Ctrip Group and China Unicom jointly launched a new mobile Internet solution for inbound tourists from around the world. The product will be launched on the international version of Trip.com platform. At that time, overseas tourists, short-term business travelers and relatives from all over the world can purchase more cost-effective and higher-quality communication services in China online through the international version of Trip.com. They can complete configuration overseas and use them upon entry without additional operations, fully meeting the communication service needs of different tourism groups in shopping, tourism, payment and other aspects, clearing up the communication blind area of entry and truly getting ahead of others to freely travel in China.
With the orderly expansion of China's visa-free "friend circle", the increase in international flight frequencies, the increase in foreign tourists' willingness to travel to China, and the accelerated recovery of the inbound tourism market, the industrial development is flourishing and improving. Through a number of optimization measures, the time for overseas tourists to apply for telephone cards in China has been greatly shortened. Some Unicom business halls in Shanghai have arranged English service commissioners and added foreign language hotlines synchronously. However, overseas tourists still face some challenges in accessing the Internet in China, including the high cost of international roaming fees and the need for SMS verification codes to connect to airport WIFI, which leads to many overseas tourists unable to enjoy online services in a timely manner.
In response to the above issues, Ctrip Group and China Unicom have launched a mobile Internet solution for inbound tourism, which allows overseas tourists to solve the problem of Internet access before entering China. Once they enter the country, they can enjoy convenient, preferential and high-speed mobile network services in the first time, which not only improves the inbound tourism experience, but also promotes inbound tourists' consumption. At the same time, for the sensitive personal information protection that foreign tourists are concerned about, this product plan changes the old practice of mixed third-party Internet services on the market, and provides transparent services by means of the powerful combination of operators and Ctrip Group, which eliminates tourists' worries.
At present, Ctrip is taking multiple measures to help the recovery of inbound tourism. Trip.com launched a multilingual China travel guide, providing overseas users with reference guides ranging from entry matters to taking Chinese public transportation, to booking hotels, popular attractions, restaurants, etc. For 20 popular inbound destinations in China, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Zhangjiajie, Lijiang, Xiamen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Guilin, Xi'an, etc., Ctrip launched content albums released by overseas users, covering thousands of articles including city overview, itinerary planning, attractions, hotels, restaurants, etc., to inspire tourists to travel.
In terms of ticket reservation, Trip.com has partnered with more than 600 top scenic spots in China to support online booking for overseas tourists, and provides multilingual support and more than 30 foreign currency payments. Recently, Ctrip Group also partnered with the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, the Shaanxi Branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to build an integrated service platform for overseas tourists, to achieve online ticket booking for overseas tourists, and provide convenient and intelligent service platform for tourists around the world. In China, Ctrip local drivers with multilingual service capabilities are also growing rapidly. More than 1,500 local drivers can provide foreign language tour guide services, covering more than 80 cities in China.
According to relevant arrangements, Shanghai will hold the fifth "55 Shopping Festival" and "Shanghai Summer" international consumption season this year. Under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration, the mobile Internet solution released this time will become one of the important measures to further implement the "Shanghai as the first stop for Chinese inbound tourism", enhance the attractiveness of inbound tourism products, and promote the upgrading of inbound tourism experience, helping Shanghai to build an international brand of "world-class living room". As a strategic partner for many years, Ctrip Group and China Unicom will make more efforts in further solving the pain points of inbound tourism, optimizing the supply of tourism products and services, building a professional tourism platform, and promoting international tourism image.
(Ctrip Group is the member of IMTA)
Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Wenwen
Editor Ⅱ: Wu Dan
Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong