China's Golden Week OTA split: Doubao sells answers, Fliggy and Tongcheng sell inventory
A TMTPost retrospective on China's National Day Golden Week says AI entry points became a key battleground for online travel platforms. Doubao launched a dedicated travel hub covering maps, transport, hotels and dining before the holiday, and Douyin Life Services said Doubao hotel bookings rose over 56% month-on-month; Fliggy's Bangbang assistant saw interactions up 158% and guided flight and hotel bookings up 110%, while Tongcheng Travel's DeepTrip agent and Meituan's “Xiaotuan” assistant also reported holiday gains. The piece argues that legacy OTAs stress interaction and traffic while Doubao stresses transaction conversion, and that AI itineraries still struggle to adjust for weather, crowds, fares and traffic, so turning plans into real fulfillment rather than chat quality will decide the winner.
It shows Chinese AI assistants trying to move from Q&A entry points into transactions while OTAs use AI to reinforce existing fulfillment, a contest that will test whether AI can complete real-world service loops.