Fliggy's 2024 Summer Travel Report Shows Surge in Demand for Premium and Immersive Experiences

Highlighting a significant rise in both average bookings and customer spending year-on-year

HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fliggy, a leading online travel platform and wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988), has released its 2024 Summer Travel Report, which reveals a significant year-on-year growth in average booking volume and spending per consumer as the industry continues to show growth. This trend in the data, consistent with patterns observed during the Labor Day and Dragon Boat Festival holidays, also reflects travelers' growing desire for immersive experiences. In addition, Fliggy has announced that its Summer Protection services have provided protection to nearly one million travelers this season.

Zhang Chen, Vice President of Fliggy, said, "Our latest report shows the trend of travelers opting for higher-quality activities and personalized travel products is becoming a reality and the new norm. At Fliggy, we remain attuned to market trends and committed to delivering enriching experiences for all our customers. Fliggy will continue to enhance our offerings, expand the travel product portfolio, and reinforce service protection measures to meet the evolving needs of travelers."

Domestic travel: quality takes center stage

Fliggy's data indicates a significant increase in demand for premium travel services. The average booking per consumer for four- and five-star hotels, package tours, and car rentals in the domestic market have all shown impressive year-on-year growth. Domestic package tour bookings have seen double-digit growth and bookings for directly-operated brand hotels have risen by approximately 30% following a strong rebound in bookings last summer.

Self-driving tours are increasingly popular, with domestic car rental bookings rising by 60% year-on-year. Families are renting cars to explore more far-flung destinations such as Altay in Xinjiang, the Lesser Khingan Mountains, or the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop. In Northern and Western China, popular destinations like Heihe, Alar and Bijie have seen car rental bookings increase by over 200% compared to last year.

The release of the Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong has also driven tourism to its featured locations, such as the Yungang Grottoes and the Hanging Temple in Shanxi province. Fliggy's data shows that ticket bookings for scenic spots in Shanxi have increased by over 60% year-on-year, while car rental bookings have risen by more than 130%.

Outbound travel: independent experiences dominate

Independent travel continues to lead the outbound travel market this summer, representing over 80% of total bookings. Consumers are seeking immersive local experiences, such as visiting historic sites and dining at Michelin-starred restaurants. The transaction volume for international cruises and car rentals has increased over 20 and 5 times year-on-year, respectively.

Long-distance destinations gain traction

As the longest holiday season, summer has seen a rise in long-distance travel. Fliggy's data reveals that bookings for long-distance destinations such as France, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and Serbia have all doubled year-on-year. Activities featuring rich local cultural elements ranging from Seine River cruises in Paris, ballet performances in St. Petersburg, and dune bashing in the Red Sea, rank high in terms of transaction volume.

Fliggy's robust protection measures benefit millions

Starting July 1, Fliggy introduced six key measures to address common consumer concerns, such as flight cancellations, hotel price fluctuations, itinerary coordination for flights and hotels, and high-risk activities during travel. These measures aim to protect consumers from potential losses and provide reassurance around the travel decision-making process.

Nearly one million consumers have already benefited from Fliggy's Summer Protection services, which provide eligible consumers with free cancellation options, price protection subsidies for hotel rate reductions, and RMB1 million (approximately USD137,000) worth of coverage for personal accident injuries and rescue services related to bookings of designated water sports activities.

About Fliggy

Fliggy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), 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.