Fliggy is Alibaba Group’s online travel platform, launched in 2016, where Chinese travelers book flights, hotels, train tickets, tours and attraction tickets. It works as a marketplace: airlines, hotels and travel agencies open their own stores, much as brands do on Taobao, and sell to Chinese travelers inside the Alibaba ecosystem, with payment through Alipay.
Fliggy International is the part of the platform that works with travel businesses outside China, with products in Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia and other regions.
Who uses Fliggy?
Fliggy’s users are Chinese travelers, many of whom already shop on Taobao and Tmall and pay with Alipay: they log in with the same Alibaba account. The platform is known for themed and customized tours that appeal to younger travelers, next to the classic flight and hotel bookings. Foreigners living in China more often use Ctrip or its English edition, Trip.com.
How does a travel business open a store on Fliggy?
Fliggy publishes an onboarding process for merchants in four steps:
- Submit materials: prepare an enterprise Alipay account, choose the store type and business scope, and upload the required qualification documents.
- Review by Fliggy staff, announced at one to three working days.
- Store creation: bind the enterprise Alipay account and activate the store.
- Store launch: sign the contract, pay, decorate the store and publish the first products.
Once open, merchants join Fliggy’s promotional campaigns, use its marketing tools and data to adjust their offer, and build their brand with a store page, as on other Alibaba marketplaces.
What does the Fliggy open platform connect?
The Fliggy open platform gives developers access to its main travel products: domestic and international air tickets, hotels and inns, vacation packages, attraction tickets, and transport such as buses, ferries and car rentals. Through these APIs, a merchant synchronizes inventory, prices and order status with its own booking system, which avoids overselling, and customers can follow their order in real time. Fliggy also relies on other Alibaba services, such as Alipay for payment and Amap for navigation. This kind of connection between a booking engine and a Chinese platform is the work of third-party integration (ERP, CRM, logistics).
How is Fliggy different from Ctrip?
Business focus
- Ctrip: the older platform, Ctrip is strong in hotels, air tickets and corporate travel, and aims at complete one-stop trips, including for business travelers.
- Fliggy: built on Alibaba’s e-commerce experience, it puts forward themed and customized tours and personalized recommendations, and attracts younger travelers.
Business model
- Ctrip mostly sells products contracted with its suppliers, through its own booking channels.
- Fliggy operates as a marketplace: merchants run their own stores and set their offer, and the platform earns commissions and marketing fees.
How QPSoftware can help
A travel brand that sells on Fliggy needs its prices, rooms and seats to stay in sync with its own systems, and often also sells through its website and a WeChat Mini Program. QPSoftware builds the APIs and connectors between your booking engine, ERP or CRM and Chinese platforms. Learn more about our e-commerce integrations in China.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a foreign company sell on Fliggy?
Yes, through Fliggy International, which works with travel businesses outside China. The onboarding process asks for an enterprise Alipay account and qualification documents, followed by a review by Fliggy staff before the store opens. The exact documents depend on the store type and business scope: check the requirements Fliggy lists for your category before applying.
Is Fliggy available in English?
The Fliggy International website for merchants has an English version, but the Fliggy app itself is designed for Chinese travelers and works in Chinese. Its customers log in with their Alibaba account and usually pay with Alipay. Foreign travelers in China more often use Trip.com, the English edition of Ctrip.
How does Fliggy differ from Ctrip?
Fliggy is a marketplace inside the Alibaba ecosystem: travel merchants open stores and set their offer, as on Taobao and Tmall. Ctrip, part of Trip.com Group, is the older platform, strong in hotels, flights and corporate travel, and mostly sells products contracted with its suppliers. Many Chinese travelers compare both before booking.