Chinese web giants come together to make travel "smarter"

Two of China's biggest digital brands are collaborating in a bid to develop "intelligent tourism" in the country.

E-commerce platform Baidu will deploy its Baidu Cloud platform and computing capability to help online travel agency Ctrip improve a range of internal and customer-facing processes.

Baidu is best known for its search engine, launched in the early 2000s, but has since made a big push into artificial intelligence and other next-generation technologies.

Elements of the partnership include powering tailored travel plans based on a user's interests and preferences across the networks.

As well as helping with its IT infrastructure, Ctrip will also use Baidu's platform to assist with other elements of the company, including a project to digitize the online travel agency's customer services unit.

The pair have committed to developing other so-called smart services such as voice technology and autonomous driving capabilities.

Baidu's platform will also be used in Ctrip's marketing, sales, customer acquisition strategy and web performance tools.

* Check out this interview with Ctrip's chief financial officer Cindy Wang during The Phocuswright Conference 2018 in Los Angeles.