Wanda acquires travel agency, establishes joint venture
Oct 10,2013
Representatives of Beijing Wanda Tourism Investment Co Ltd and Hubei New Line International Travel Agency Co Ltd sign the acquisition agreement.
The signing ceremony and press conference for the acquisition.
Wanda Group's Beijing Wanda Tourism Investment Co Ltd held a signing ceremony and press conference for its acquisition of Hubei New Line International Travel Agency Co Ltd in Wanda Realm Hotel in Wuhan on October 10.
This move marks Wanda's first step into the travel agency business.
According to the agreement, the two companies will establish a joint venture named Hubei Wanda New Line International Travel Agency Co Ltd. Beijing Wanda Tourism Investment Co Ltd will be the joint venture's holding company.
Wanda Group has made several big leaps forward in the cultural tourism business. Its world-class projects not only accelerated the development and innovation of China's cultural tourism industry, but also caught the world's attention.
The new travel agency will serve Wanda's cultural tourism projects in terms of communication, marketing, customer service, etc. It aims to become the leading travel agency in the province by the end of 2015.
"Wanda will expand its overseas tourism business while further tap the potential in the domestic market. The joint venture will develop special travelling routes to enhance its core competitiveness," said Xie Hong, General Manger of the joint venture at the press conference.
"In Wuhan, the company will focus on Wanda's cultural tourism projects, such as Han Show, Film Theme Park, Chu River Han Street and Wanda's hotels," he said.
Officials from Hubei Provincial Tourism Administration and Wuhan Municipal Tourism Administration also attended the ceremony.
Qian Yuankun, Chief Director of the Hubei Provincial Tourism Administration praised the cooperation between Wanda and the local travel agency and welcomes Wanda Group to develop travel agency business in the province.
Mo Yueming, Vice President of Wanda Culture Industry Group, revealed that the reasons why Wanda chose Hubei to start the travel agency business are because Hubei's tourism is developing very fast, Wanda has many important cultural tourism projects in the province, and the Hubei New Line International Travel Agency, with a mature network, is an ideal choice for acquisition.
Hubei New Line International Travel Agency Co Ltd is among China's top 100 travel agencies in 2012 and among Hubei's first 5A-grade travel agencies. It is also qualified to arrange travelling to Taiwan Province.
In the future, Beijing Wanda Tourism Investment Co Ltd plans to acquire more travel agencies in China's major tourism cities and the Wanda's cultural tourism destinations. The company expects to become one of China's top 3 travel agencies and become a role model in this arena within 5 years.