VIDEO: Trip.com Group on recovery investment strategies

It’s been two years since Trip.com Group announced bold plans to become the leading international travel brand in the world by 2025 – an announcement made in tandem with the company’s 20 ^th anniversary and its Q3 2019 earnings results that showed substantial growth in international business for hotels and air ticketing.

Shortly after that, of course, the COVID pandemic brought travel to a halt, beginning in Trip.com Group’s home base of China.

Now as the recovery gradually spreads around the globe, Trip.com Group co-founder and executive chairman James Liang says the company is ready to return to a growth mindset, enhancing products and making strategic investments.

In conversation with Web in Travel founder and editor Yeoh Siew Hoon during WiT Experience Singapore 2021 , Liang says, “We will resume our expansion and investments very quickly when Asia starts to recover. COVID slowed us down a bit, but we’ll continue this growth trajectory in Asia.”

As more countries agree to accept a range of COVID-19 vaccines, Liang says he expects Chinese travelers will return to destinations in Asia and beyond – likely in “three to six months.” And when asked when China will re-open to international tourists, he says, “it’s just a matter of time.”

“When we see recovery like this, we will definitely speed up our investments,” Liang says.

Product developments are also on the horizon. Liang says priorities include improving Trip.com’s international flight product, developing its app and improving customer service.

Watch the full interview below.