Ctrip.com International, the largest online travel agent in the mainland, plans to branch out to inbound travel this year to tap an expected tourism boom in the next few years, chief executive Fan Min says.
'With the Olympic Games in Beijing [next year] and the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010, there will be great demand for overseas visitors to come to China,' Mr Fan said.
Last year, overseas travel, generated by mainland travellers taking trips abroad, accounted for about 5 per cent of Ctrip's revenue.
Mr Fan said the company was considering offering services for overseas tourists visiting the mainland but declined to give further details.
Founded in 1999, Ctrip started by helping mainland businessmen book accommodation for trips around the country. Now its network covers 5,000 hotels.
The company later added air ticket reservations to its services, as well as overseas destinations, such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia and the United States.
Recently, the company began offering limousine services for business travellers as a transport alternative to taxis at a reasonable cost, the company said.