According to the "2017Q3 China Online Tourism Quarterly Data Release Research Report" released by iResearch in December last year, using the number of monthly independent devices as an indicator, the monthly independent devices of Railway 12306, Ctrip Travel and Qunar Travel all exceeded 40 million, occupying the first echelon; the monthly independent devices of several other companies including Fliggy each exceeded 5 million, currently ranking in the second echelon. Yang Honghao, a researcher at the China Tourism Research Institute, said that according to his judgment, Ctrip, Meituan and Fliggy are forming the three giants in the online travel market. However, Yang Yanfeng pointed out that in the "one big and two small" separatist situation of Ctrip, Meituan and Fliggy, Fliggy ranks at the bottom.

In Yang Yanfeng's view, Fliggy should have done more with the deep resources of the Alibaba system behind it, a large amount of consumer data and transaction platforms that can be deeply mined. However, since "Ali Travel" became an independently operated brand in 2015, it has undergone a name change. In the past three years, it is undeniable that Fliggy's development is obvious to all. Take "Double 11" as an example. In 2016, when it debuted on "Double 11", Fliggy achieved a total transaction volume of 2.17 billion yuan throughout the day. In 2017, this data was more detailed, with more than 1.1 million overseas tourists, 150,000 visas, 350,000 international air tickets, 500,000 room nights in high-star hotels, and more than 100,000 buffets in five-star hotels. However, looking at the entire online travel industry, compared with the big strides of its competitors, Fliggy is obviously not moving fast enough.

According to Yang Yanfeng's prediction, this change of leadership and silent changes in Fliggy's leadership team are likely to be intended to further make strategic changes with higher patterns and bigger actions.

Future: There may be changes in the way of going overseas

In fact, this internal adjustment took place as early as July last year.

In July 2017, after Jack Ma proposed the "five global" goals of global buying, global selling, global payment, global transportation, and global travel, Alibaba's internal organizational structure was adjusted accordingly, and the "Alibaba Globalization Leadership Group" headed by Zhao Ying was established to plan an integrated global strategy and coordinate implementation; and Li Shaohua's reporting relationship was adjusted from reporting to Zhang Yong, CEO of Alibaba Group, to reporting to Zhao Ying.

In fact, such an adjustment is not inconsistent. As one of the "five globals", "global travel" is mostly undertaken by Fliggy and Alipay International. In fact, they have formed a team to fight overseas. For Alibaba's overall strategic adjustment in globalization, Fliggy, as the main foothold, has also adjusted its development strategy at any time and shifted its development focus to "outbound travel".

It was also with the adjustment of the development focus that Fliggy began to show obvious efforts since 2017, and gradually opened service centers abroad. It is understood that Fliggy has already opened service centers in multiple destinations in Finland, Greece, and Singapore.

But it is worth noting that, unlike Ctrip, the leader of online travel, which started with capital to layout the international market, Fliggy's internationalization strategy is more inclined to strategic cooperation and joint development mode.

In theory, money should not be a problem for Ali's Fliggy. In this regard, Li Shaohua once said in an interview with the media that he prefers business cooperation to investment and acquisition, "This is Fliggy's gain and loss". In the field of online travel, compared with Ctrip, which does everything, and Meituan Dianping, which has "no boundaries", Fliggy has its own differentiated positioning and development.

But whether such differentiated positioning and development can continue, and whether "gain and loss" can still be recognized and inherited, these are unknown. Yang Yanfeng believes that the person who replaces Li Shaohua, whether it is internal transfer or delegation, will have an impact on Fliggy's future development ideas and strategies.

But these should have little to do with the fact that the original Fliggy boss "Kublai Khan" is no longer there. According to insiders, although Li Shaohua's new position has not yet been determined, he may become Zhang Yong's special assistant, engaged in strategic research and investment and other related matters. The relevant insider also said that for Li Shaohua, who was originally the head of a large business, being responsible for strategic research and investment is equivalent to "a virtual position."

Although it will take time to wait for the changes in Fliggy in the future, as an important part of Alibaba's "Five Globals", Fliggy, which is responsible for the "global travel" mission, will continue to go overseas. The direction should not change much, but the way it goes overseas may be different.