BIDU - 3 Headwinds for Trip.com Investors Should Know About
Only around 8% of Chinese have passports versus 46% of Americans. China's low passport penetration rate along with China's growing middle class mean Chinese travel companies have a powerful secular tailwind backing them.
As one of the leading travel companies in China, Trip.com Group Ltd (NASDAQ: TCOM) – formerly known as Ctrip.com International – has benefited from this trend, with its share price rising from US$10 in 2012 to US$60 in 2017.
Through M&A, the use of AI and big data, and spot-on execution, Trip.com has consolidated the China market and become one of the leading online travel portals.