BEIJING: With summer vacation fast approaching, the domestic travel market witnessed a surge in bookings during the recently concluded June 18 online shopping carnival, and sales of long-distance travel products have seen marked recovery and growth, industry players observed.
Traditionally, the sales event has occurred solely on June 18, but some companies have extended the period to begin before and end after that date. Regardless, the event is generally still referred to as the June 18 online shopping carnival.
A promotional shopping event held by Fliggy, the online travel arm of Alibaba Group, began on May 18 and ended on June 20. The platform saw the number of travel product orders it received surge 160 percent year-on-year, and the number of consumers who made purchases was double last year’s figure.
“Consumers’ enthusiasm for buying tourism products has significantly exceeded our expectations. Many people have already made reservations or set out right after their purchases. In the next few months, domestic travel demand is expected to continue to recover,” said Cheng Chen, a director at Fliggy. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
