SHANGHAI, China, May 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), the largest online travel agency in Asia, and the World Wide Fund for Nature China WWF China）signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Shanghai on 16 May 2019 to begin a strategic partnership. As a follow-up to the MoU, on the same day, the two parties announced a sustainable eco-tourism initiative with over 10 other partners, with the first project entitled “Exploring Fantastic Creatures” to be launched soon.
Ctrip and WWF China aim to enhance public awareness of biodiversity and transform travel products into environmental-friendly ones. About one million species of animals and plants are currently threatened with extinction, with many projected to become extinct within the next few decades.
“Last year, Ctrip and our international brand Trip.com made four commitments at the fourth Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade 2018 in London. We pledged to use our mobile applications, websites, offline stores and other resources to increase public awareness of the illegal wildlife trade,” said Xinyu Li, Vice President of Ctrip. “We also utilized social media and our virtual travel managers to inform customers travelling Thailand about the ban on ivory trading.”
Jessica Zhang, General Manager of Ctrip Theme Travel, added, “The travel industry is closely related to the fight to preserve biodiversity and the environment. Ctrip’s work with industry partners seeks to make a meaningful contribution to the protection of our global environment.”
“The tourism industry links the natural and cultural resources of the world through servicing millions of travelers. Through our partnership with Ctrip, we hope we can influence more travel industry players to incorporate sustainable development into their business strategies and spread the idea of responsible tourism to more travelers,” said Fei Zhou, Chief Program Officer of WWF China.
A key component of the joint initiative in sustainable ecotourism is the provision of a behavior handbook to travelers. Travelers are provided tips on not carrying animal or plant products across borders without specific certificates of CITES and inspection & quarantine. They are also alerted not to feed or touch wild animals; buy, carry or transport wild animals and its products; make noises or use flashlights to interfere with wild animals and are encouraged to save local resources and not to waste water and food.
On 22 May 2019, the International Day for Biological Diversity, Ctrip and WWF China will launch the initiative of “Exploring Fantastic Creatures” charity photo shooting project, which allows Ctrip users to upload photos and short videos of nature to Trip Moments, Ctrip’s content sharing platform.
About Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. is a leading provider of online travel and related services, including accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, package tour and in-destination services, corporate travel management, and other travel related services. It 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. The family of travel brands mainly includes: Ctrip, the largest online travel agency in terms of gross merchandise value and the best-known travel brand in China; Qunar, a leading online travel agency in China; Trip.com, an online travel agency for global consumers; and Skyscanner, a leading global travel search site. Since its inception in 1999, Ctrip Group has experienced substantial growth and become one of the largest travel service providers in the world.
About WWF China
WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent organizations dedicated to the conservation of nature. Since the first office was founded in Switzerland in 1961, WWF has grown into a global network active in more than 100 countries with almost five million supporters. WWF has been active in China since 1980, when it was invited by the Chinese government as the first international NGO to work on nature conservation. WWF has more than 120 staff working in China on a broad range of conservation programmes including species, freshwater, forest, marine, climate change and energy, the green economy and footprint.
For further information, please contact:
International PR
Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
Email: Pr@ctrip.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dc6a1ce8-d853-4bbb-bfa3-0ce8e8294327