Hotel groups Alibaba and Marriott announced a joint venture in August; the groups now launch an exclusive booking portal through the Chinese company’s travel platform, Fliggy.
Chinese tourists will be able to book any of Marriott’s 600 properties in Asia and the Pacific. It is expected all of the group’s 6,500 properties in 127 countries will be made accessible through the platform in the future.
China is the No. 1 source of tourists for most travel destinations in Asia Pacific. As income rises, China’s middle class is looking for higher quality travel experiences. China’s travellers are expected to take an estimated 700 million trips over the next five years, making it a large target market for groups like Marriott.
The group will also accept payment via Alipay, China’s most widely used mobile payment system, for a seamless integration. The hotel giant is set to accept mobile payments in 1,500 hotels by the end of June. Currently, Alipay is already available in 90 per cent of Marriott’s hotels in China, as well as 120 hotels in Asia Pacific.
The number of Chinese tourists travelling abroad rose by 7 per cent in 2017, spending USD $115.3 billion.
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