Trip.com, 1Q Sales Expected to Decrease by 50%

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] China’s largest online travel agency Trip.com is expecting a 50% drop in sales in the first quarter of this year due to the spread of COVID-19, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 19th.

However, Trip.com said that domestic tourism demand in China has been gradually increasing in recent weeks as the spread of COVID-19 within China has entered a stabilization phase, raising hopes for an early recovery from the COVID-19 impact.

Trip.com explained, "After the spread of COVID-19 in China at the end of January this year, bookings through the platform fell to less than 20% of the same period last year, but in recent weeks domestic bookings have risen to more than 30% of normal levels." Liang Jianzhang, chairman of Trip.com, also said, "The beginning of 2020 in the travel industry faced challenges due to the global spread of COVID-19, but we expect a rapid and strong recovery in travel demand within China."

Meanwhile, on the same day, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) announced that there were no new confirmed COVID-19 cases "within China," and only 34 cases of overseas imported infections were reported.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.