CEO Suddenly Resigns! Cashed Out Over 700 Million Yuan Last Year

Beijing Time, February 26th, Ctrip Group (Nasdaq: TCOM; Hong Kong Stock Exchange: 9961) announced its unaudited financial results for Q4 and the full year of 2025: In 2025, Ctrip’s total revenue was 62.4 billion RMB, up 17% year-over-year. Net profit attributable to Ctrip Group shareholders was 33.29 billion RMB, a 95% increase year-over-year, mainly due to investment gains of 19.9 billion RMB included in other (expenses)/income for the full year of 2025 (compared to 1.1 billion RMB in 2024).

Along with the earnings release, Ctrip announced a series of board changes: Co-founder and President Fan Min resigned from his roles as director and president of Ctrip, and co-founder Ji Qi resigned from the board. Notably, Fan Min reduced his holdings of Ctrip stock four times in 2025, cashing out approximately 760 million RMB in total.

Ctrip’s board appointed Wu Yihong and Xiao Yang as new independent directors. According to public information, Wu Yihong has experience working at Home Inn, Alibaba Health, and MakeMyTrip (a major OTA platform in India); Xiao Yang has over 15 years of investment banking experience. “This appointment reflects the board’s ongoing commitment to maintaining diverse expertise and innovative perspectives to effectively guide the company’s evolving strategy and oversee future opportunities and risks,” Ctrip stated. These changes will take effect from February 25, 2026.

**** Core OTA Transaction Volume Reaches 1.1 Trillion RMB ****

Airfare Accounts for Half

In Q4 2025, thanks to resilient travel demand, Ctrip Group’s net revenue was 15.4 billion RMB, up 21% year-over-year, but down 16% quarter-over-quarter mainly due to seasonal factors. Revenue from accommodation bookings, transportation tickets, travel and leisure, and corporate travel management were 6.3 billion RMB (up 21%), 5.4 billion RMB (up 12%), 1.1 billion RMB (up 21%), and 808 million RMB (up 15%), respectively. During this period, net profit attributable to Ctrip Group shareholders was 4.281 billion RMB, up 98% year-over-year, but down from 19.89 billion RMB in the previous quarter, mainly due to investment income included in other (expenses)/income in the prior quarter.

For the full year of 2025, Ctrip’s core OTA transaction volume reached 1.1 trillion RMB, with accommodation and airfare contributing approximately 280 billion RMB (25%) and 550 billion RMB (50%), respectively. International markets remain a growth highlight. Ctrip CEO Sun Jie said that in 2025, international OTA platform bookings increased by about 60% year-over-year, accounting for 40% of total revenue, up from 35% last year, and this momentum is expected to continue. The company served about 20 million inbound travelers annually, a number that is rapidly growing, with an almost 100% year-over-year increase.

“Travel is not just an industry; it’s a key economic infrastructure that promotes connections, accelerates flows, and enables shared growth,” said Liang Jianzhang, Executive Chairman of Ctrip’s Board. “Inbound tourism is a vital force for expanding opportunities and fostering local community development.” Ctrip will continue investing in inbound tourism, social responsibility, and AI innovation.

Sun Jie further mentioned during the earnings call that in 2025, Ctrip invested over 1 billion RMB to boost the inbound tourism market. Initiatives include strengthening platform infrastructure, collaborating with global influencers to promote Chinese destinations, and offering free transfer tours for international travelers. “More than 40 cities on our platform contribute significantly to inbound tourism, and these visitors also drive consumption growth. Our goal is to double this number by 2026.” “Chinese inbound tourism is entering a period of significant and sustainable growth.”

Liang Jianzhang Responds to AI Disruption:

Travel services cannot rely solely on algorithms

Ahead of the Spring Festival, multiple travel platforms partnered with large-scale AI models to iterate booking products, capturing holiday travel traffic and triggering a major boom in AI-powered travel bookings. Data shows that during the entire Spring Festival holiday, AI booking orders increased by over 800% compared to before the holiday, with young people frequently consulting AI about local Spring Festival customs, and simple, affordable AI ticket bookings being the most popular.

Regarding AI, Liang Jianzhang stated that artificial intelligence and vertical domain large models will form the core of Ctrip’s long-term strategy. The company will accelerate the development of industry-specific large models tailored to the complexities of travel operations, deeply integrating industry intelligence into search, recommendations, supply chain management, and service fulfillment to improve operational efficiency and meet users’ needs for complex travel planning and booking. “AI agents will become the next-generation user traffic entry points, potentially capturing market share from traditional search and social media platforms. We are working with leading global AI partners to build direct transaction capabilities between agents.”

During the earnings call, an investor asked about the impact of generative AI large models on travel platforms. Liang Jianzhang responded that Ctrip is actively shaping the role of these technologies in the travel industry, not just adapting to them. Compared to algorithms, Ctrip’s advantages lie in long-term accumulated data, global supply chains, and service assurance systems. “The core of online travel agency models rests on three pillars: inspiration, transactions, and services. While AI agents excel at travel planning, they also reinforce the importance of transactions and services—true travel chains involve not only itinerary planning but also complex global supply chains that require deep integration of multiple resources. These are the core strengths of our business.”

“Although AI offers many options, we can help users book in real-time with current prices. Travel is also an emotional purchase; when plans go awry, travelers need reliable support, not just algorithms. Our 24/7 global support network provides trust and security that AI cannot match,” Liang Jianzhang concluded.