H.E. Mr. Arthayudh Srisamoot, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to China, on February 5 took users of Alibaba's travel platform Fliggy on a journey of Thailand's cultural treasures including tourist destinations and cuisine - while they were getting their minds and palate ready for Chinese New Year celebrations.
The event was livestreamed via the Fliggy platform from the Ambassador's official residence in Beijing and attracted tens of thousands of viewers over two hours. It took place in the lead-up to Chinese New Year, a time when Chinese people celebrate cultural traditions and bond with family in the form of a reunion dinner. In this spirit, during his livestream appearance, H.E. Mr. Srisamoot shone the spotlight on some of the holiday destinations in the North, Northeast, South and Central parts of Thailand that embody the country's rich cultural heritage, and recommended signature dishes that are inseparable from Thailand's culinary traditions.
The two-hour session also highlighted Thai ingredients as well as other Thai specialty products hosted on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms to introduce the Chinese audience to the diverse offerings from The Land of Smiles. Thai products featured include snacks, processed food products, fresh and dried vegetable and fruits as well as health medical and spa products. During the livestream, the Thai Culture and Economy Association also presented products from different provinces in Thailand in order to create more awareness of locally made products from Thailand, especially those under the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) project, among Chinese consumers.
This event was part of a livestream series hosted by Fliggy, which aimed to enable Chinese consumers to experience overseas cultures in the comfort of their homes while restrictions on global leisure travel due to the ongoing pandemic. Other countries featured in the series include Belgium, Rwanda and Malaysia.
With global travel and offline retail at a standstill in many parts of the world, livestreaming has become a mainstream channel for overseas brands and merchants to maintain a link to the China market. Fliggy's Chinese New Year livestreaming series is the latest example of Alibaba and partners using livestreaming to help overseas destinations and products stay top-of-mind with Chinese consumers.
Thailand remains one of the key markets in Alibaba Group's globalization strategy. Under its strategic collaboration with the Thai government, the company and the wider Alibaba ecosystem have been working with different Thai government bodies to drive developments in the country's digital economy - from helping reboot domestic tourism to promoting Thai farm produce through livestreaming and incubating a new generation of Thai digital entrepreneurs.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a good company that lasts for 102 years.
About Fliggy
A business of Alibaba Group, Fliggy is an online travel services platform with a mission of carrying out the "Global Fun" component of Alibaba's globalization strategy. Currently, Fliggy brings together more than 400 airlines and air travel agents, more than 8,000 scenic spots, more than 600,000 hotels and inns as well as hundreds of thousands of local entertainment activities. Leveraging Alibaba's ecosystem, Fliggy also provides merchants in the travel industry with a rich digital platform to help them engage with Chinese travelers. With diverse travel service offerings and digital innovations, Fliggy acts as a one-stop shop for Chinese travelers seeking the ultimate travel experience.