What Kaytrip does

Kaytrip (开元周游集团 / Kaiyuan Zhouyou Group) is a Chinese-language travel and lifestyle services conglomerate founded in Munich, Germany in October 2002 to serve outbound Chinese tourists traveling in Europe. The group's core product is a multi-language e-commerce travel platform (supporting Simplified/Traditional Chinese, English, and German) that sells tour packages — coach circuit tours, customized private tours, small group tours, day trips, study tours, cruise packages, and free travel products — to Chinese consumers in Europe, alongside integrated flight ticketing (via IATA membership), hotel booking, visa processing, attraction tickets, airport transfers, and travel insurance.

Underlying the booking interface is a multi-channel distribution architecture combining a direct-to-consumer website (kaytrip.com), native mobile apps, a WeChat mini-program, and 17 physical service centers across Europe and China. Beyond tourism, the group operates seven additional sub-brands that monetize overlapping customer relationships: WTTX GmbH for cross-border logistics, Honssan GmbH for e-commerce (joy.eu, kaytrip shop, plus presence on JD.com, Taobao, Xiaohongshu, Suning, Pinduoduo), a German food delivery platform, an Asian grocery e-commerce site, Kaiyuan Media (开元网) for Chinese-language news and community, a business consulting arm serving Chinese enterprises entering Europe, and the Kaiyuan Star Trace (开元星迹) education and immigration brand launched in 2019.

The business model combines transactional revenue (tour margins, ticketing commissions, e-commerce marketplace commissions, logistics fees) with professional services revenue (consulting, education/immigration, advertising). Pricing spans €35 day trips through €3,958 premium extended tours, with a voucher and points system (通宝积分) to drive repeat purchases. Distribution spans direct digital channels, a campus agent referral program at European universities, and partnerships with travel agents. Reported scale includes 100,000+ tourists served annually, 1,000+ tour products, 500+ employees across Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Denmark, the UK, Spain, Mexico, Vietnam, China, and Australia, and operational reach into 1M+ registered users on its owned media platform.

Name

Kaytrip

Legal name

北京开元周游国际旅行社股份有限公司

Website

https://kaiyuan.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kaytrip (开元周游集团) is a Munich-founded Chinese-language travel platform serving outbound Chinese tourists in Europe, selling tour packages, flights, cruises, hotels, and visas through 17 service centers across Europe and China, alongside adjacent logistics, e-commerce, media, and education/immigration services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outbound Travel & Tourism Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Travel Agencies (56151), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)

akta.pro primary industry

VIP, Executive & Roadshow Travel Services (THAKAMAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Flight Booking & Airfare Management (HSACAKAB), Ferry Ticketing, Booking Platforms & Distribution (THAEAGAI)

Keywords

• Outbound tour packages
• Flight ticketing services
• Cruise booking
• Visa processing services
• Chinese travel platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Muenchen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tour Package Sales: Group tours, private tours, customized tours, day trips, cruise packages, and study tours sold directly to consumers with pricing from €35 to €3,958
2. Ticketing Services: Flight tickets, cruise tickets with IATA membership for international airline ticketing
3. Cross-border E-commerce: Honssan GmbH operates joy.eu and kaytrip shop platforms, plus presence on JD.com, Taobao, Xiaohongshu, Suning, Pinduoduo; operates Königsee duty-free store
4. Logistics Services: WTTX GmbH provides package logistics, overseas shopping transfer, Amazon FBA labeling, China-Germany logistics via DHL, BPOST, EMS routes
5. Business Consulting: Company registration, legal/tax consulting, business托管, exhibition and event services for Chinese companies entering German market
6. Education & Immigration: 开元星迹 brand providing study abroad programs, professional training, and immigration consulting with 200+ partner schools in Germany, France, Austria
7. Media Services: 开元网 (Kaiyuan.info) with 1M+ registered members, WeChat public account with 100K+ followers, magazine publication, cultural event hosting

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kaytrip (开元周游集团) is a Munich-based travel and lifestyle services conglomerate that sells European outbound tour packages, flight tickets, cruise bookings, hotel reservations, and visa processing services to Chinese-speaking travelers through a multi-language website, mobile app, WeChat mini-program, and a network of physical service centers. Beyond core travel, the group operates cross-border e-commerce (joy.eu / Kaytrip Shop), international logistics (WTTX GmbH), Chinese-language media (开元网), business consulting for Chinese companies entering Europe, and education/immigration services under the 开元星迹 brand.

Product overview

Kaytrip (开元周游集团) operates as a multi-platform travel and lifestyle services conglomerate offering a comprehensive portfolio of travel-related products and services. The core offering centers on 开元旅游 (Kaytrip Travel), a European Chinese travel platform providing diverse tour formats including coach circuit tours, free travel, customized/private tours, small group tours, and day trips. Supporting core travel services include flight ticketing, cruise bookings, hotel accommodations, visa processing, attraction tickets, airport transfers, study tours, and travel insurance. The company also operates complementary business segments including 开元网 (Kaiyuan Media) - a Chinese-language media platform, 开元物流 (Kaiyuan Logistics) for international shipping and cross-border logistics, and 跨境电商 (Cross-border E-commerce) platforms. Additional services encompass business consulting for market entry and MICE services. The ecosystem is accessible via website, mobile app, and mini-program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 开元旅游: European Chinese outbound travel services - group tours, private tours, custom travel, day trips, cruises
• 开元网
• 开元食味
• 德国亚超
• 开元商城
• 开元物流
• 欧淘
• 中德转运
• 优乐购
• 开元星迹

Products and services

• Kaytrip Travel (开元旅游) Tour Packages
• Flight Tickets (机票)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100,000 tourists served annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• 人民日报海外网 (People's Daily Overseas Edition)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2015, Kaiyuan Media partnered with People's Daily Overseas Edition to create the Germany channel, the first national channel of People's Daily Overseas in Europe
• 国际航空协会 IATAcoreTechnology or IntegrationIATA membership enabling international flight ticketing services
• 全德旅游行业联盟 ASRcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFull member of German travel industry alliance ASR for industry networking and standards compliance
• 德国中国商会 (CHKD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChairman unit of Munich branch, executive director unit of the German-Chinese Chamber of Commerce
• 中国旅行社协会 (CATS)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember of China Association of Travel Services for industry networking in China
• 德国华人旅游业联合会majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresident unit of German Chinese Tourism Industry Association
• 中国德国商会 (AHK)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember of German Chamber of Commerce in China for bilateral business connections
• 央视/芒果TV/凤凰卫视minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnerships with major Chinese media including CCTV, Hunan TV, and Phoenix TV to host programs like '中华小姐', '非诚勿扰', '一站到底'

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 众信旅游 (UTour Group): Listed Chinese outbound tour operator and Kaytrip's 2015 strategic investor. Directly comparable because both design and sell European tour packages to Chinese tourists; Utour is significantly larger and listed, but operates in the same product/customer category.
• 凯撒旅业 (Caissa Tourism): Major Chinese outbound tour operator with deep European itineraries. Direct peer — sells packaged and custom European tours to Chinese travelers through retail and online channels, overlapping directly with Kaytrip's core offering.
• 途牛 (Tuniu): China-listed OTA specialized in packaged tours with strong European itineraries. Direct peer in outbound tour package design and Chinese-tourist targeting, though Tuniu is more digital-led and does not operate European physical service centers.
• EF Education First: Global education and study-tour company with strong European presence. Directly comparable to Kaytrip's study tour and language-travel offerings, both targeting Chinese learners and families seeking educational European travel experiences.
• Intrepid Travel: Global small-group tour operator with deep European itineraries. Comparable on guided tour format (small-group, themed tours) though it serves primarily English-speaking customers; illustrates the global best-practice benchmark Kaytrip replicates for Chinese audiences.

Broad incumbents

• 携程集团 (Trip.com Group): Dominant Chinese OTA offering flights, hotels, tours, and packages across Europe with Chinese-language support. A broader incumbent with overlapping capabilities (tour booking, ticketing, content) but operating at vastly larger scale across many verticals.
• 飞猪 (Fliggy): Alibaba's online travel platform selling flights, hotels, and tour packages with strong Chinese-language support. Broader incumbent with overlapping European tour and flight offerings; not a niche tour operator but a scale competitor for Kaytrip's ticketing and package business.
• 同程旅行 (Tongcheng Travel): Major Chinese OTA with growing European tour and hotel offerings and strong WeChat ecosystem presence. Broader incumbent — overlaps with Kaytrip on European tours, flights, and visa services but at significantly greater scale and digital-first distribution.
• TUI Group: Europe's largest integrated tour operator with global tour packages, hotels, and cruise operations. Comparable on guided European tour products (coach tours, circuit tours) though it serves primarily European customers rather than Chinese-speaking travelers.

Emerging players

• 马蜂窝 (Mafengwo): Leading Chinese travel content/community platform with integrated booking. Adjacent peer — generates demand through user-generated European travel content and increasingly competes on bookings, comparable to Kaytrip's media-to-booking funnel via Kaiyuan Media.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kaiyuan_de
• Facebookfacebook.com/kaytripcom?locale=de_DE
• Instagraminstagram.com/kaytrip2022

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kaytrip