SHANGHAI, China, Dec. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ctrip Group’s Oasis Lab, the largest travel innovation hub in Asia, signed a strategic partnership with Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley-based global innovation platform for startups, corporations and investors, aiming to support innovation in the travel industry.
As Plug and Play’s first global partner in the travel vertical, Ctrip will play an active role in Plug and Play’s ecosystem worldwide and will contribute to the technology focus areas of Plug and Play’s Travel & Hospitality platform particularly in China. These include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data Analytics, Natural Language Processing, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Internet of Things, etc.
Through its collaboration with Plug and Play, Ctrip will gain immediate access to the largest corporate innovation platform in the world, comprised of promising early and late stage startups from around the globe, bringing product, process and business model innovation to the travel and hospitality industry. As an official partner of Plug and Play’s open innovation ecosystem, Ctrip will share insights and draw inspiration through collaboration with renowned corporations from various industries. Together, Ctrip and Plug and Play aim to elevate a traveller’s journey by creating a more seamless end-to-end experience from pre-trip inspiration to post-trip reflection.
The strategic partnership between Ctrip and Plug and Play will also create a new sourcing channel for Ctrip’s Oasis Lab to invest in early-stage startups. Plug and Play was cited by Silicon Valley Business Journal as the most active investor over the past two years with 262 investments in 2017, of which 162 were made in North America. Prior to Ctrip, Plug and Play Travel & Hospitality already partnered with 24 corporations across sectors such as airports, hotels, online travel agencies and travel management companies. Some of the notable names include Manchester Airport Group, Changi Airport, Star Alliance, JetBlue Technology Ventures, AirAsia, Delta Air Lines, Singapore Airlines, Accor Hotels, TUI Group, Yotel, trivago, Carlson Wagonlit Travel and Flight Centre Travel Group.
Oasis Lab is an extension of Ctrip Group’s internal incubation program focusing on providing opportunities for innovation in the consumption sector. Oasis Lab focuses on early-stage and angel-round investments that emphasize the potential of an idea to turn into future growth. Plug and Play Travel & Hospitality, as one of Plug and Play’s fourteen industry-themed verticals, aims to discover, support and scale disruptive technologies that are defining the future of travel.
Margaret Feng, Head of Ctrip Oasis Lab said, “Plug and Play is an important global platform. Ctrip’s partnership maximizes our global exposure and as we leverage our resources, we are able to foster innovation and enhance ideas from the travel and hospitality industry.”
“We are delighted to bring Ctrip on board as one of the top Chinese internet companies. Our ecosystem enables unparalleled horizontal access for Ctrip’s Oasis Lab to review strategic investment opportunities globally,” said Lio Chen, Managing Director at Plug and Play. “While Ctrip has already made Forbes list of World’s Most Innovative Companies, we at Plug and Play are committed to discovering new catalysts to fuel Ctrip’s pursuit of innovation in product services to meet the ever-changing demand of travelers.”
About Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. is a leading travel service provider of accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and corporate travel management in China. It is the largest online consolidator of accommodations and transportation tickets in China in terms of transaction volume. Ctrip enables business and leisure travelers to make informed and cost-effective bookings by aggregating comprehensive travel related information and offering its services through an advanced transaction and service platform consisting of its mobile apps, Internet websites and centralized, toll-free, 24-hour customer service center. Ctrip also helps customers book vacation packages and guided tours. In addition, through its corporate travel management services, Ctrip helps corporate clients effectively manage their travel requirements. Since its inception in 1999, Ctrip has experienced substantial growth and become one of the best-known travel brands in China.
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 10,000 startups and 280 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries, including Travel & Hospitality. We currently work with JetBlue Technology Ventures, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Accor Hotels, AirAsia, Swissport, Star Alliance, trivago, Delta Air Lines, Changi Airport, TUI Group and many more. We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, and PayPal. For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com
For further information, please contact:
International PR
Ctrip.com International, ltd.
Tel: (+86) 21 3406 4880 ext 196455
Email: Pr@ctrip.com
Plug and Play China
Marcy Li
MARCOM Manager
Tel: +86-10-8288 8112
Email: xuena.li@pnpchina.com
Plug and Play Contact
Allison Romero
Director, Marketing
Email: allison@pnptc.com