With an influx of venture capital last year, Singaporean startup GlobalTix has been expanding its ticketing platform into Thailand, hoping to create a Bangkok city pass to be used at major attractions.
Chan Chee Kong, chief operating officer of GlobalTix, said the startup has been in talks with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) about the city pass. GlobalTix sells a city pass in Singapore in partnership with Singapore Airlines that allows tourists to visit attractions like zoos and museums.
"You need five different tickets to go to five different attractions in Bangkok," Mr Chan said. "We are in preliminary discussions with the TAT to bring what we are doing in Singapore to Bangkok."
GlobalTix is a B2B ticket solutions provider that sells access to its digital ticketing platform and point-of-sale application based on a subscription model.
In Thailand it offers services to companies like Kidzania Thailand, Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World and Iyara Transport, and has 200-300 products on its platform in Thailand from 50-60 merchants. For now it is mostly focused on Bangkok, with plans to further capitalise on markets like Phuket and Chiang Mai.
The company also partners with other consumer-facing tech companies like Grab, Expedia and TripAdvisor to sell tickets for tours and activities through their platforms. For instance, Grab offers tickets to certain attractions in Singapore, while GlobalTix runs ticketing through the Grab app.
GlobalTix came to Thailand three years ago, but really started expanding last year after receiving US$9 million in Series A funding from Tin Men Capital. The company reports 15-18% of ticket sales in Thailand, compared with 55% in Singapore and much of the remainder in Indonesia.
"We were initially Singapore-focused, but the last round of funding has driven us to expand regionally," he said.
In 2018, GlobalTix sold 3 million tickets through its platform worldwide, making $28 million in revenue, up from about $11.8 million in 2017. The subscription model allows enterprises to use GlobalTix's technology with plans ranging from $39-$299 per month. It sweetens the deal by offering customers access to data on customer behaviour.
According to a report by Phocuswright, online bookings for tours and activities will grow to be worth $27 billion worldwide, with about 30% coming from Asia. Only 20% of activities are available online, according to a study by TripAdvisor, and 90% of bookings are still done manually.