SHANGHAI, Feb. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- naked Group Ltd. and Trip.com Group (NASDAQ: TCOM) have announced a new joint venture focused on expanding cooperation in the sustainable luxury sector in China and globally. The announcement was made at a signing ceremony held at the naked Stables in Moganshan, Zhejiang Province, China.

In recent years, both naked Group and Trip.com Group have carried out extensive work around rural revitalization, with naked Group developing luxury resorts and Trip.com Group targeting high-end homestays. The high-end holiday experiences created by both parties in their respective fields has effectively stimulated the growth of rural tourism economy in China, exemplified by the flagship resorts naked Stables, naked Castle in Moganshan Zhejiang province, followed by naked Water, naked Hill, and naked Valley in eastern and central China.

The expanded partnership will see naked Group & Trip.com Group work together to grow the naked brand globally through collaboration at multiple levels, encompassing high-end hospitality, technological innovation, promotion of sustainable lifestyles and more. With the shared value of sustainable development, the new partnership will continue to emphasize environmental sustainability, a focus on history, culture, heritage, as well as activating economic sustainability of communities at the place of business.

Manoj Mehta, CEO of naked Group Ltd., said: "naked has been a pioneer in China in harnessing sustainable principles through its design, construction and operation to create thriving local economies and brining prosperity to the rural China. We believe that this JV is a great opportunity to ensure the continued and accelerated success of naked brand and to create more 'green mountain & blue sky' economies continuously in stunning natural locations across China and overseas. A few new naked resorts are in the pipeline and will open soon in Xi'an, Chengdu, Hubei etc. naked Group is confident in realizing the true potential of the partnership with Trip.com Group."

Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, said: "Rural tourism is key to revitalising rural areas, which will, in turn, impact the level of economic and social development. Since the launch of our "Rural Tourism Revitalization Strategy" in 2021, we have undertaken several actions and programmes aimed at strengthening the appeal of the identified areas while enhancing the capabilities and capacities of the local officials. These include building high-end rural accommodations and training rural tourism professionals, among others. These targeted actions and strategies have led to more job opportunities and increased income among tourism professionals in general. It is important for industry partners to collaborate and identify new opportunities to further strengthen the appeal of rural areas, and promote sustainable development and high-quality rural tourism."

naked Group will be the majority shareholder of the joint venture. naked Group and Trip.com Group both strongly believe that technology will continue to play an increasingly important role in people's lives. This partnership will provide a foundation to use the latest technology to create more meaningful and customized lifestyle experiences for our customers. Through this, the venture will accelerate the growth of the naked Brand in a systematic and sustainable manner

About naked Group Ltd.

naked is dedicated as a brand that explores and leads lifestyles, a lifestyle devoted to living light, healthy and sustainable, to providing Fresh, Fun, Green and Great experience.

naked is a luxurious lifestyle, inspired by nature, with social responsibility, managed with sustainability, and designed with creative & quality , to provide the experience of "Born naked, Live naked"

Find out more about naked here : www.livenaked.com

About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group is a leading global travel service provider comprising of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its platforms, Trip.com Group helps travellers around the world make informed and cost-effective bookings for travel products and services and enables partners to connect their offerings with users through the aggregation of comprehensive travel-related content and resources, and an advanced transaction platform consisting of apps, websites and 24/7 customer service centers. Founded in 1999 and listed on NASDAQ in 2003 and HKEX in 2021, Trip.com Group has become one of the best-known travel groups in the world, with the mission "to pursue the perfect trip for a better world". Find out more about Trip.com Group here: group.trip.com