Rail Europe has continued to expand its operations in China with the signing of an agreement to sell tickets via Alitrip, the travel arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Having opened a subsidiary in Shanghai last March, Rail Europe (which is known as Voyages-sncf.com within Europe) will now promote and sell European rail travel packages on Alitrip, with aim of reaching one million ticket sales in China by 2020.

“Less than a year after launching our Rail Europe China subsidiary, I am delighted that Voyages-sncf.com has signed this agreement with Alitrip,” said Franck Gervais, CEO of Voyages-sncf.com. “This new relationship validates the strategy we launched when opening our subsidiary in Shanghai in February 2016, helping us to further penetrate China’s growing tourism market.

“The agreement will help us expand our business in this key market, where we are aiming to sell one million train tickets by 2020,” he added.

The deal will also promote the European destinations to which Rail Europe travels, and to capitalise on the Chinese smartphone boom, Rail Europe’s offers will initially be made available via mobile, before also being offered via laptop and desktop computers.

Ticket purchases can be paid for via Alipay, with tickets being delivered to travellers before they depart for Europe.