Tongcheng Travel Holdings aims to bet further on a full recovery of tourism in China by acquiring 100% of online travel agency Beijing Tongcheng Tourism Investment Group for around CNY700 million yuan (USD102 million), it declared in a Hstock exchange filing.
Suzhou-based Tongcheng Travel Holdings had already completed the acquisition in December of a 5.67% stake in Hunan Airlines (A6, Changsha Huanghua) for CNY300 million (USD44 million). Formerly Air Travel, Hunan Airlines was already majority-owned by Tongcheng Travel Holdings.
In addition, also in December, it bought all of the shares in Tongcheng International Travel Service for CNY200 million (USD29 million). Now, the tourism holdco proposes buying the entirety of the Beijing-based OTA from the current shareholders, tourism specialist Tongcheng Air Travel and venture capital firm Suzhou Tiancheng.
Beijing Tongcheng will become Tongcheng Travel Holdings’ indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary controlled via an existing unit, eLong Net Information Technology.
Tongcheng Travel Holdings explained in the filing that it “has been exploring potential acquisition, investment, joint venture, and partnership opportunities,” as since November 2022 when China abruptly dropped its pandemic prevention and control strategy “the tourism industry has embarked on a real opportunity to commence its recovery.”
It added that “in recent months, various tourism and travel activities of Chinese citizens have spiked significantly, with business activities of tourism-related sectors returning to normalcy at an accelerating pace. [...] In order to benefit from the unprecedented wave of inbound and outbound travel, the company wishes to seize any suitable investment opportunities in this post-pandemic era.”
