China's Largest Travel Platform

Helping Being listed is not enough - here’s how to actually stand out on Ctrip

The Gateway to Chinese Travelers

Ctrip (officially known as Trip.com Group in English) is China’s dominant online travel platform. With over 200 million monthly active users, it plays a central role in how Chinese tourists discover, evaluate, and book travel experiences abroad. From flights and hotels to tours, tickets, and guides, Ctrip covers the full travel funnel and has become the default planning tool for outbound travelers.

In fact, more than 80% of Chinese international travelers use Ctrip when considering a trip. For European destinations and service providers, it’s not just a booking platform, it’s often the first touchpoint and the main decision-making environment.

Beyond Listings: The Real Marketing Layer

Many companies assume that getting listed on Ctrip is enough. It’s not. While being searchable is important, visibility is algorithmic and competitive and most categories are saturated. Without a proper strategy, your product or experience is likely to get buried under hundreds of similar listings.

That’s where Ctrip’s marketing ecosystem comes into play. The platform offers a wide range of tools to increase visibility and drive bookings - from paid placements and banners to seasonal promotions, influencer integrations, and curated content. In many ways, Ctrip functions like a marketplace and media platform combined. Those who treat it like a passive listing site usually disappear. Those who engage with its full potential can unlock real growth.

Key Promotion Tools on Ctrip

1. Paid Listings & Ranking Boosts

Merchants can pay to boost their visibility in search results, especially during high-traffic seasons or for specific keywords (e.g. “Norway fjords” or “family travel Europe”). These boosts can dramatically increase click-through and booking rates when well-timed and targeted.

2. Display Banners & Themed Campaigns

Homepage banners, seasonal campaigns (like Golden Week or Chinese New Year travel), and regional promotions offer curated slots for premium placement. These are especially useful for destinations or experiences that align with a seasonal theme or emotion (e.g. “cool summer getaways” or “hidden European gems”).

3. Ctrip Reviews & UGC Integration

Reviews on Ctrip are powerful. They’re shown directly in the listing and heavily influence conversions. Encouraging satisfied Chinese customers to leave detailed, photo-rich reviews is one of the most effective organic strategies. Ctrip also integrates select RED posts and influencer content into product pages, helping you build trust across platforms.

4. Trip Moments & Content Marketing

Ctrip includes its own content section called “Trip Moments,” where users post itineraries, travel diaries, and recommendations. Brands can engage creators to feature their experience or service organically within these posts, often with better long-tail results than ads.

Being Found: SEO on Ctrip

Ctrip has its own internal search engine, and how you show up depends on much more than your name. Keywords in Chinese, quality of your visuals, review score, pricing competitiveness, and engagement history all influence your ranking.

This means your listing must be localized, not just translated. Product titles, descriptions, highlights, and even tags should reflect the language Chinese travelers use when they search. “Nature experience in Northern Europe” isn’t enough. “森林中的极光温泉” (“aurora hot spring in the forest”) performs better.

Turning Visibility Into Booking

Ctrip is not plug-and-play for foreign brands. Most of the platform’s seller tools, campaign options, and editorial features operate in Chinese and are tailored to local relationships. Without verified access or a platform-savvy partner, even world-class experiences risk being reduced to static listings with limited reach.

That’s why we offer two clear entry points. For brands that offer truly standout experiences, Gems of Europe provides curated, high-credibility exposure directly on Ctrip, designed for qualified partners ready to reach Chinese travelers at scale. For others, or for those looking to boost their Gems presence with additional traffic and conversions, our China Marketing Suite unlocks access to paid placements, search optimization, and cross-platform campaigns tailored to your goals.

Whether you're just entering the market or ready to scale, visibility on Ctrip can be built strategically and made to deliver.