Expedia Inc. said it's launching its corporate travel division in China with Chinese partner eLong Inc.
The Bellevue online travel agency (NASDAQ: EXPE) said eLong is the second-largest online travel company in China, and Expedia Corporate Travel (ECT) will allow companies doing business in China to access travel agents who speak both Mandarin and English.
Chinese Internet travel search engine Qunar has reportedly received a round of financing worth US$10 million.
According to published media reports, Lehman Brothers Private Equity Partners led the financing for the oddly named search engine that means "where are you going" in the Beijing dialect. With previous funding from funds like GSR Ventures and Mayfield, now the company will use the money to capture more users from around the country.
JINAN, China -- Coal smog flattened the afternoon sun into a pale disk that hung anemically in the sky outside the bus window.
The tour group had left Beijing after a glutinous lunch of pork and chicken stir-fries, and now we were rolling into the outskirts of Jinan, three hours to the south. Gray and soot-stained, Jinan did not look promising.
"China Focus, China Focus! Now we come into Jinan," our guide said into her microphone. China Focus was the name of the tour company, but it was also how Lisa Li called the group to attention. "Ji means 'the river,' nan means 'south of.' Ji-nan. South of river. It is famous for motorcycles factory and also washing machines."
China's top online travel agent, Ctrip.com (CTRP.O: Quote, Profile , Research), posted unexpectedly strong quarterly profit driven by rising travel demand, pushing up its stock price in after-hours trading.
Third-quarter profit almost doubled to $15 million, or 21 cents per American Depositary Share, from 12 cents a year earlier, as a growing middle class and rising incomes mean more Chinese are spending more on travel and leisure.
