Trip.com Group Points to Massive Inbound Tourism Opportunity in China
Photo Credit: Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, delivering her keynote presentation to partners at the Global Partner Summit. Trip.com Group
Skift Take
Trip.com Group's earnings revealed a major opportunity in China’s underdeveloped inbound tourism market, but the company now faces a familiar risk: an antitrust investigation that could reshape platform economics and growth expectations.
Trip.com Group opened its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call on Thursday with solid results, reporting net revenue of RMB 15.4 billion ($2.2 billion), up 21% year over year.
However, what was significant at the call was the inbound opportunity that CEO and director Jane Sun highlighted.
Sun said inbound travel could expand five to ten times from current levels, "Inbound tourism only accounts for about 0.5% of China's GDP, compared to the highest contribution country, which is Thailand, more than 10% of the GDP are from inbound travel. And in Europe, such as France, Italy and Spain, about 5% to 6% of the GDP are from inbound travel."
Sun used that gap to illustrate a 5 to 10 times expansion opportunity. “We see inbound travel as a structurally important growth driver, both for our platform and for destination economies.”
In 2025 Trip.com served over 20 million inbound travelers, growing at almost 100% year-on-year. The company connected the
