China’s tourism industry, one of the first to suffer in the current COVID-19 crisis and one of the hardest hit, is turning to new tactics in an attempt to generate cash for new by selling discounted future travel.
Hotels in particular are offering steep discounts, ranging from 20 to 60 percent, with packages that allow flexible dates and even splitting packages into two shorter trips. Ctrip, China’s big online travel agency, is featuring the most eye-catching offers near the top.
Hotels need the cash now, and are willing to gamble on heavy demand later to make up for the beds they sell in advance. “We hope that by pre-selling, we can help our partners in the industry to repatriate their cash and get through the most difficult period of the epidemic,” said Sun Bo, Ctrip’s CMO.
Photo: Huangshan Mountain in Huangshan City (Xinhua)
