This blog is an extract from our eBook 'Travel Trends Report 2019' written by Stephanie Kutschera. You can get your free copy here.
Founded in 2014, Klook has quickly made its presence known in the tours & activities sector. Today, this online marketplace partners with over 6,000 service operators to provide more than 60,000 offerings. In August 2018, Klook held the largest funding round to date raising $200 million to fuel expansion in the US and Europe.
In just 4 years, Klook has achieved great success. What makes your marketplace unique?
Klook’s robust growth is greatly contributed by our mindset of staying focused since the company was established in 2014. The fact that we’re only concentrating on the travel in-destination services sector allows us to not only think about simply bringing the tours and activities market online, but also to think about the user experiences that fit the needs of modern travelers. We are proud to be one of the first to introduce the use of QR code e-vouchers and instant confirmation in the sector. Our services are also available in over 8 languages and support 36 different currencies, which further improves the booking
experience.
What does the Asian tourism industry need to consider to keep growing in the future?
One crucial thing to note is that many Asian markets are mobile-only, as they have skipped the desktop era. Therefore, when marketing travel products to Asian travelers, it’s important to ensure that the online platform is also optimized for mobile devices. The products must be presented and marketed in ways that are suitable for Asian travelers, including having localized content for each country, various payment methods, and detailed information that allows for a deeper understanding of the products being sold.
Many Asian markets are mobile-only, as they have skipped the desktop era. Therefore, when marketing travel products to Asian travelers, it’s important to ensure that the online platform is also optimized for mobile devices.
Another key point is that Asian travelers are very active on social media. They look for travel experiences that make for good photos or videos to attract attention on social media platforms. Therefore, it is common for them to pick activities that are scenic and selfie-worthy. As such, we’ve encouraged many of the tour operators that we work with to add a photo taking element to their services, because Asian travelers tend to leave more positive user reviews on Klook if operators offer to take photos for them.
What can we expect from the Asian market and Klook in the next few years?
The preferences of Asian travelers will continue to change. Given that travelers are experiencing an increasing level of ease and confidence when traveling overseas, we also see an emerging trend of Asian travelers choosing destinations that are less well-known, as well as activities that are less touristy and more off-the-beaten-path.
At Klook, we have set up offices in both Europe and the US to curate more activities in those regions. We’ve also been working towards launching additional destinations such as Morocco and Israel, as well as one-off/seasonal events and experiential activities like this autumn foliage day trip in South Korea and a Northern Lights journey in Finland. We aim to meet the everchanging preferences of travelers from the Asian region.
