, etc).”

He attributed ITB China’s success on this to “a certain proficiency” in the region that Messe Berlin has gained from launching ITB Asia in Singapore, and having the right partners who are well-connected to the market, like Travel Daily China.

When asked how ITB China might strengthen ITB Asia and ITB Berlin, he said for many Chinese, ITB China is the “gateway” to the ITB brand and that they could be participating in Berlin and Singapore too now that they have had seen the quality for themselves.

On launching more ITB spin-offs, possibly ITB India, Buck said: “I believe India’s potential should never be underrated. We have been trying for some time but it is difficult to find the right partners.”

Sharjah is on a roll with Chinese arrivals, having benefitted from Dubai’s air connectivity and proximity, the UAE’s visa-on-arrival for Chinese visitors introduced in September 2016, AirArabia’s four weekly direct flights from Urumqi launched last year, and Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development’s new representative office in Beijing opened in early 2016.

These development lifted the number of Chinese hotel guests in Sharjah by 63 per cent over 2015 to reach 86,069. Sharjah expects the numbers to grow to 200,000 in 2021.

Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, chairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development, said most Chinese visiting Sharjah were group travellers and the remaining 10 per cent were FITs. In 2015 and 2016, both India and China compensated for the decline in Russian arrivals when the ruble devaluated.

Sharjah attracts the Chinese with authentic cultural and heritage experiences and outdoor activities such as wildlife spotting, trekking, mountain biking, dune bashing and desert safari.

It has also been observed that Chinese families are drawn to Sharjah’s eco-tourism attractions, such as the Al Noor Island butterfly park and the Mleiha Archaelogical Centre. A new safari park slated to open by the end of this year will add to Sharjah’s eco-tourism lures.

Meanwhile, the Heart of Sharjah development is being registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, said Khalid Jasim, who expects the status within the next two years. The development will include Albait Hotel, a luxury heritage hotel.