Ctrip offers intercity car rental services in east China

Shanghai, March 27 (Gasgoo.com) Ctrip.com International Ltd., China's one-stop online travel services provider, has expanded its car rental services to intercity car rental. The new rental services cover east China's six urban centers: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Kunshan, Wuxi and Suzhou. Ctrip now offers clients exclusive pick-up and drop-off services between either airports in two cities, or an airport and another city.

Rental fee varies with different pick-up locations, destinations and car brands. Chauffeured car rental prices are fairly reasonable. For example, clients looking to be driven from the Shanghai International Airport to a location in Suzhou -- a distance of about 80 kilometers -- can expect to pay around RMB 100 ($14). Yet unlike in most Western countries, customers must remember that Ctrip and other Chinese firms often quote per-person rates.

According to Guo Guang, chief inspector for Ctrip's car rental and holiday services, many customers are satisfied with the company's car rental services, and over 50% of them said they would use the services again this year, as Ctrip has developed a reputation for offering top quality vehicles, knowledgeable drivers, and complimentary insurance coverage.

Guo believes that the upcoming 2008 Beijing Summer Games are likely to make chauffeured car rentals much more popular and the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 will probably sustain this positive trend in the coming years.

Car rental service providers in China are expanding their offerings, ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, in anticipation of a significant spike in the number of foreign visitors who will look to rent vehicles from Chinese firms.