Internet sites are making China more accessible
(New York Times)
Updated: 2005-10-11 11:38

Want to sample Sichuan dishes in Southwest China after climbing the Great Wall in the North? There's no need to call a travel agency. As China becomes increasingly popular with Western travelers, Internet sites that offer searches in both Chinese and English could make planning travel inside China considerably easier and cheaper from outside the country.

The billions of dollars in investment flowing into Chinese Internet companies from around the world have created the equivalents of travelocity.com and sidestep.com, the price comparison site, for the Chinese market. Two of the most prominent players, Ctrip.com, a consolidator of hotel rooms and airline tickets in China that started in 1999, and Qunar.com, a price comparison site for travel, serve most medium to large Chinese cities.

Qunar.com, founded last February, lists discounted prices provided by Chinese airlines, hotels and travel agencies. The best prices come by checking the Chinese box under Search Language. For example, it found flights from Beijing to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, bordering Tibet, for as low as $140 for a last-minute purchase and $60 to $90 a week in advance, at 8 yuan to the dollar. A night's stay at a four-star hotel in Guilin, the southern city of fanciful limestone peaks prized by ancient Chinese painters, was around $40.

If purchased from the airlines themselves, a one-way ticket for Beijing to Chengdu would run about $170. Better hotels (but not luxury ones) in China usually charge around $80 a night.

Ctrip.com delivers flight tickets directly to customers in many locations in China, at which time the buyers pay cash for the tickets. With many Chinese airlines starting to issue electronic tickets in the last few years, Ctrip.com has also begun to handle credit card transactions. Qunar.com directs users to online consolidators, the airlines' own Internet sites or those of the brick-and-mortar travel agencies, and about half of them accept credit cards. These Web sites' quality of service seems reliable, as competition in travel services is intense in China.

Qunar.com is planning to expand its coverage to other countries. "We have already set up sites for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and plan to be in Korea and Japan by the end of the year," said Chengchao Zhuang, a founder of the company. "We are signing agreements with travel agencies, airlines and consolidators in each of these countries. Once you've built a model for one country, it's relatively easy to expand outside the border."