Ctrip Launches In-App Ride-Hailing Service For Chinese Tourists
Chinese travel service provider Ctrip announced yesterday that it will be launching an overseas ride-hailing service on its app to help Chinese tourists on their travels outside of China.
The new service will include a 24-hour customer service, online payments in RMB, and a translation service for Chinese tourists to better communicate with local drivers. As reported, the service will integrate mainstream ride hailing platforms overseas such as Grab so travellers would no longer need to go through the trouble of having to download a foreign app before commuting in foreign lands. The service is currently available in over 785 cities across 47 countries in Southeast Asia, the United States and Europe.
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According to the company, ride-hailing is one of the most troublesome needs for Chinese tourists traveling overseas. Apart from language barriers, most Chinese travelers have reported other concerns such as getting over charged at unreasonable rates, being limited to one form of payment, and general safety issues. Ctrip aims to effectively address all of these concerns in one go with its new service package.
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. is a Chinese provider of travel services including accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and corporate travel management. Founded in 1999, it is currently the largest online travel agency in China.
As a part of Ctrip’s strategy of expanding its services abroad, it has recently signed a groundbreaking agreement with Japan’s largest and oldest non-mutual private insurance provider Tokio Marine Nichido to provide a more well-rounded travel service to Japan-bound Chinese tourists.
CEO of Ctrip International, Jane Sun, had also recently met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev during the president’s state visit to China, at Ctrip’s headquarters in Shanghai to discuss endeavors made in the tourism industry, cultural exchange, as well as future collaboration in technology, destination marketing and more.
