AS part of its ramping up efforts in Asia, Go City launched its Bangkok pass last month. Senior vice president, commercial, APAC, Baidi Li speaks to WiT about its plans for Thailand as well as other markets in the region.
Baidi Li: Steady and positive recovery in Thailand, Singapore and Sydney.
Q: Congratulations on the Bangkok launch. I understand it was a relaunch, as the pass was actually launched November 29. How is the pass different this time? Has the emphasis on products included changed?
Go City Bangkok soft launched in February 2020 immediately before the pandemic. Since everything was so unpredictable at that time and no one knew how long the restrictions would last, we made the decision to continue with the soft launch. We had our All-Inclusive (passes by the number of days) and Explorer passes (passes by the number of attractions) live in order to test and improve the product in a controlled way, since traffic was relatively low due to restrictions.
Despite the fact that Thailand’s borders were mostly shut in the past two years, we still managed to derive a lot of learnings, improve the variety of offerings on the pass, and understand customer behavior in a much stronger way.
This helped ensure that we would have the strongest product possible when everything lifted for a hard launch, which we are excited to celebrate now.
Q: What recovery are you seeing in Thailand? What consumer behaviour are you seeing?
We’re seeing a steady and positive recovery in Thailand, with the hustle and bustle of the streets returning, tourist attractions returning to capacity, and restaurants as well as shopping malls enjoying crowds of both domestic and international tourists. We are cautiously optimistic for this recovery, very similar to how we in Singapore felt during the first few months when the VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lane) flights took off.
We recently visited some of our key attraction partners such as King Power Mahanakhon Skywalk, Meridian Dinner Cruise, and Let’s Relax Spa and were amazed at how full they were, despite the fact that incoming tourism into Thailand is just at the beginning of recovering. The removal of the Thailand Pass (from July 1) as an entry requirement is a big step forward in the recovery of tourism. As restrictions continue to ease, we’re seeing visitation follow suit and incrementally increase.
Q: Do you plan second tier city launches in Thailand? Which destinations are attractive in Thailand?
We have our eye on the islands, but are really looking at the APAC region as a whole to ensure we have a presence in the top source markets and destinations. Thailand is one of the most exciting areas on our list when it comes to expansion plans.
Q: Are you continuing to see growth in APAC with the reopening? Which is a standout destination? Any other surprises that you’re seeing in consumer behaviour?
Go City’s growth in APAC is exceeding expectations and we’re really excited at the future potential of the region. Go City Singapore is recovering incredibly, particularly with international customers, which is a demographic we specialise in. Go City Sydney is recovering steadily as well.
We’re also seeing purchase-to-visit lead times for our APAC products shortening to an average of two weeks ahead, compared to four weeks ahead in 2019, which means customers are spending less time planning than pre-pandemic.
When it comes to outbound APAC customers, our products continue to appeal to those visiting long-haul markets. Paris, Dubai, Las Vegas, Hawaii and Barcelona are all standout markets for us, either recovering quickly or already exceeding numbers from 2019.
Q: Give us an update on the rest of Asia plans.
We have high expectations for the APAC region, and there are further expansion plans in the works to ensure we have a presence in the top destinations and remain top of mind for APAC travelers. We will continue doing what we do best, and have been doing for the past 25 years – and that’s providing customers with the best possible city vacation experience, and thousands of attractions with incremental visitation as travel fully returns.
We love what we do, and there is no better time to do it than right now. We’re really excited to continue to expand our footprint in APAC and deliver customers a premiere experience, and attractions with a valuable partnership.
Featured image: The Go City team at the launch of the Bangkok Pass with colleagues from PATA, from left, Norapon Polcharoensook, Regional Director for Thailand, Baidi Li, Aletheia Tan, Member Engagement Manager at PATA, Paul Pruangkarn, Chief of Staff at PATA, Jon Owen, CEO, Go City, Dawn Jeremiah, VP of Marketing & E-commerce, APAC and Karl Au, Sr. Partner & Customer Experience Manager, APAC.
