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Binance-Backed Travala.com Enters China's Fast-Recovering Travel Market

"In China, the recovery is happening now and very fast,” said Travala.com CEO Juan Otero.

By Danny Nelson
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:57 a.m. Published Sep 17, 2020, 8:37 p.m.
China's domestic flights are back to pre-pandemic levels, and hotel bookings are surging, too. (Göran Höglund/Flickr)
China's domestic flights are back to pre-pandemic levels, and hotel bookings are surging, too. (Göran Höglund/Flickr)

Travala.com has begun courting tourists in China, one of the few regions in this pandemic-restricted world where travel is rebounding to pre-crisis levels.

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  • The Binance-backed online travel agency has launched a Chinese language website, rolled out a regional customer support team and began marketing to travelers in the country on Thursday.
  • CEO Juan Otero told CoinDesk the move positions Travala.com to capitalize on domestic jet-setters and hotel guests in one of the world’s only stabilized travel economies.
  • “Europe, the U.S. and our other strong markets will potentially take a good three to four months to recover, whereas in China, the recovery is happening now and very fast,” Otero said.
  • China’s beating everyone in travel recovery: Domestic flight bookings are back to pre-COVID-19 levels and hotels are filling up for the upcoming Golden Week holiday – at least in Macau.
  • “China is one of the largest domestic travel markets in the world, together with the U.S. and one of the fastest growing as well,” Otero said.
  • Travala.com will also soon begin accepting WeChat pay in addition to its current lineup of cryptocurrencies, Otero said.

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