Skift Take
Qunar is already partnered up with the Google of China, Baidu, and will differentiate itself from Expedia's eLong and the Priceline-Ctrip partnership by eschewing investment from a foreign online travel agency -- for now, at least.
In the wake of the Priceline Group's $500 million investment in Ctrip, an official at China's Qunar, which trades on Nasdaq, says the metasearch and booking site doesn't need a foreign strategic partner and downplays any impact from Priceline's closer ties with Ctrip.
"We remain very confident about our international business, our outbound business," says Qunar chief strategy officer Yilu Zhao, adding that Qunar's hotel coverage is strong and the site doesn't need to partner with a foreign online travel agency.
Since 2011, Chinese general se
