Benz, Ctrip subsidiary team to offer luxury travel service

Leaders from both sides unveiled the Mercedes-Benz Travel program in Shanghai.

Mercedes-Benz is planning to build its presence in the nation's lucrative high-end tourism industry, according to the company.

It unveiled a program named Mercedes-Benz Travel with Chinese luxury travel agency HH Travel on Jan 15 in Shanghai.

The program is designed to specifically target outbound tourists, especially those traveling to Europe, making Mercedes-Benz the first automaker to tap into China's growing luxury tourism market.

Wilfried Steffen, head of Business Innovation at Daimler AG, said his department proposed the idea to HH Travel some 15 to 18 months ago to better meet customers' expectations of custom-tailored luxury travel experiences.

Established in 2012, HH Travel, a subsidiary of Ctrip, is one of the most popular travel agencies in China's luxury travel market.

Its 80-day trip around the world priced at 1.18 million yuan ($194,900) was sold out in 15 seconds after it became available in early 2013.

The partnership will not establish a joint venture.

HH Travel will mainly be responsible for marketing, and the German automaker will design and provide products, said HH Travel CEO Jack You at a press conference.

Products will be available in late February.

You said the prices have not yet been decided, adding "they won't be cheap of course, but not as expensive as a Mercedes-Benz car".

While many would simply think of such products as driving tours, Michael Bock, head of Mercedes-Benz Classic - a part of the automaker's brand communication unit - said travelers can expect to tour unusual places, approach famous destinations from a new angle, and have a look behind curtains due to the automaker's networks and resources worldwide.

A promotional video before the press conference shows that clients meeting Karl Lagerfeld after enjoying a fashion shows in Paris, observing the Mona Lisa while chatting with the curator of the Louver, test-driving the automaker's new models and visiting its headquarters in Germany.

Sun Jie, chief operating officer of HH Travel's parent company Ctrip, said she is convinced that the cooperation will bear fruitful results because the two companies share the same commitment to quality.

"Ctrip has some 110 million clients. Of them, those who book five-star hotels and first-class and business class cabins are the joint program's target customers. "Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz has rich, unique resources that can enrich our products that other travel agencies probably cannot provide."

Nicolas Speeks, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Co, said the program is also an effort to better serve Benz customers and further enhance its brand influence.

"We put forward customer orientation in 2013 as one of our most important strategies in China and a fundamental part of this is to understand Chinese customers and provide them with everything they need and value," said Speeks in a speech at the press conference.

Mercedes-Benz sold 230,000 units in China in 2013, up 11 percent from the previous year.

Despite the program's name, it is available to all clients "who have a desire for quality travel no matter whether they drive a Mercedes-Benz car or not", said Steffen, adding that "they will come as guests and leave as friends".