Dalian Wanda invests $560m in online travel agency

Dalian Wanda Group branched out into online tourism on Friday after investing 3.5 billion yuan ($560 million) in a travel agency.

The commercial property giant already has a major presence in the tourism sector with a chain of Wanda travel agencies. But now the company is moving online to expand its business after becoming the latest investor in the Tongcheng Network Technology Share Company.

"The investment into Tongcheng will help us foster an ecosystem covering online platforms, offline channels and tourism destinations," Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Wanda Group, said.

A fund owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd has also invested in Tongcheng during this latest round of funding.

The online travel agency was rolled out in 2004 and has raised 6 billion yuan ($966 million) from investors – a record amount for the online tourism industry.

Wu Zhixiang, CEO of Tongcheng, said the new investment values the company at 13 billion yuan. Tongcheng will now work closely with Wanda's chain of traditional travel agencies and its other commercial businesses.