The sword of Damocles of regulation has fallen, presenting Trip.com with unprecedented challenges. On January 14th, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced that, based on preliminary investigations and in accordance with the "Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China," it has initiated a formal investigation into Trip.com Group Limited on suspicion of abusing its dominant market position to engage in monopolistic practices. Following the announcement of the investigation, Trip.com immediately felt the impact in the capital markets. Its Hong Kong-listed shares closed down 6.49% for the day, resulting in a significant evaporation of market capitalization, while its U.S.-listed stock saw a pre-market plunge of over 15.70%. In response to the investigation, Trip.com swiftly issued an official statement, affirming that it would "actively cooperate with the regulatory investigation, fully implement regulatory requirements, and work with all industry participants to build a sustainable market environment." The company emphasized that all its business operations are currently running normally and that it remains committed to providing high-quality services for users and partners. This立案 by the State Administration for Market Regulation was not a sudden move. The phrasing "based on preliminary investigations" in the announcement indicates that regulators had already conducted thorough groundwork, evidence collection, and preliminary assessment. It is understood that Trip.com was founded in 1999, starting with hotel bookings and flight ticket agency services before gradually expanding into comprehensive travel services. Through a series of strategic acquisitions, Trip.com expanded rapidly. Between 2014 and 2018, it successively completed the merger with Qunar and the acquisition of Skyscanner, building a brand portfolio covering multiple market segments. According to its third-quarter 2025 financial report, Trip.com achieved revenue of 18.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16%; its net profit reached 19.9 billion yuan, soaring 192.6% compared to the previous year. In terms of market share, data from Bank of Communications International estimates for 2024 show that Trip.com held a commanding 56% share of the OTA market based on Gross Merchandise Volume, solidifying its leading industry position. In the capital markets, Trip.com listed on the NASDAQ in the United States in December 2003; in April 2021, it completed a secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange via an introduction listing. By 2025, based on market capitalization alone, Trip.com had firmly secured its place among China's top ten internet companies. Since 2023, with the recovery of the tourism market, competition within the industry has also intensified. Just in 2025, JD.com entered the hotel and travel sector, launching a primary "Life & Travel" entry on its app homepage alongside introducing a "no-bundling" air ticket service and hotel subsidies; Fliggy, as part of Alibaba's major consumption platform, saw its fulfilled GMV during the 2025 National Day-Mid-Autumn Festival holiday surge 48% year-on-year. Furthermore, QuestMobile data for 2025 indicated that as of June, user overlap among the three major platforms—Trip.com, Meituan, and JD.com—had increased significantly, with the overlapping user base reaching 65.21 million, a 20.4% year-on-year growth. This phenomenon reflects the intensifying competition in the online travel market, the growing prevalence of price comparison across platforms by users, and the gradual blurring of service boundaries between platforms. It is also due to this fierce competition that some of Trip.com's practices have drawn dissatisfaction from both merchants and consumers, ultimately prompting regulatory intervention. Analysts at Huatai Securities had previously expressed a cautious stance in a research report, stating, "The monopoly investigation and potential compliance rectifications facing Trip.com could pressure its profit growth over the next 1-2 years; simultaneously, intensified industry competition might trigger price wars, further eroding profit margins." In fact, since last year, some local market regulators had already held talks with Trip.com. In August 2025, the Guizhou Provincial Market Supervision Administration collectively interviewed Trip.com and four other travel-related platform companies. This meeting addressed potential issues such as enforcing "pick-one" exclusivity, using technical means to interfere with merchant pricing, canceling or raising prices after order confirmation, price fraud, and price gouging. In September, the Zhengzhou Market Supervision Bureau conducted an administrative interview with the operating entity of Ctrip (Trip.com's Chinese platform) in accordance with the law, issuing a "Rectification Order" requiring it to complete tasks including revising contract terms and optimizing price adjustment tools. More publicly known was the action taken in December of last year, when the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Homestay Association率先 initiated anti-monopoly rights protection work targeting OTA platforms, directly pointing the finger at Trip.com and others. The association stated: "In recent years, the association has received a large number of complaints from members, reporting that OTA platforms like Trip.com, leveraging their dominant market position, have engaged in unfair competition practices against the Yunnan homestay industry, including, but not limited to, 'pick-one'霸王条款 and unilateral, arbitrary commission increases." On the user side, many customers have accused Trip.com of "big data price discrimination." As of January 14th, searching the Hei Mao Complaints platform with the keyword "Trip.com" yielded 160,000 complaints, while a search for "Trip.com big data price discrimination" resulted in 101 complaints, with the top consumer descriptions primarily concerning short-term fluctuations in air ticket prices. Trip.com's current investigation represents the latest case in the deepening anti-monopoly regulation of China's internet platform economy. Looking back over the past few years, China's internet anti-monopoly efforts have evolved from non-existence to a established framework. In December 2020, the Central Economic Work Conference explicitly called for "strengthening anti-monopoly measures and preventing the unregulated expansion of capital" for the first time. Subsequently, a series of heavy anti-monopoly blows followed: in 2021, Alibaba was fined 18.228 billion yuan for "pick-one" monopolistic behavior; Meituan was also investigated for the same reason and later fined 3.442 billion yuan. Furthermore, Article 57 of the "Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" clearly stipulates that business operators who abuse a dominant market position shall be ordered by the anti-monopoly enforcement agency to cease the illegal activities, have illegal gains confiscated, and be fined between 1% and 10% of their sales revenue from the previous year. Returning to the tourism industry, this anti-monopoly investigation could potentially become a watershed moment for China's online travel sector. Following regulatory intervention, the industry's competitive landscape may be reshaped, granting small and medium-sized merchants more room for development, while consumers can hopefully look forward to a fairer and more transparent consumption environment.
Comments