China’s leading online travel service provider Trip.com Group Ltd TCOM reported a profit of 43 million RMB (6 million US dollars) in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of 659 million RMB (93.5 million US dollars) a year earlier and 1 billion RMB in the previous quarter.
For the company, staycation travel continued to be an important contributor to the Chinese domestic market recovery. Local hotel bookings increased by over 30% compared to the same period in 2019, it said in a statement.
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Diluted earnings per common share and per American Depositary Share (ADS) for the second quarter of 2022 were RMB0.10 ($0.01).
COVID impact: In the second quarter of 2022, the resurgence of COVID-19 continued to disrupt the travel industry in China. The company’s revenue suffered a slump mainly due to the ongoing disruptions, registering a 32% decline to RMB4.0 billion (US$598 million) compared to the same period in 2021.
But although domestic travel has been hit by ongoing restrictions in China, global travel has continued to gain momentum. Both airline ticket and hotel bookings on global platforms grew more than 100% year over year in the second quarter, the company said.
CEO James Liang said recovery momentum in Europe and the United States remains robust, and the recovery in travel activity in the Asia-Pacific region has also accelerated on further easing of travel restrictions.