Tuniu Corporation (TOUR): Marketing Mix Analysis [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking for the real story behind Tuniu Corporation's current market positioning, and after two decades analyzing these plays, I can tell you the late 2025 picture is sharp but tight. Honestly, while their core Product-packaged tours-still drives 84% of Q2 2025 net revenues, they are leaning hard into digital Place, with live streaming accounting for over 15% of Q1 2025 volume. That aggressive growth comes at a cost, though; marketing spend rose 12% YoY to RMB 45 million in Q2 2025, and with cost of revenues jumping 50.2%, their Price strategy is definitely feeling the squeeze. Keep reading; we break down exactly where Tuniu Corporation is winning and where the pressure points are in their 4P execution below.

Tuniu Corporation (TOUR) - Marketing Mix: Product

You're looking at the core offering of Tuniu Corporation, which centers on integrated travel services. The company's product strategy is heavily weighted toward its primary revenue generator, the packaged tour segment. For the second quarter of 2025, revenues from packaged tours reached RMB 113.4 million (or US$15.8 million), marking a 26.3% year-over-year increase. This single category accounted for 84% of Tuniu Corporation's total net revenues for the quarter, which totaled RMB 134.9 million (or US$18.8 million).

The product portfolio within packaged tours is segmented to meet varied customer preferences. Tuniu Corporation offers a selection of travel services that include both organized tours and self-guided tours. Furthermore, the growth in the core packaged tour revenue during Q2 2025 was specifically attributed to the performance of organized tours and self-drive tours, showing management's focus on these specific product types.

To enhance the customer experience and service efficiency, Tuniu Corporation is deploying digital product enhancements. The company officially launched its self-developed AI travel application agent, AI Assistant Little Niu, on the afternoon of April 1, 2025. This assistant utilizes open-source large language models, specifically DeepSeek and Tongyi Qianwen, integrated deeply into vertical travel scenarios. The goal is to allow users to quickly search and book air tickets, hotels, and train tickets, and more notably, to intelligently recommend personalized travel plans. This technological push supports the broader strategy of developing differentiated products tailored to various customer segments, moving beyond standard offerings.

The emphasis on quality itineraries, which management suggests attracts premium customers, is part of this differentiation effort, focusing on the value proposition over just price. The company's commitment to its core principle of making travel easier is evident in its continued investment in R&D, with research & product development expenses increasing 29% year-over-year in Q2 2025, reaching RMB 16.4 million.

Here's a quick look at the revenue composition for Q2 2025:

The product mix also includes adjacent services, which constitute the 'Other Revenues' segment. For instance, the decrease in this segment was primarily due to a reduction in fees for advertising services provided to tourism boards and bureaus.

Tuniu Corporation's product delivery relies on an integrated service network, which includes its online platform, mobile platform, and an extensive network of offline retail stores and self-operated local tour operators.

• Core offering: Packaged tours, including organized, self-guided, and self-drive formats.
• Technology integration: Deployment of AI Assistant Little Niu since April 1, 2025.
• Product focus: Developing differentiated products to meet diverse customer segments.
• Service network: Online platform supported by offline retail stores and local tour operators.

Tuniu Corporation (TOUR) - Marketing Mix: Place

Tuniu Corporation deploys a multi-faceted distribution strategy, centered on digital accessibility but supported by physical touchpoints to serve its leisure travel customer base.

Primary distribution is the unified digital platform (website and mobile app). This core channel is supplemented by the use of the WeChat mini-program, which serves as an important access point for transactions. The platform is designed to offer one-stop leisure travel solutions, coordinating the booking of various travel components for the customer.

The distribution strategy employs a hybrid model that includes an offline service network and retail stores. As of the first quarter of 2025, Tuniu Corporation had opened nearly 300 stores, primarily situated in high-demand markets to support localized procurement and customer service needs. A fact sheet dated as of June 30, 2025, indicated an even broader network, citing 320+ offline stores throughout China.

Emerging digital sales methods are gaining traction. Specifically, new sales channels like live streaming contributed over 15% of Q1 2025 transaction volume. This channel supports the growing popularity of differentiated products like Niu Select.

Customer support and booking assistance are maintained through dedicated infrastructure. Tuniu utilizes a 24/7 call center for customer support and bookings, providing service pre, during, and post-travel.

The platform is engineered to integrate the key elements of a leisure trip. Tuniu integrates booking for flights, hotels, and local transportation, which is supported by leveraging consolidated international flight resources across its nationwide sales network to offer connecting flights from key hub cities.

Here's a quick look at the scale of Tuniu Corporation's distribution footprint as of mid-2025:

The company's distribution reach extends across its digital and physical assets, ensuring broad market coverage for its packaged tours.

• Digital Access: Website, mobile app, and WeChat mini-program.
• Offline Network: Extensive network of retail stores.
• Service Availability: 24/7 call center operations.
• Product Integration: Coordinated booking for flights, hotels, and local transport.
• Geographic Reach: Serving customers from over 400+ departing cities in China.

Tuniu Corporation (TOUR) - Marketing Mix: Promotion

You're looking at how Tuniu Corporation spent money to talk to customers in the second half of 2025. Promotion is where the rubber meets the road for driving bookings, so let's look at the numbers from their latest report.

Sales and marketing expenses for Tuniu Corporation in the second quarter of 2025 hit RMB 45 million, which was up 12% year-over-year. This spend as a percentage of net revenues for the quarter stood at 33.4%. This increased investment is directly tied to their push for volume.

Aggressive marketing via live streaming channels is definitely driving volume growth. The contribution from live streaming channels rose to nearly 20% of total transaction volume in Q2 2025, up from 15% in the prior comparable period. This shows a clear channel shift in their promotional focus.

Here's a quick look at the operating expense structure around promotion for Q2 2025:

The focus on attracting new customers through competitive pricing and value proposition is supported by the growth in their core offering. Revenues from packaged tours increased by 26.3% year-over-year to RMB 113.4 million in Q2 2025, making up 84% of total net revenues for the quarter. This growth was fueled by organized tours and self-drive tours.

Management is signaling confidence in the current valuation and future prospects. Tuniu Corporation's Board of Directors authorized a new US$10 million share repurchase program in August 2025. This followed the near completion of the 2024 program, under which they had repurchased approximately 10.6 million ADSs for about US$9.9 million as of July 31, 2025.

Tuniu Corporation is defintely leveraging product differentiation to boost customer repurchase rates. Management noted they continued to strengthen the integration of their supply chain and products to develop differentiated offerings for various customer segments. This strategy is intended to build loyalty beyond just price competition. The company returned to profitability in Q2 2025 with a net income of RMB 14.1 million.

The promotional activities are clearly part of a broader push, as seen in the forward guidance:

• Projected Q3 2025 Net Revenues: RMB 199.0 million to RMB 208.3 million.
• Projected Q3 2025 YoY Revenue Growth: 7% to 12%.
• Q2 2025 Cash Flow from Operations: RMB 46 million.

Tuniu Corporation (TOUR) - Marketing Mix: Price

Tuniu Corporation employs a pricing strategy centered on driving volume and customer acquisition through competitive offers. This approach is evident in the 26.3% year-over-year growth in revenues from packaged tours, which reached RMB113.4 million (US$15.8 million) in the second quarter of 2025.

The pursuit of a cost-effective value proposition is directly linked to internal efficiencies, specifically supply chain consolidation. Tuniu has further enhanced its direct and centralized procurement strategies to lower purchasing costs, a key component in maintaining competitive pricing. The company supports this with an extensive physical footprint, operating over 300 offline stores as of early 2025, which aids in localized procurement efforts.

The business structure, heavily reliant on its core offering, means Tuniu Corporation assumes inventory risk for its primary products. Revenues from packaged tours accounted for 84% of total net revenues in the second quarter of 2025.

Gross profit has faced significant pressure from rising input costs, a direct consequence of the pricing strategy. In the second quarter of 2025, the cost of revenues experienced a 50.2% jump year-over-year, rising to RMB48.9 million (US$6.8 million). This surge compressed margin expansion, resulting in Gross profit increasing by only 1.9% year-over-year to RMB86.0 million (US$12.0 million) for the same period.

To attract a broader customer base, Tuniu Corporation actively diversifies its price points. The company offers a diverse price range to attract different customer groups, explicitly including those from lower-tier cities. This strategy has shown traction, as the transaction volume for its affordable line, "Niu. Select," increased by 80% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the prior quarter.

The financial impact of these pricing and cost dynamics is visible across the first three quarters of 2025:

The company's sales and marketing expenses were RMB45.0 million (US$6.3 million) in the second quarter of 2025, representing an 11.9% year-over-year increase, partly due to promotion expenses.

Tuniu Corporation is using specific product tiers to manage price perception:

• - Flagship "Niu Tour" in-house products maintain a repeat purchase rate twice that of regular products.
• - The "Niu. Select" line targets price-sensitive travelers from lower-tier cities.
• - The company increased supply for private and small-group tours to meet demand for unique experiences.