Tuniu (NASDAQ:TOUR) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results that management said reflected continued post-pandemic momentum, with revenue growth led by its core package tour business and a return to profitability for both the quarter and the full year.
Founder, Chairman, and CEO Donald Yu said net revenues rose 20% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, exceeding the company’s prior guidance, while revenue from package tour products grew 35% from a year earlier. Yu also said the company achieved profitability for both the quarter and the year, marking the third consecutive year of full-year non-GAAP profitability following the pandemic.
Shareholder return plan and market backdrop
On industry conditions, Yu said the travel market “continued to grow in a healthy manner” in the past year, citing the extension of national holidays and other favorable policies that stimulated domestic travel demand, as well as an increase in visa-free destinations that made overseas travel easier for Chinese travelers.
Product strategy: differentiated tours and self-guided growth
Yu said Tuniu adopted a more proactive product strategy in 2025 by differentiating products and targeting distinct customer segments with a “richer, more tailored portfolio,” while leveraging supply-chain capabilities to enhance price competitiveness.
He emphasized supply-chain initiatives including enhanced direct and centralized procurement to lower purchasing costs, as well as consolidating flight resources and introducing connecting flights for select long-haul products to niche destinations. Yu said this expanded departure city coverage—particularly for travelers from lower-tier cities—while enabling the company to capture airline discounts in hub cities. He added that many hubs, including Chengdu and Urumqi, are tourist destinations themselves, allowing travelers to combine stopovers with nearby visits. As an example, Yu said Tuniu’s Caucasus series using connecting flights recorded more than 500% year-over-year growth in transaction volume in 2025.
On segment-focused offerings, Yu highlighted the company’s “Niu Tour” products, which he described as serving experienced travelers and repeat customers who prioritize the travel experience and often have more flexibility in time and budget. He said Niu Tour expanded niche destination offerings in 2025, including organized tours to the Caucasus region in April and South America in October. He also said the company enhanced the Niu Tour experience by implementing a “zero shopping policy” throughout trips, with some products incorporating curated experiences such as Michelin-star dining and helicopter tours.
Yu also discussed the “Niu Select” series, launched in the second half of 2024, which he said broadened the company’s product selection with more cost-effective options and expanded to additional price tiers. In 2025, Tuniu expanded Niu Select to cover more international destinations, and Yu said the more competitive pricing attracted a wider customer base. As a product example, he said the Niu Select Singapore-Malaysia tour series launched in June recorded more than 10,000 paid bookings during the summer holiday period.
Management also noted rising demand for self-guided tours in domestic travel. Yu said Tuniu expanded supply for its “Hotel + X” products, using dynamic packaging technology, broadened coverage to all provinces in mainland China, and further penetrated lower-tier markets. He said transaction volume for self-drive tour products posted triple-digit year-over-year growth during the 2025 Labor Day and National Day holidays.
Channel expansion: live streaming, offline stores, and corporate clients
Yu said Tuniu continued to diversify distribution channels, with contributions from live streaming, offline stores, and corporate clients increasing as a share of transaction volume. He described live streaming as an increasingly important channel, stating that both payment and verification volume posted double-digit year-over-year growth in 2025 and that the channel achieved profitability on a standalone basis.
Yu said live streaming contributed more than 15% of total transaction volume in 2025, up from about 10% in 2024. He attributed growth to an expanded offering set that went beyond hotel-plus-attraction packages to include personalized services such as travel photography and higher-ticket items including long-haul outbound travel products, as well as competitive pricing supported by the company’s supply chain. He also said Tuniu increased outdoor live streaming formats, including broadcasts from destination sites. As an example, Yu said Tuniu partnered with multiple live streamers in March last year for a 21-day on-site campaign across 10 islands in the Maldives that generated cumulative sales of more than RMB 100 million.
Offline stores remained a key part of the company’s sales and service network, Yu said. As of the end of 2025, Tuniu operated more than 400 stores nationwide and expanded presence in key cities, including tourist destinations and transportation hubs such as Chengdu and Xi’an. He said transaction volume from offline stores rose by nearly 20% year-over-year in 2025.
Yu added that Tuniu continued to build channels through traffic platforms and corporate clients, with channel-specific product tailoring. He said sales of standalone products such as air tickets and hotel bookings grew rapidly on traffic platforms. For corporate clients, he said Tuniu provided business travel booking while also offering customized group travel solutions and personal and family vacation products for employees; transaction value from corporate clients increased by more than 20% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Technology initiatives and financial results
Yu said the company is exploring AI agent applications across business scenarios. He noted that in April the company launched a self-developed travel AI agent and assistant, “Xiao Niu,” which he said provides services including smart search, automated price comparisons, personalized recommendations, and dynamic packaging by integrating travel application scenarios with large language models. Yu said adoption of AI tools has grown among customers and employees, improving efficiency and supporting operating cost control. He also said the company began providing external AI agents access to travel booking capabilities via an MCP interface, enabling search and bookings.
Financial controller Anqiang Chen reported fourth-quarter 2025 net revenues of RMB 123.5 million, up 20% year-over-year. Package tour revenues were RMB 102.1 million, up 35% year-over-year, and represented 83% of total net revenues; Chen said the increase was driven primarily by growth in organized tours and self-guided tours. Other revenues declined 21% year-over-year to RMB 21.5 million, which he attributed primarily to lower merchandise sales.
Gross profit in the fourth quarter was RMB 17.0 million, “almost in line” with the prior-year quarter, Chen said. Operating expenses were RMB 69.0 million, down 16% year-over-year, with research and product development expenses of RMB 12.3 million (down 8%), sales and marketing expenses of RMB 44.1 million (up 3% on higher promotion expenses), and general and administrative expenses of RMB 12.8 million (down 52% due mainly to an impairment charge recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024). Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB 1.5 million, and non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB 3.5 million.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, Chen said Tuniu had RMB 1.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, and long-term deposits. Operating cash flow was RMB 68.8 million in the quarter, and capital expenditures were RMB 0.5 million.
For full-year 2025, Chen reported net revenues of RMB 578.0 million, up 13% year-over-year. Package tour revenues rose 21% to RMB 493.5 million and represented 85% of total net revenues, again driven primarily by organized and self-guided tours. Other revenues declined 20% to RMB 84.5 million, which Chen attributed to lower commission fees from other travel-related products.
Gross profit for 2025 was RMB 335.0 million, down 6% year-over-year. Operating expenses were RMB 323.7 million, up 10%, including research and product development expenses of RMB 59.0 million (up 12%), sales and marketing expenses of RMB 193.9 million (up 8%), and general and administrative expenses of RMB 71.8 million (down 18%). Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB 31.1 million, while non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB 42.6 million. Capital expenditures totaled RMB 4.4 million for the year.
Looking ahead, Chen said Tuniu expects first-quarter 2026 net revenues of $125.7 million to $131.6 million, representing year-over-year growth of 7% to 12%, noting the forecast reflects the company’s current preliminary view and is subject to change. The call concluded without any questions during the Q&A session.
About Tuniu (NASDAQ:TOUR)
Tuniu International Limited is a China-based online leisure travel company that operates a comprehensive travel services platform under the brand name Tuniu (NASDAQ: TOUR). Headquartered in Nanjing, the company was founded in 2006 and was incorporated in the Cayman Islands in May 2010. Tuniu completed its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market in December 2014, positioning itself to expand its suite of digital travel offerings and strengthen its strategic partnerships with suppliers and local agencies.
The company’s flagship platform, tuniu.com, provides a broad array of travel products and services, including packaged group tours, customized private tours, independent travel solutions, corporate travel management, hotel and resort bookings, air ticketing, cruise vacations and car rentals.
