Ctrip.com's International Expansion Strategies

Founded in June 1999 by James Liang, Neil Shen, Min Fan, and Qi Ji, Ctrip started out as a trip advisor service provider. The company aggregated information on hotels and flights and enabled customers to make informed and cost-effective hotel and flight bookings. Its inception and growth coincided with the travel boom in China and its revenues increased from Renminbi (RMB)6.9 million in 2000 to RMB105.3 million (US$12.7 million) in 2002.

Even the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 did not have a significant impact on Ctrip’s business. By October 2003, Ctrip had established room supply relationships with over 1,700 hotels in China and over 450 hotels internationally. It went public in December 2003, with its IPO soaring on the debut day. On Nasdaq, the shares opened at US$24.01, and at one point went up to US$37.35, thereby making Ctrip’s first IPO double its US$18 offer price on day one of trade. ..