Alibaba’s Fliggy leverages AI to attract tourists

[Photo: Melissandre Denize]

Alibaba’s travel platform Fliggy is strengthening ties with Macau as the city grows in popularity among young mainland Chinese travelers, according to Leon Li, Fliggy’s vice president of Public Affairs.

The platform, part of the Alibaba ecosystem, has served over 1 billion users in China and more than 300 million globally, with Macau ranking as one of its top destinations.

During the National Day holiday, Li revealed, sales of Macau-related travel products on Fliggy grew by more than 40%, he said, with hotel bookings seeing strong gains in both sales value and guest numbers.

Data from the platform show that more than 60% of users booking Macau products are women, and more than 60% are young people born after 1995 and 2000.

Speaking earlier this week during a panel at the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) in Harbin, Li said this profile underscores Macau’s potential as a leisure destination and informs Fliggy’s promotion strategy.

Looking ahead, he outlined three main directions. For mainland visitors, Fliggy aims to use cross-platform cooperation within the Alibaba ecosystem and data analysis to design more cross-border products that encourage tourists to stay longer and explore local communities beyond major events and shows.

For international travelers, Li said the focus will be on developing tailored air ticket, hotel, and vacation packages and using platforms such as Lazada and AliExpress to reach overseas markets. He added that artificial intelligence will increasingly help the tourism industry balance scale, efficiency, and cost – an “impossible triangle” that has long challenged operators – and that Macau can benefit from AI-driven tools as it seeks to attract more independent travelers.