Ocean Link, the first private equity firm focused on the fast-growing travel and tourism sector in China, today announced its strategic partnership with Ctrip, the largest online travel agency in China, and General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm.

Founded in early 2016, Ocean Link deploys both RMB- and USD-denominated funds to invest strategically and selectively across the broad value chain and sub-verticals of the travel and tourism industry in China including hotels and resorts, attractions, online and offline travel agencies and operators, transportation services, and related business solutions providers.

The firm’s initial investments include eLong, a leading mobile and online travel agency in China, Mind Education, a leading provider in China of educational tours and summer camps, Joint Wisdom, a full solution data analytics services provider for China’s hotel industry, and Ruby Hotels, a Europe-based hotel chain leading the “lean luxury” concept with expansion plans to Asia.

As a result of the new strategic partnership, Ctrip and General Atlantic both have the right to appoint a director to the board of Ocean Link.

“The travel and tourism sector in China is at a pivotal period of growth. The industry’s ongoing transition will provide Ocean Link with ample opportunities to bring capital and operational expertise to innovative companies serving the rising number of travelers in this market. Leveraging the insights and experience of Ocean Link’s investment team and the support from Ctrip and General Atlantic, we will aim to identify attractive investments in the rapidly expanding travel and tourism sector,” said Mr. James Liang, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Ctrip, who lends his industry insights after founding Ctrip in 1999, now the largest online travel agency in China providing accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours, and corporate travel management.

“General Atlantic is pleased to bring our global expertise and deep experience working with growth companies to our partnership with Ocean Link and its portfolio companies. By combining the team’s deep local reach and extensive industry experience with General Atlantic’s strong investment acumen and proven track record of success, we believe Ocean Link is well positioned to capture China’s growth in this industry,” said Mr. Eric Zhang, Managing Director and Head of China at General Atlantic, who offers more than 15 years of investing experience in China across numerous sectors, including travel and tourism, retail and consumer, and internet and technology. General Atlantic has been investing in China since 2000. Furthermore, the firm has partnered with several leading global companies operating in the travel and tourism sector including Airbnb, Aimbridge Hospitality, Decolar, FlixBus, IBS, Priceline, Smiles, and Uber.

“As increased consumption and changing consumer habits continue to shift China’s economic landscape, there is an immense opportunity for the travel and tourism sector to evolve. We are excited to welcome our strategic partners, Ctrip and General Atlantic, which bring strong investment, sector, and operational expertise to our business and, most importantly, to our portfolio companies,” said Mr. Tony Jiang, Partner of Ocean Link, who has over a decade of investment experience in the travel and tourism sector. In addition to leading investments in Ocean Link’s current portfolio, he has been previously involved in investments in New Century Kaiyuan Hotels, Crystal Orange, and Plateno Hotels Group. Prior to Ocean Link, Mr. Jiang served as a director at The Carlyle Group in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

“As Chinese entrepreneurs seek capital from investors who truly understand their businesses, Ocean Link is uniquely positioned to be a partner of choice. Our focus on the travel and tourism sector enables us to provide differentiated industry and operational capabilities to help create value for high-quality companies across the sector ecosystem,” said Mr. Zheng, Partner of Ocean Link, who brings over 20 years of travel and tourism experience, serving in leadership positions within the hotel, online travel agency, and IT solution sub-sectors. In addition to his role at Ocean Link, Mr. Zheng concurrently serves as Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Brand Architect of Plateno Hotels Group, one of China’s leading hospitality groups, which he co-founded in 2005.

China’s tourism sector has grown steadily over the past decade as Chinese nationals increase their travel both in and out of the country. According to data released by the China National Tourism Administration earlier this year, from 2014 to 2015, the total number of Chinese residents travelling domestically rose 10.5% to 4 billion, while the total number of Chinese residents travelling internationally rose 12% to 120 million. In addition, the total number of Chinese residents travelling internationally is expected to double from 120 million in 2015 to 220 million in 2025, according to Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research from November 2015.

About Ocean Link

Ocean Link is the first independent private equity firm that focuses on the growing travel and tourism sector in China. Founded in 2016, Ocean Link’s team of professionals in Shanghai and Hong Kong, combine investment acumen and industry expertise to identify opportunities along the broad value chain and sub-verticals of the fast-expanding travel and tourism sector. The firm deploys both RMB- and USD-denominated funds as part of its investment strategy. For more information visit www.oceanlp.com.

About Ctrip.com

Ctrip.com International, Ltd. is a leading travel service provider of accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours, and corporate travel management in China. It is the largest online consolidator of accommodations and transportation tickets in China in terms of transaction volume. Ctrip enables business and leisure travelers to make informed and cost-effective bookings by aggregating comprehensive travel related information and offering its services through an advanced transaction and service platform consisting of its mobile apps, Internet websites, and centralized, toll-free, 24-hour customer service center. Ctrip also helps customers book vacation packages and guided tours. In addition, through its corporate travel management services, Ctrip helps corporate clients effectively manage their travel requirements. Since its inception in 1999, Ctrip has experienced substantial growth and become one of the best-known travel brands in China. www.ctrip.com

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. Established in 1980, General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, long-term investment horizon, and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great management and build exceptional businesses worldwide. General Atlantic has more than 100 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Greenwich, Hong Kong, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, and Singapore. www.generalatlantic.com[:zh]首家专注于中国旅游与旅行业的私募股权公司Ocean Link（如下简称“Ocean Link”或“该公司”）今日宣布引入战略合作伙伴：中国最大的在线旅行服务公司携程旅行网和全球领先的成长型私募股权公司泛大西洋投资集团（General Atlantic）。

Ocean Link成立于2016年初，通过人民币基金和美元基金执行投资策略。该公司策略性、选择性地投资于中国旅游与旅行业的全产业链及其细分领域，投资范围包括酒店与度假村、旅游景点、线上和线下的旅行社与服务运营商、交通出行及行业解决方案供应商。

Ocean Link的已投企业包括中国领先的移动和在线旅行服务公司艺龙旅行网、中国领先的游学和夏令营服务商世纪明德、中国酒店业数据分析全套解决方案供应商众荟、以及位于欧洲并计划拓展至亚洲、定位为“轻奢”概念的新兴连锁酒店运营商Ruby Hotels。

引入新战略合作伙伴后，携程旅行网与泛大西洋投资集团均有权提名Ocean Link董事会一名董事候选人。

携程旅行网联合创始人、董事长兼首席执行官梁建章先生表示：“中国的旅游与旅行业处于成长发展的重要阶段。在这个持续转型的行业里，很多创新的企业为不断扩大的游客群体提供各类服务，这为Ocean Link带来了大量的机会，为这些企业带来资金和运营专长。Ocean Link将充分结合其投资团队的洞察和经验，以及携程和泛大西洋投资集团的支持，在迅速扩展的旅游、旅行业内发掘具有吸引力的投资机会。” 梁先生将为Ocean Link 带来深刻的行业见解。他于1999年创建携程旅行网，该公司是目前中国最大的在线旅行服务公司，提供酒店预订、出行预订、旅游度假及商旅管理等全方位旅行服务。

泛大西洋投资集团董事总经理兼中国区主管张弛先生表示：“泛大西洋投资集团在协助成长型企业发展上拥有全球专长和丰富经验，并将通过战略合作，与Ocean Link及其所投企业进行分享。Ocean Link的团队拥有深厚的市场根基与广泛的行业经验，再加上我们敏锐的投资触角和成功的投资业绩，我们相信他们有能力在这个迅猛成长的行业中捕捉到投资良机。”张先生在中国拥有逾15年的投资经验，曾投资于众多行业，包括旅游与旅行业、零售与消费、网络与科技等。泛大西洋投资集团自2000年起投资于中国，在旅游与旅行业中曾投资过数家全球领先的企业，包括Airbnb、Aimbridge、Hospitality、 Decolar、FlixBus、IBS、Priceline、Smiles和优步等。

Ocean Link合伙人江天一先生表示：“消费的增长及消费习惯的持续变化改变着中国的经济格局，为旅游与旅行业的进一步发展带来了巨大的机遇。我们十分欢迎战略合作伙伴携程旅行网和泛大西洋投资集团的加入。它们在投资、行业和运营上拥有过人的专长，这有助于我们的业务发展，更重要的是，我们的所投企业将受益于它们的加入。”江先生在旅游与旅行业拥有逾10年的投资经验，主导Ocean Link对所有已投企业的投资。此前他还参与对开元酒店集团、桔子水晶和铂涛集团的投��。在创立Ocean Link之前，江先生担任凯雷集团董事，在上海与香港两地办公。

Ocean Link合伙人郑南雁先生表示：“中国的创业者青睐真正理解其业务的投资者，我们的独特定位符合他们的需求。我们专注于旅游与旅行业，在行业经验与运营能力上有明显的差异优势，有能力为旅游生态系统中的优质企业增值。”郑先生在旅游与旅行业拥有逾20年的行业经验，在酒店、在线旅行服务公司与行业IT解决方案等细分领域内任多个高管职务。郑先生是中国领先的酒店集团之一铂涛集团的联合创始人、董事长和首席品牌建构师，他于2005年参与创立该集团。

中国旅游业在过往十年间持续稳步发展，中国公民境内和出境旅游人数不断增加。根据国家旅游局2016年公布的数据，在2014年至2015年期间，中国国内旅游人数达40亿人次，中国居民出境旅游人数达到1.2亿人次，同比分别增长10.5%和12%。此外，根据高盛全球投资研究2015年11月发布的数据显示，中国居民出境旅游人数预计将从2015年的1.2亿人次增加至2025年的2.2亿人次。

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关于Ocean Link

Ocean Link是首家独立的、专注于投资中国旅游与旅行业的私募股权公司。Ocean Link成立于2016年，在上海和香港的专业投资团队结合敏锐的投资触角与深厚的行业专长，致力于在迅速成长的旅游与旅行业全产业链及其细分领域内发掘投资机会。Ocean Link 通过人民币基金和美元基金执行投资策略。更多信息，请访问www.oceanlp.com。

关于携程

携程旅行网是中国领先的酒店预订、机票预订、旅游度假及商旅管理旅行服务公司。按交易量计算，携程在线整合了中国最多的酒店与机票信息。携程通过综合全方位的旅行相关信息，借助包括手机应用软件、互联网及集中运营的24小时免费客户服务中心等先进的交易和服务平台，为商务和休闲旅客更充分、更有效地进行预订提供服务。携程也协助客户预订旅游度假产品及导游服务。此外，携程商旅为企业客户的商旅需求提供有效的管理与服务。携程自 1999年成立以来发展迅速，已成为中国最著名的旅游品牌之一。更多信息，请访问www.ctrip.com。

关于泛大西洋投资集团

泛大西洋投资集团（“泛大西洋投资”）是一家全球领先的成长型私募股权投资公司，为成长型公司提供资金和战略支持。成立于1980年，泛大西洋投资结合全球性的协作方式、特定的行业专长、长期的投资期限、以及对成长动力所在的深刻理解，在全球范围内与优秀的管理团队合作，共建卓越企业。泛大西洋投资拥有超过100位专业投资人士，分布在全球各大城市，包括纽约、阿姆斯特丹、北京、格林威治、香港、伦敦、墨西哥城、孟买，慕尼黑、帕洛阿尔托、圣保罗和新加坡。更多信息，请访问www.generalatlantic.com。