Travel agencies compete in mobile terminals

The competition among Chinese online travel agencies has been extended to mobile terminals, and the price war in the industry is expected to continue in 2013.

Ctrip.com International Ltd — the largest Chinese online travel agency by market share — launched the 4.4 version of its mobile phone application on Thursday, about a month after it launched the previous version.

The new version covers almost all of Ctrip.com’s services and products, including train and scenic-spot ticket booking.

The agency also offers special discounts to clients who make hotel or flight bookings through the mobile phone app.

"The mobile terminal will be Ctrip.com’s main developing direction,” said Liang Jianzhang, chairman of Ctrip.com, who returned to the position in February 2012.

The mobile application business is the main department in the company now, he said.

Mobile apps contributed 10 percent of Ctrip.com’s business with 30 million registered clients by the end of 2012 and became the company’s third-largest distribution channel, after its call center and website.

Mobile terminal apps are also an opportunity for the mature company to innovate, Liang said, amid fierce competition.

A report from Travelzoo, the United States-based global Internet media company, showed that 26.6 percent of Chinese residents tried to book tourism products or get coupons through smartphones in 2012, in line with the global number.

This year is expected to be an important period for Chinese online travel agencies to work on mobile terminal apps, said Hong Wei, president of Travelzoo’s China branch.

Other Chinese online travel agencies are also trying to grasp the opportunity in mobile terminal platforms.

eLong Inc, one of Ctrip’s main rivals, launched its mobile phone app in 2011, focusing on hotel booking.

Mangocity.com, a subsidiary of China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong Ltd, cooperated with Huawei to launch its mobile phone application in 2012.