Hongtu Zhixing President Wan Fangbiao: Disrupting the "Shelf Logic" and Reconstructing a New Travel Paradigm with the "Scenario Engine"

Ask AI · How does Hongtu Zhixing’s AI achieve a second-level response from inspiration to orders?

China Economic Journal Reporter Shi Qingjing, Shanghai Report

“The next breakout point for the tourism industry will inevitably shift from ‘matching products’ to creating ‘scenes and motivations.’” Recently, during the Lingrun Ecological Strategy Summit, Wan Fangbiao, President of Hongtu Zhixing, said in an interview with media reporters including China Business Journal.

Wan Fangbiao further pointed out that traditional OTAs (online travel platforms) are trapped in the dilemma of “shelf logic,” focusing on price comparisons and bookings for flights and hotels. At their core, they are “transaction tools,” which cannot inspire users’ desire to travel and cannot meet the deeper needs of integrated destination-city marketing.

Based on these industry pain points, Hongtu Zhixing is using AI technology and a differentiated supply chain to build a new travel service platform with a “scene engine” at its core—transforming OTA from “the flight-and-hotel shelf” into “a scene engine.”

Hongtu Zhixing is transforming OTA from “the flight-and-hotel shelf” into “a scene engine.” Photo provided by the interviewee

“From Inspiration to Orders,” Pioneering the “Scene Engine”

“Why does traveling always have to start by confirming your destination, and only then book flights and hotels?” Wan Fangbiao’s question is the inspiration behind Hongtu Zhixing’s founding.

Breaking with traditional travel vertical platforms, Hongtu Zhixing’s “scene engine” not only gives users “travel inspiration,” but also takes on the task of creating “one-stop travel itineraries,” and completes the on-the-ground execution of all “scenes,” including flights, hotels, tickets, and more.

So, how does Hongtu Zhixing build the “scene engine”?

According to Wan Fangbiao, Hongtu Zhixing will build the scene product layer through a “three-layer engine” product architecture: in forms such as “3D Earth Exploration” and “Hotspot Activity Play Cards,” it proactively recommends travel scenes based on interests (such as scuba diving, music festivals, and family trips) rather than offering a cold list of cities—fundamentally solving the pain point of “missing travel motivation.”

And Hongtu Zhixing’s “Smart Brain” is the AI decision-making and transaction fulfillment middleware. It can convert users’ abstract interests into executable itineraries, perform supply-demand matching and intelligent orchestration through its proprietary algorithms, and with one click package all elements—flights, hotels, tickets, local experiences, and more—achieving second-level responsiveness “from inspiration to orders.”

Finally, through the supply and rights layer, Hongtu Zhixing aggregates globally scarce resources such as flights, hotels, live event ticketing, and ground-handling services via direct agreements and partnerships, ensuring the executability of the “scene solutions” and their unique competitive strength.

With the “three-layer engine” model, Wan Fangbiao said outright that Hongtu Zhixing’s ultimate goal is to build “the travel vertical platform that knows destination scenes and fun/play information the best.” And by using hardware such as AI glasses, it provides deep real-time companionship throughout outbound travel, completing a full closed loop from pre-trip planning to in-trip experiences.

“The role of OTA is no longer just a simple transaction platform. Instead, it becomes an ‘engine’ and ‘partner’ that uses AI technology to proactively discover, define, package, and activate travel scenes,” Wan Fangbiao said.

According to the report, Hongtu Zhixing has already achieved a breakthrough from 0 to 1 last year, with its monthly revenue exceeding tens of millions of yuan. Its current financing will be mainly used for database construction and scale expansion.

From “People Find Goods” to “Goods Find People,” a New AI-Driven Model for Culture and Tourism Is Born

Compared with traditional OTAs, Hongtu Zhixing’s strength lies in entering travel motivations earlier with AI, thereby sparking travel inspiration.

From the core logic, Hongtu Zhixing’s business model is to move away from a “shelf-style” sales approach. Through AI, it proactively identifies, defines, and activates travel scenes, constructing a consumption path of “goods finding people.” The application of AI is mainly reflected in three areas: collecting scene data such as images, weather, and passenger flows; identifying users’ interest and preference profiles, such as skiing proficiency and equipment preferences; and integrating a supply chain covering non-standard categories such as outdoor gear, beauty and skincare, and GPS devices—expanding consumption scenarios beyond traditional “flights, hotels, and tickets.”

Hongtu Zhixing chooses to prioritize building a user base overseas. As of this February, the company’s overseas fan base is about 690,000, with over 1,000,000 views. It mainly focuses on two high-engagement, high-average-spend groups: scuba diving and skiing.

As for the domestic market, currently, Hongtu Zhixing’s monthly consumption in the business is about 5 million yuan, with about 1,000 monthly order users. The size of its monthly active users is about 5–10 times that of order users. The core business focus is on two directions: vacation islands and hiking. The target customer group is niche users who love to play/travel; this group has high user stickiness and a high average spending amount.

To quickly open up the domestic market, Hongtu Zhixing partnered with Zhuimi Technology and became its designated travel and mobility cooperation partner, deeply integrating into the technology ecosystem of a nationwide-level IP. Currently, Hongtu Zhixing has set up operations in places including Hainan, Anhui, and Fujian, exploring different sub-sectors such as health and wellness tourism, tea-and-tourism experiences, and youth culture and tourism.

With updates to its business model, Hongtu Zhixing’s revenue sources also differ from traditional OTAs. It will expand from traditional flight and hotel commissions into dimensions such as scene package premiums, sales of cultural and creative products, data services, and integrated marketing services provided for destinations.

In this regard, Wan Fangbiao revealed: “The hotel business scale is about 70% of Ctrip’s. The flight business is basically on par with Ctrip’s, and the flight business profit margin is higher than Ctrip’s. The product business profit margin is over 40%. Currently, the product business scale is in a steady growth stage.”

Regarding future expansion plans, Wan Fangbiao said: “Next year, we will focus on advancing core IP cooperation projects. We have already locked in IP such as Marvel’s overall music concerts, domestic NBA challenge matches, and Shenzhen e-sports events. These IPs have the capability to bring tens of millions-level traffic. Through the above IP projects, we expect that next year the number of users will increase 10 times. IP cooperation will not only bring order growth, but also enable a breakthrough in user scale rapidly through high-traffic IP.”

Editor: Zhang Jiazheng | Reviewer: Tong Haihua | Proofreader: Liu Jun