On February 22, Ctrip Group announced its unaudited financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023. In the fourth quarter, the company's net operating income was 10.3 billion yuan, and the net operating income for the whole year of 2023 was 44.5 billion yuan, an increase of 105% and 122% year-on-year, respectively.
"In 2023, thanks to our continuously expanding market influence, our international business has achieved significant growth." Liang Jianzhang, co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of Ctrip Group, said, "We will continue to pay attention to globalization and artificial intelligence innovation, and have confidence in building upon our success in 2023 and further exploring future opportunities."
Tourism market recovery
Significant growth in performance in 2023
According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the number of domestic tourists in 2023 was 4.891 billion, an increase of 2.361 billion compared to the same period last year and a year-on-year increase of 93.3%. From a quarterly perspective, the number of domestic tourists in the first quarter was 1.216 billion, a year-on-year increase of 46.5%; The number of domestic tourists in the second quarter was 1.168 billion, a year-on-year increase of 86.9%; The number of domestic tourists in the third quarter was 1.29 billion, a year-on-year increase of 101.9%; The number of domestic tourists in the fourth quarter was 1.217 billion, a year-on-year increase of 179.1%.
With the popularity of ice and snow tourism and the strong promotion of cultural and tourism departments in various regions, the tourism market in the fourth quarter of the traditional off-season remained relatively hot, driving the growth of Ctrip's various businesses.
According to the financial report, Ctrip's accommodation booking revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 was 3.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 131%; The operating revenue of transportation ticketing was 4.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 86%; The operating revenue of tourism and vacation business was 704 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 329%; The operating revenue of business travel management business was 634 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 129%. In the fourth quarter, Ctrip's net operating revenue increased by 105% year-on-year, reaching 10.3 billion yuan.
In addition, the amount of domestic tourism consumption increased significantly year-on-year in 2023. According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the total cost of domestic tourists traveling in 2023 was 4.91 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.87 trillion yuan from the previous year and a year-on-year increase of 140.3%.
With the accelerated recovery of the tourism industry in 2023, Ctrip has increased its investment in AI technology and continuously improved service quality from multiple dimensions such as products, content, and services, achieving rapid business growth throughout the year.
In 2023, Ctrip's net operating income was 44.5 billion yuan. Among them, the revenue from accommodation booking was 17.3 billion yuan, the revenue from transportation ticketing was 18.4 billion yuan, the revenue from tourism and vacation business was 3.1 billion yuan, and the revenue from business and tourism management business was 2.3 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth of 133%, 123%, 294%, and 109%, respectively.
"We are excited about the strong performance of our businesses over the past year," said Sun Jie, CEO of Ctrip Group. "The global tourism industry has shown excellent resilience and is expected to maintain its growth trend. To seize this trend and create new opportunities, we will continue to invest in technology and product innovation, improve customer service, and promote sustainable development of the tourism industry."
R&D expenses account for nearly 30% of revenue
There are also big models in the tourism industry
According to the financial report, the R&D expenses of Ctrip products in 2023 were 12.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45%, accounting for approximately 27% of net operating income. Ctrip stated that its technological research and development achievements are reflected in many aspects such as customer service, content innovation, and partner empowerment.
On the one hand, it helps to refine the operation of B-end customers. In 2023, the number of airport segments in small and medium-sized cities in the fourth and fifth tier on the Ctrip platform has significantly increased, an increase of 127% compared to 2022 and 13% compared to 2019. The number of new homestay merchants admitted by Ctrip increased by 122% year-on-year throughout the year. Through professional training, traffic exposure and other measures, the GMV of new homestay merchants in 2023 increased by more than three times compared to 2022. The number of cooperative merchants in Ctrip's tourism and vacation business increased by 54% year-on-year, and the transaction amount increased by more than three times year-on-year. As of the end of 2023, Ctrip Business Travel has provided digital empowerment to 960000 growth oriented enterprises and 15000 large enterprises, helping to reduce travel management expenses by up to 30%. In 2023, it helped corporate customers save travel costs by 3.58 billion yuan.
On the other hand, targeting C-end users, Ctrip launched the vertical model of the tourism industry, Ctrip Quest (internal test), and AI travel assistant TripGenie, in July last year, providing users with personalized itinerary arrangements, real-time booking and other services. Ctrip has revealed that as of the end of 2023, with the help of intelligent customer service, the self-service problem-solving rate of Ctrip's ticket and hotel business users has reached over 70%.
Liang Jianzhang stated that in the future, Ctrip will continue to pay attention to globalization and artificial intelligence innovation, and is confident in building upon its success in 2023 and further exploring future opportunities.
