Darryl Lee, group CEO of B2B travel technology group Dida Holdings, discusses the mechanics of its new strategic partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), tapping into the world’s largest outbound market, and how AI is addressing fragmentation in global hospitality distribution
The TAT has been developing the Trusted Thailand initiative for some time. How does this new partnership with Dida help advance the initiative within the Chinese market?
One of the primary challenges for any destination is ensuring potential travellers actually receive the message. The Chinese market is characterised by 1.4 billion people spread across multiple provinces, each with differing consumer habits and geographical logistics. The most effective approach is leveraging the dominant social media platforms in China, such as Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and WeChat. Chinese travellers actively share their experiences within these closed networks. Over the years, Dida has recognised the uniqueness of this consumer behaviour and worked closely with various platforms to leverage their distribution networks. Because we are a B2B business working with virtually every agency in China and a vast network of hotels in Thailand, we serve as the central matchmaker. We extend the reach of the Trusted Thailand message, align supply with demand, and ensure consistent communication across the entire ecosystem.
How do you view this partnership as being unique compared to previous collaborations with destination marketing organisations?
We work with many NTOs globally. Often, the foundational premise of these agreements revolves around hitting specific visitor arrival targets. In this instance, we do not have a rigid target for tourism volume. Thailand is not lacking in visitor numbers. This partnership represents a deliberate pivot toward luxury and traveller quality. We are targeting individuals who select a destination based entirely on the specific experiences they wish to pursue. Previously, travellers would pick a destination, book a flight, and then find a hotel. Today, they decide on the exact experience they want, whether that is a culinary class or a premier wellness treatment, and then they build the logistics around that intent. Our job is to help our hotel partners understand this shift and position their properties to capture that specific intent.
If you are targeting a luxury or wellness demographic, how do you adjust your messaging compared to volume-driven campaigns?
It is important to clarify that our data and distribution infrastructure are entirely B2B. We do not market directly to the individual traveller. However, we maintain absolute market leadership in B2B distribution across China. We work with every online travel agency, tour operator, and retail agent. This dominance gives us the confidence that if we stimulate demand at the top of the funnel through social channels, we will capture that demand through our B2B network. Typically, B2B players do not invest their own capital in destination marketing. We are doing so because our robust cash flow and expansive network guarantee we will see the return on that generated demand.
Dida identifies itself as an AI-first company. How does AI directly impact your distribution strategy?
Long before AI became an industry buzzword, we relied heavily on machine learning and advanced algorithms to solve supply and demand mathematics. The global travel industry is a trillion-dollar sector, yet it remains hugely fragmented. There are over a million hotels worldwide operating on perhaps half a million different property management systems. Matching that supply side with millions of demand-side agency systems creates severe bottlenecks. Dida bridges that gap. We process between five to six billion searches every single day for rates, availability, and property descriptions. That immense volume of data requires sophisticated processing. We deploy AI models to predict demand spikes and help hotels make superior revenue management decisions. A hotel can typically only see the booking pace within its own property. Our systems provide intelligence on what is happening across their street, their district and the wider city, whether that is a Blackpink concert or another event affecting supply and demand.
For travel operators trying to understand the current China outbound market, how do you demystify the region?
If you attempt to view China as a single entity, your strategy will fail. A traveller departing from Beijing has entirely different constraints and preferences compared to a traveller from Guangzhou. A flight from Guangzhou to Bangkok takes less than three hours, while flying from Beijing takes seven. For the northern provinces, Thailand is a mid- to longhaul destination. Furthermore, flight capacities and direct routing options vary wildly across the western Chinese provinces. You have to analyse the market as many different Chinas. What is universally true post-pandemic is that the desire for authentic experiences has skyrocketed. Chinese travellers have evolved beyond travelling just to shop. They want distinct cultural immersion. It’s frequently said that if you blindfold them, drop them in a destination, and remove the blindfold, they need to instantly know what country they are in – and Thailand delivers that distinct identity flawlessly.
What is your top advice for other NTOs looking to secure similar commercial partnerships?
Public and private sector collaborations produce excellent results because the end objectives are perfectly aligned, even when the organisational expertise is completely different. Commercial entities and government organisations both want to drive high-quality, high-yield tourism to a destination. There is no hidden magic formula. Success relies entirely on a clear understanding of what specific operational strengths each party brings to the table.
What major shifts should the travel trade prepare for over the next one to two years?
The industry must prepare for the reality that decision-making is moving above the booking platform. An increasing volume of booking decisions are finalised before the traveller ever logs onto an OTA or calls a travel agent. For hotel operators, the primary objective is delighting the guest from check-in to check-out. Distribution, technology, and upstream marketing are exceptionally difficult operational hurdles. Very few independent hotels have dedicated IT departments to navigate how AI is altering consumer search behaviour. We intend to be the infrastructure that provides hoteliers with the technological solutions and market intelligence required to capture demand before the traveller even begins the booking process.
