Ctrip Group, Asia's largest online travel agency, is further expanding its international presence with the launch on its Japanese site of its overseas car rental service through its Trip.com brand.
Analytics demonstrate that, regardless of destination, Trip.com's primary customer base for overseas car rentals is comprised of users from Europe, the U.S., Australia, Japan, and Korea. The new addition will complement Trip.com's car rental offerings on its Traditional Chinese, English and Korean websites, providing seamless access to more users in Trip.com's main markets.
Beginning in August 2018, Trip.com has launched overseas car rentals on its English, Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong), and Korean sites. To date, users have reached a total of 200,000 days of accumulative vehicle utilisation, making overseas car rentals one of the most popular services among Trip.com users, beyond its core offerings of flight tickets, train tickets, and hotels. The launch of car rentals on Trip.com's Japanese site will see further growth for the young but increasingly popular product.
Trip.com currently offers overseas car rental bookings through over 130,000 shopfronts in over 6,000 cities in over 200 countries. Through its major global rental suppliers, Trip.com has over 7 million vehicles in operation, catering to almost all use-cases with various offerings, including 5-11 seat minivans, SUV, MPV, and even pickup trucks.
Statistics from the first half of 2019 indicate that among the ten major markets for overseas car rental users, 80% of users originated from the U.K., Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, and the U.S. Among destinations, over 50% of rentals were used in the U.S., Australia, Thailand, and the U.K., while Japan, Korea, and Europe were also popular destinations.
In select major cities, in addition to shopfront return points, Trip.com offers a door-to-door return pick-up service, making returns easier for users in foreign cities.
For outbound Chinese drivers, Ctrip Group provides authentication services for driving license translations for use in over 200 countries. Along with their original license, users need only display this authenticated translation to legally drive abroad. For China-bound overseas tourists, Ctrip Group also provides multi-lingual guides for license acquisition and car rentals in China.
To streamline user experience, Trip.com accepts eight third-party payment services, all international credit cards, and direct payments in 22 currencies.
At present, Ctrip Group's international presence is comprised of its Skyscanner and Trip.com brands. Overseas users of these platforms are able to access information and customer support services in 19 languages via three support centres based in Edinburgh, Seoul, and Tokyo.
As one of Trip.com's major markets, the recent launch of car rentals in Japanese promises to bring growth to the increasingly popular service.
