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Tencent Holdings is leading a $250 million investment in Chinese travel site Mafengwo, expanding its footprint in a fast-growing online travel and content sphere.
The Beijing-based company also attracted General Atlantic and Qiming Venture Partners to its latest funding round, Mafengwo said in a statement.
Nine-year-old Mafengwo — which means “hornets’ nest” — helps Chinese travelers seeking destination and sightseeing recommendations from fellow globetrotters. Operating a model akin to TripAdvisor, it’s competing for the world’s largest population of tourists, and travel operators who want to reach a fast-growing domestic audience.
China’s online travel industry is expected to grow 18 percent to $143 billion (988 billion yuan) of transactions this year, according to consultancy iResearch. Mafengwo began letting users book hotels via its site in 2015 and has doubled transaction volumes annually over the past four years, it said. This week, the company established a partnership with Hong Kong-listed Tongcheng-Elong Holdings to build a one-stop service that helps users book hotels and flights faster after reviewing content on Mafengwo’s platform.
Officially known as Beijing Mafengwo Network Technology, the company counts Singapore’s Temasek Holdings as a backer and raised $133 million during its last round of financing in December 2017. The startup plans to use the new funds to develop artificial intelligence technology and improve user recommendations.
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
This article was written by Lulu Yilun Chen from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
Photo Credit: Chinese travelers capturing the moment. Lulu Yilun Chen / Bloomberg
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