China.org.cn and China CYTS Tours have inked a deal in which CYTS will promote its online booking service to international tourists through China.org.cn’s travel section. Booking services will be for flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals and city trips.

The booking service will include an online payment method, marking a new step for travel e-commerce in China. But CYTS is no stranger to online travel services: In 2007, the travel agency introduced a comprehensive travel portal Web site, www.ChinaTravelDepot.com, to international tourists to China and foreigners in China.

Guo Xiaodong, vice president of CYTS, said the site used IT technology to develop new services and marketing channels based on user preferences. CYTS’s ability to market to inbound tourists directly has greatly reduced the number of middlemen and introduced a new method for inbound tourism exploration. The 2009 global financial crisis shrunk the inbound tourism market, but China Travel Depot managed to buck the trend with traffic up 131 percent.

To promote the new partnership and celebrate the holiday season, CYTS and China.org.cn are hosting a “Merry Christmas and Super Lucky Draw.” Foreigners and expatriates in China are invited to fill out a short survey and enter their names for a chance to win the grand prize of an eight-day tour of China.

CYTS was founded in 1980 and became the first travel company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1997 (600138.SH).