BeMyGuest, Asia’s largest B2B aggregator of attractions, tours and activities, has launched Xplore described as “Asia’s first locally relevant digital solution for Asian travel experiences”.
Introduced at last week’s ITB Asia in Singapore, the booking system and channel manager are “specifically tailored to the unique needs of Asian attractions, tours and activity operators,” said the company.
The digital solution is available in multiple Asian languages that enables operators to capture online transactions, collect payments in multiple Asian currencies and run product promotions for their B2C customers on their own websites and/or ticket counters.
The channel manager module allows suppliers to deliver electronic tickets to B2B customers, in bulk to traditional travel agents and via a booking and content API to the operator’s online travel agent partners.
In explaining why the solution is targeted at Asian operators, Clement Wong, CEO and founder of BeMyGuest, said the attractions, tours and activities space is undergoing “a massive shift in their business fundamentals globally,” and this shift is posing a great challenge especially for a market like Asia that is mostly fragmented and largely offline.
“While there is a number of booking systems available for suppliers in US, Europe and even Australia, relevant technological innovation for this region was required as a matter of urgency, which is what motivated us to design and launch Xplore,” he added.
Blanca Menchaca: “The response (to Xplore) has been phenomenal.”
Blanca Menchaca, BeMyGuest COO and co-founder, said with flights, hotels and car hire now sold with instant confirmation, today’s online shoppers expect travel experiences to be sold similarly.
“Attractions, tours and activity products that are not readily available for booking in real-time and on a same-day basis are missing out on the fastest growing customer audience. This is especially so in Asia where mobile booking and payment behaviour prevails.”
Xplore provides the tools operators need to scale online sales, specifically real-time availability and instant confirmation.
As an example Menchaca cited collecting weight, which is vital information that a hot air balloon operator in Myanmar needs to be able to confirm a booking, but traditionally the operator would contact the customer directly to obtain the data.
“The system digitises such complex check-out options as well as capacity and time-slots, immediately transforming products previously unavailable to be instantly booked.”
Menchaca stressed that developing Xplore is not just about getting Asia’s experience operators online to meet the demands of OTAs and other travel marketplaces. “It’s also about technology working with, and maintaining, the valuable offline travel agent and corporate partner relationships.”
Xplore also connects with BeMyGuest’s distribution network, which currently consists of over 50 API connections with travel sites in Asia such as Traveloka in Indonesia, Ctrip in China, Naver in Korea in addition to 500 traditional travel agencies accessing BeMyGuest Agents Marketplace.
Xplore is tailored to the unique needs of Asian attractions, tours and activity operators.
The BeMyGuest team has been on the road this year meeting with suppliers of attractions, tours and activities throughout Asia and the response to the system has been “phenomenal”, Menchaca said. “It’s almost like, ah finally! Clearly the flexibilities that have been built into the system are resonating with operators who understand that Xplore has been especially built for Asia.”
Similar response was seen at ITB Asia. “Our approach was validated at ITB Asia, which saw our booth overwhelmed with enquiries for Xplore continuing well after the 5pm closing time. The message is being heard,” she disclosed.
This strong showing could perhaps be partly attributed to Singapore’s senior minister of state for trade and industry & education, Chee Hong Tat, who mentioned Xplore at the travel show’s opening ceremony saying the “smart, flexible e-commerce platform” could help create a more seamless user experience for travellers.
Travel experiences in Asia was also given much visibility at the concurrent WiT Singapore 2018. Menchaca said she was “thrilled” with the attention given to this sector at the conference. “For this valuable travel segment to grow in Asia we need to support and understand the unique needs in the region.”
• All images credit: BeMyGuest
