VIDEO: Alibaba and Ctrip talk inspiration, acquisition costs and planes versus trains

Alibaba and Ctrip have rapidly become giant distributors of travel via their respective platforms and brands.

They have built up entire ecosystems covering all elements of the trip from the inspiration phase to the in-trip experience and a comprehensive range of content.

Ctrip, in particular, is branching out - having bought travel search brand Skyscanner in 2016 for $1.75 billion and, in 2017, Trip.com in a move to give itself an outbound-focused brand name and content tools for its earlier acquisition.

Alibaba has its own strategy, with Fliggy the consumer-facing brand name for travel - a decision that put many brands on alert about how serious the ecommerce giant is taking travel.

Some of Ctrip and Alibaba's similarities, and differences, were drawn out during a Center Stage interview at the Phocuswright Conference in Los Angeles last week.

The session features Jerry Hu, vice president of the Alibaba Group, and Cindy Wang, chief financial officer of Ctrip International.

Highlights from the session include some discussion around customer acquisition costs, the opportunity of offering rail and catering for Generation Z customers.

PhocusWire later caught up with Wang in our studio.