Platform drives significant rise in transactions and expands user base amid challenging market conditions
HANGZHOU, China, Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fliggy, a leading online travel platform and wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988), has posted strong growth during the 2024 Double 11 shopping event, marking a standout finish to this year's Global Travel Festival. The platform reported robust double-digit year-on-year sales growth, with a 40% increase in the number of shoppers and 22 brands generating over RMB100 million in gross merchandise value (GMV).
As of midnight on November 12, the GMV for reserved promotional items increased by nearly 90% compared to last year, indicating a faster pace of bookings. Fliggy's official content-driven sales channels, including its Fliggy Super VIP livestream, performed strongly, with 19 individual products exceeding RMB10 million each.
Zhuoran Zhuang, CEO of Fliggy, said, "Our strong performance during Double 11 underscores our commitment to enhancing the travel experience for consumers and empowering tourism businesses. Despite a challenging market, we've delivered robust and high-quality growth. By continuously innovating our systems and marketing tools, we provide greater value to both travelers and partners, reinforcing our role as more than just a traditional online travel agency (OTA). This year's record-breaking achievement reflects the trust we've earned from our clients."
"Buy Now, Plan Later" drives growth
The "Buy Now, Plan Later" model - where consumers purchase travel products for future use without committing to immediate travel dates or visa arrangements at the time of purchase - emerged as the dominant trend in tourism. This year's Double 11 event saw a 40% increase in the number of shoppers compared to last year, with new users making up about one-third of the total number of shoppers.
Fliggy reported record-breaking sales across a wide array of travel products. Nearly 1 million flexible "All You Can Fly" tickets and multi-trip flight passes were sold, along with nearly 3 million hotel packages and over 1.1 million amusement park tickets and leisure packages. New offerings, including RV travel passes, car charter tours, Arctic cruises, and hotel stays across 32 global cities, further bolstered the platform's growth. These products spanned nearly 200 countries and regions, from domestic destinations like Nujiang in Yunnan to Bomi in Tibet, and from Svalbard in Norway to Queenstown in New Zealand.
Outbound travel, in particular, saw strong demand, with Fliggy data revealing that the share of outbound travel products in this mega campaign increased by 30% year-on-year. Popular destinations included Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Macau SAR, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, US, Singapore, Vietnam, and Australia. Meanwhile, Iceland, Turkey, Cambodia, Fiji, and France were among the fastest-growing destinations compared to last year.
Fliggy's success during Double 11 also highlighted the appeal of its "Buy Now, Plan Later" offerings. As of midnight on November 12, the platform reported a nearly 90% year-on-year surge in GMV for reserved promotional products. High demand has been evident across popular theme parks, with Shanghai Disney Resort, Beijing Universal Resort, and Universal Studios Japan all seeing significant increases in reservation rates. Some tour activities have reached booking rates of nearly 50%, while flight passes are also experiencing strong demand. For example, China United Airlines' seasonal unlimited one-way tickets have seen reservations top 40%. Car rental pass bookings have risen sharply, while hotel packages are seeing a notable uptick, with bookings for ski resorts approaching one-third of total reservations.
A strong season for merchants
Fliggy's Double 11 event sets a new benchmark for merchant success. This year, a record 22 major brands - 8 more than last year - surpassed RMB100 million in GMV. These included Shanghai Disney Resort, Beijing Universal Resort, Chimelong Tourist Resort, Songtsam, Hong Kong Disneyland, and major hotel groups like Marriott, Wanda Hotels & Resorts, New Century Tourism Group, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Banyan Group, Accor, Club Med, Senbo Resort, as well as airlines such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Loong Air, Sichuan Airlines, All Nippon Airways (ANA), and Qatar Airways.
Fliggy capitalized on the momentum by offering dynamic pricing products with set purchase and redemption dates, which quickly gained traction. The platform partnered with major brands, including 40 airlines - such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines - and over 6,000 hotel brands, including Marriott, Hilton, Accor, Hyatt, Wanda, and Narada to offer flash sales, with some offering deals starting at RMB1 and additional loyalty points. The strategy proved successful, with Fliggy recording a 120% year-on-year increase in GMV for hotel bookings and an approximately 70% rise in conversion rates.
Double 11 solidifies its role in tourism
For travel businesses, the Double 11 event and the "Buy Now, Plan Later" model have become essential tools for customer acquisition and revenue growth during the off-season. Beyond immediate sales, these initiatives help travel companies manage inventory and generate medium- to long-term customer insights, improving operational decision-making and product offerings.
This year's Double 11 event has reinforced Fliggy's position as a key player in the travel industry. With its combination of innovative offerings, a customer-centric approach, and extensive partnerships, Fliggy is poised to continue to lead the way in the global tourism market.
About Fliggy
Fliggy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988 (HKD Counter) and 89988 (RMB Counter)), and is one of the leading online travel platforms in China. Fliggy places a strong emphasis on innovation in its products and services, catering to the increasingly personalized and diversified needs of consumers in both China and overseas markets.
Leveraging Fliggy's advantage as part of the Alibaba ecosystem, merchants can benefit from the vast user base within the Group. Fliggy also collaborates with partners through a full-service management format, helping more merchants, especially small and medium-sized ones, easily and efficiently share opportunities enabled by digitalization.
Fliggy's long-term strategy is to promote the digital transformation of the tourism industry, using an open platform and mechanisms to help the industry make better use of digital business infrastructure for their operations.
Media Contacts
Fliggy
Paradigm Consulting
Rebecca Liu
fliggy@paradigmconsulting.com.hk
+852 6036 5060