Baidu has announced its massive expansion for its map service, adding 106 new countries on the list.

The desktop and mobile map service provided by China's online search giant has 348 million active users, according to Tech Crunch. It holds basic data worldwide, but a more detailed and accurate information will help the service to be globally competitive. The company has launched an internationalization strategy, which started at the beginning of 2016.

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Baidu has prepared a sketch for its plans of international expansion with the launch of its mapping service to 106 new countries and regions. These include Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Oceania.

Baidu Maps expansion comes after seeing the steady growth in Chinese tourism industry. According to China National Tourism Administration, Chinese tourists made 59.03 million trips abroad in the first half of 2016, up by 4.3 percent compared with that of in 2015. With this positive survey, local tourist boards may seek partnership with Baidu Maps.

The Chinese search engine giant aims to gain 50 percent overseas users by the end of 2020, China Daily reported. The expansion designed to complement the increasing numbers of Chinese tourists worldwide.

“This signals that we will finally transform from a Chinese map provider to a world map provider and become the Chinese brand that provides global services for mobile travel applications,” Baidu Map’s general manager Li Dongmin said.

Baidu sketched out its plans for international expansion with the launch of the mapping service to additional countries and regions. Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Oceania are included in the map. It will include information such as points of interest, opening and closing times for attractions, discounted hotels, and shopping malls nearby.

Moreover, Baidu Maps started a strategic collaboration with the tourist administrations of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It will aid in providing better travel experience for Baidu users and easier way to share resources and data with these countries.

TagsBaidu, Baidu Maps, tourism, chinese, Chinese Tourists, China search engine giant, mapping service, china