Ctrip.com (CTRP), the leading Chinese online travel company, is my replacement for Accor as a way to profit from the increased travel in China that comes with rising income. Ctrip.com seems to be profiting from this trend in two ways.
First, its business is growing as more Chinese book airline tickets, hotel rooms and other travel products. Hotel and airline ticket revenue at Ctrip.com grew by 41% and 45%, respectively, year to year in the third quarter.
Second, the company looks like it’s grabbing market share from smaller travel operators. According to Deutsche Bank, Ctrip.com’s nearest competitor eLong grew hotel and airline ticket revenue by just 5% and 27%, respectively, year to year in the third quarter. Â
I added this stock to the Jubak Picks 50 long-term portfolio on January 5 in my annual update of that portfolio https://jubakpicks.com/2010/01/05/10-stocks-for-the-next-10-years-from-a-portfolio-up-58-in-its-first-year/. The stock closed at $76.55 that day and that’s the purchase price I’ll use to track these shares. (Even though I’ve ben so swamped that I’m not posting this buy until January 20 when the shares closed at $70.71).
Full disclosure: I own shares of Ctrip.com in my personal portfolio.
