Fan Bingbing's "Queen style" in new play
Lingerie show at 2014 Miss China
Top 10 pricey destinations for studying abroad
Female bus driver drives Land Rover for commuting
J-10 fighters show aerobatic stunts in smog-free sky
Top 10 charming female soldiers of the PLA
Charming contestants of Shanghai Int’l Model Contest
Most amazing chi-pao beauties
7 deadly animal attacks
Picturesque autumn scenery of Hongshan Army Horse Ranch
But Alitrip also has a few advantages, such as a huge database of users that Alibaba has accumulated, as well as its strong travel information search engine, said Ma.
"The online trip market in China is big enough, as consumer demand is broad. Alitrip doesn't need to grab existing market share from other competitors but can try to meet the diversified demand of consumers [in new areas]," Li Shaohua, general manager of Alitrip, said in another statement that Alibaba e-mailed to the Global Times Tuesday.
Concerning possible competition from more market players such as Alitrip, Yan Xin, public relation manager at Ctrip, told the Global Times on Tuesday that "Ctrip has its own advantages in service and technology, which are not reproducible."
Yan also noted that Qunar, which operates an online travel search engine, is Alitrip's major rival.
The competition in the online tourism sector has been intense with companies trying to attract customers with tactics like major price discounting and promotions.
For instance, eLong waged a major promotional battle with its major competitor Ctrip in December 2013.
The CEO of eLong Cui Guangfu started by claiming on his verified Weibo account that if ctrip.com offered a 10 percent discount like eLong, eLong would offer rewards worth 240,000 yuan ($39,528) to its customers, and he also invited Ctrip CEO Liang Jianzhang to join the contest.
In addition to price wars, market players have even confronted each other in court.
![]() | ![]() |
U.S. air force transport planes row up on base
Post-85s female pilots and their mission
Century-old public bath closes door in Beijing
Shocking! Photos of Chinese fighters revealed
World's most intimidating nuclear weapons
Standard faces for each countries in the world
Netizens fall in love with champion swimmer Ning Zetao
Vibrant 21-year-old and her own Cheongsam brand
Fashion style: Faye Wong vs Cecilia Cheung
Top 10 most dangerous jobs in the world
Top 10 fifth generation jet fighters in the world
Top 10 Chinese goddesses
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
Top 10 pure beauties in showbiz
Top 10 world's highest-paid models 2014
The most gorgeous Chinese women
Top 10 most handsome faces in AsiaDay|Week|Month