Skyscanner Acquires Chinese Search Site Youbibi

Scotland-based Skyscanner is expanding its presence in China through the acquisition of Chinese metasearch site Youbibi.

Launched in 2010, Youbibi offers flights, hotels, attraction tickets and tours, largely for domestic Chinese travelers.

Skyscanner says the acquisition -- the terms of which were not disclosed -- will enable it to build on the presence it launched in China in 2012 under the brand name Tianxun, combining Youbibi's expertise with the travel market in mainland China with Skyscanner's international flight-search product.

"This acquisition brings the best of both worlds with Skyscanner’s international coverage and Youbibi’s domestic travel search and intimate knowledge of the Chinese traveler," said Gareth Williams, Skyscanner CEO. "The acquisition takes us from being a strong international travel specialist in China to a truly global travel service provider for Chinese nationals, domestically and internationally."

Youbibi, based in Shenzhen, has iOS and Android apps in addition to its desktop site and mobile website.

"We are proud of the technology that we have developed and, by bringing this together on our platform with Skyscanner’s global flight expertise, we believe we can create a really exciting travel search tool for all Chinese travelers," said Youbibi co-founder and CEO Steven Pang. "Our team is thrilled to become a part of Skyscanner and join their global travel journey.”

Youbibi's 20-mmember team will join the ranks of Skyscanner's 500 employees.

Skyscanner says it already attracts 20% of its website visitors from Asia-Pacific.