China Travel News

One market where the U.S. leads China in a trade imbalance: The United States is taking in way more tourists from China than it’s sending. Pollution, bureaucracy, and bang for buck are the major factors.

There's no public data here, so it's hard to know how much of an issue this is. But generally, inbound tourism to the United States is important, so if fewer visas are being granted, it's probably not good for American businesses.

Ctrip dominates online travel in China and will benefit from the continued shift from offline to online bookings. Additionally, the company is pushing more into the lucrative outbound market. We discuss these trends and more with CEO Jane Jie Sun.

KLM is a little less reliant on Chinese customers than other major airlines, but it's good to see the Dutch carrier taking the chance on a new way of accepting payments. We're betting it'll work out well for KLM. And we suspect other airlines will follow.

An international dispute that forced itinerary changes for China-based cruises threw operators for a loop, but demand seems fundamentally intact. If tensions ease and South Korea reopens, will pricing return to high levels or have lower fares become the new normal?

China outbound travel is booming and has a long way to go before maturity. Individual destinations should pursue the market, but be cognizant of the risks. South Korea serves as an example of what can happen when the Chinese government changes course.

Priceline Group's CEO Glenn Fogel has repeated his view that Asia is the company's most important market. We don't think he'll try to acquire Ctrip. But additional moves are possible.

It looks like tighter restrictions on outbound investment are starting to hinder dealmaking at HNA. Although the Rezidor deal may still go through, you've got to wonder what it means for the rest of 2017 and beyond.

Ctrip’s purchase of Skyscanner continued the trend of metasearch consolidation and should provide Ctrip with support for its outbound and inbound businesses.

This report represents the launch of our coverage of Asia, offering insights into both Ctrip and the online travel market more broadly.