Tag: Klook

Singapore – Klook, an activity booking platform, has launched ‘Money Can’t Buy Experiences,’ an activation offering free trips and experiences in celebration of its 10th anniversary. 

The experiences offered include a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland, snowboarding in Switzerland with world champion snowboarder Gian Simmen, and being a vet at Mandai Wildlife Reserve in Singapore. It also includes a chance to swim with whale sharks in the Maldives and dine underwater at Deep Dive Dubai.

“We know travellers are always searching for unique, shareable experiences, but rising costs can make these dreams feel unattainable. As the category leader in experiences, we wanted to go above and beyond for our users. That’s why, to celebrate our 10th anniversary, we’re giving back with these spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that truly embody what Klook stands for—creating unforgettable moments that last a lifetime,” Marcus Yong, vice president of global marketing at Klook, said.

“We’re empowering our users to embrace their ‘Main Character Energy,’ making them feel like the stars of their own adventures. It’s all about helping them create those once-in-a-lifetime moments that they’ll cherish forever,” Yong added.

Interested Klook users may register for their selected experience until Oct. 31 and only until Sept. 22 for the Hong Kong Disneyland trip. Klook is also set to unveil additional offerings in October as part of its 10th-anniversary celebration.

Singapore – Klook is advancing its social commerce strategy by introducing a new booking feature on TikTok and investing in Kreator Labs workshops to empower Gen Z and millennial travellers.

Klook’s new partnership with TikTok enables users in seven Southeast Asian markets and Japan to discover and book travel attractions directly within the app, streamlining the process from inspiration to booking.

This new booking feature underscores Klook’s dedication to leveraging social media through its expanding Kreator influencer program. 

Klook is also investing in Kreator Labs workshops and partnerships to boost authentic user-generated content and expand the Klook Kreator program. Following notable growth in markets such as Taiwan, Australia, and the US, the program will now incorporate platforms like YouTube, allowing it to explore a broader range of formats to meet the increasing demand for genuine UGC.

With over 20,000 Kreators across 16 global markets, Klook will further invest in empowering these creators by enhancing their content creation journey. This includes supporting Kreator Labs workshops, facilitating discussions, and partnering with merchants to offer firsthand experience of activities.

Additionally, Klook will host a major gathering of travel content creators in September, bringing together over 130 global Kreators. 

Klook aims to leverage these advancements in social commerce to create new opportunities for its extensive network of merchants to connect with and engage the next generation of travellers.

Marcus Yong, vice president of global marketing at Klook, said, “Social media has become the go-to channel for travellers seeking inspiration on destinations and things to do. Klook is now able to bridge these travellers directly to the activities they discover on their feeds, enhancing our social-first approach in meeting the needs of the next generation of travellers.” 

Singapore – Travel services platform Klook has announced that it has completed its US$210m funding, supporting Klook’s business growth and fortifying its financial stability. 

Klook will strategically allocate the new funds to three key areas for growth. Firstly, in product innovation, expanding its city pass offerings to enhance traveler convenience and savings. Secondly, by scaling social and digital marketing through the Klook Kreator program, driving conversions with authentic, social, user-generated content. Thirdly, by advancing innovation through continuous AI integration.

The company will also collaborate with the new strategic investors in the region, to increase market share and boost growth, tapping into the fast-growing middle class in Southeast Asia. 

Eric Gnock Fah, COO and co-founder at Klook, said, “We are pioneering a transformative era of travel, catering to a new generation of more digitally-savvy travelers with bigger and bolder appetites for unique experiences. Our goal is to empower travelers to explore the world effortlessly through the Klook app, a one-stop platform that seamlessly connects them to a comprehensive range of in-destination services, encompassing immersive experiences and convenient ground transportation.”

Klook has demonstrated business success this year, surpassing previous milestones with a threefold increase compared to 2019 and recorded an annualised gross booking value of US$3b. 

The equity round is led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from BPEA EQT, Asia investment funds Atinum Investment and Golden Vision Capital, and corporate investment arms from Southeast Asia, including Krungsri Finnovate (under Bank of Ayudhya), Kasikornbank Financial Conglomerate and SMIC SG Holdings. The round also includes bank facilities from Citi, J.P. Morgan, and HSBC. 

Meanwhile, Ethan Lin, CEO and co-founder at Klook, credits this accomplishment to the collective efforts of the team in establishing the groundwork for the post-COVID era of travel. 

“During the pandemic, we doubled down on our resources in merchant digitization and the expansion of our supply network, including car rentals and outdoor experiences. This positions us strongly to capture new travel trends coming out of the pandemic,” said Lin.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Klook, Asia’s leading platform for experiences and travel services, has recently announced a collaboration with Google Cloud to harness the company’s content production and generation capabilities through an automated language translation and AI chatbot.

In this collaborative endeavour, Klook seeks to understand the intricacies of the local market as well as its distinct brand voice, using Google Cloud’s PaLM 2 to translate its activity content in ten languages. It then extends its capabilities, encompassing content creation and K.AI chatbot.

Said project focused on ensuring that Google Cloud’s generative AI translation activity is accurate, facilitating language proficiency on the materials including Bahasa Melayu and simplified Chinese that were increasingly tailored to the team’s desired outputs.

As a result, the local nuance and efficiency of translations improve with every iteration, giving Klook the confidence to scale its efforts across all activity-related content. It also excelled in preserving the nuanced tones and voices specific to each local market, a success recognised and scored by Klook’s team of linguists and brand marketers specialising in localization. 

Talking about the collaboration, Bernie Xiong, CTO and co-founder at Klook, shared his insights about the collaboration, stating, “We take great pride in being in-destination experts, from the moment our travellers begin their discovery of their dream holiday to the moment they book with Klook and ultimately throughout their in-destination experience. We are committed to make this entire journey seamless, effortless, and in the language that best suits our travellers’ preferences.”

“Our pilot proved that with Google Cloud’s generative AI capabilities, we can deliver this complete brand experience at scale without any compromise on content quality or accuracy. We will continue to innovate, bring new advancements for a more engaging platform, and solidify our standing as the brand of choice for travellers in Asia and beyond,” he added.

Furthermore, Klook aims to extend its use of Google Cloud’s generative AI beyond translation, incorporating the K.AI chatbot to enhance data security and interaction accuracy in diverse customer services.

This is in line with the company’s goal to implement PaLM 2 for content generation, streamlining vendor onboarding by automatically generating concise descriptions and details about activities. These advancements aim to improve overall internal employee productivity and contribute to a more efficient operational workflow at Klook. 

Meanwhile, Kathy Lee, managing director at Google Cloud in North Asia, said, “Klook’s use of generative AI has the potential to significantly boost both internal productivity and customer engagement, enhancing the uniqueness of their brand and value proposition while also strengthening trust and security for their customers.”

“They’ve already gained a crucial first-mover advantage in personalising and localising travel experiences with generative AI, and we look forward to our continued collaboration to further strengthen their digital leadership with cloud and AI across their business,” she concluded.

Singapore – Experience and travel services platform Klook launched its ‘Klook Kreator Program’ to inspire people to invest in travelling and unique experiences. 

‘Klook Kreators’ is an industry-first influencer affiliate program with social media at its core that aims to inspire people to travel through its social media campaigns.  

The program will enlist over 1,000 influencers who are expected to release fun travel content on their own social media accounts to encourage the next generation of travelers to invest in trying unique experiences. 

The program comes as Klook doubles down on its social content marketing expertise as part of its 9th anniversary. The company is redirecting its advertising budget from conventional media channels to digital content creators in what would be the brand’s first social and user-generated content (UGC)-powered online sales campaign. 

Klook’s 9th birthday coincides with the year-end travel season, which inspires its travel festival offerings. The company’s celebration giveaways will include deals and discounts for tickets across 14 destinations worldwide, joy saver vouchers for trip bookings, and a trivia travel game in exchange for an all-expense-paid trip in Asia, all with the aim of encouraging people to travel and satisfying their wanderlust. 

The company’s extravagant giveaways and promotions are also tied to the remarkable growth in annual gross booking value, which totals $3b. Klook has witnessed a threefold increase since 2019, despite the pandemic restrictions. 

Eric Gnock Fah, COO and co-founder at Klook, said, “We’re witnessing a profound shift in how the next generation of travelers find inspiration for their holidays. This transformation is no longer a trend, it’s the new normal, especially among Gen Z travelers in Asia Pacific who heavily rely on social media. To meet this demand for authenticity and immersive experiences, we’re significantly increasing our investment in digital content creators.” 

He continued, “Our focus isn’t just on any content, it’s about diving deep into user-generated content that’s mobile-friendly, snackable, authentic, and highly shareable—everything that ignites wanderlust and enhances travel experiences. As authenticity now shapes the way we travel, our aspiration is to build the world’s largest social travel community, facilitating exploration and discovery of destinations and experiences.” 

Speaking on the company’s remarkable growth, Ethan Lin, CEO and co-founder at Klook, also shared, “2023 is proving to be a record year of Travelsilience, where travel and resilience intersect. While we are in the early stages of travel recovery in Asia Pacific with persisting constraints in flight capacities, we’ve achieved astounding growth. Travelers are showcasing their resilience, and our business has surged threefold, primarily driven by a remarkable increase in spending—soaring by over 30% on our platform.”

“This growth is underpinned by the diverse variety of additional products and services we’ve introduced, ranging from rail and car rentals to staycations and even more unique experiences. We anticipate that by 2024, as flight capacity fully recovers and travel becomes more affordable, it will unlock even greater demand, further solidifying our position as the region’s leading experience-first platform,” he added. 

Singapore – Mandai Wildlife Group, an organisation that advocates for wildlife conservation, and travel and experiences platform Klook has sealed a three-year strategic partnership to attract more international visitors to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, the integrated wildlife and nature precinct home to Singapore’s wildlife parks.

With Klook’s digital marketing and social content capabilities and strength in Asia-Pacific, this deal will target the growing millennial and gen Z from the markets of Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and South Korea. 

Mandai and Klook will co-develop regional marketing campaigns and curate bundles and activities for discerning international visitors. These efforts will help in making Mandai Wildlife Reserve as a top-of-mind destination in Singapore.

Moreover, the collaboration will focus on raising awareness of wildlife conservation efforts and take actions for sustainable living to benefit the people, wildlife, nature and the entire planet.

Jean Choi, chief sales and marketing officer at Mandai Wildlife Group, said that the group is looking for new ways to engage travellers in the region especially from their top markets. Choi added that they aim to be culturally relevant to working adults and youth who seeks for new experiences.

Meanwhile, Eric Gnock Fah, chief operating officer & co-founder at Klook, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Mandai Wildlife Group, furthering their ambitions of establishing the Mandai Wildlife Reserve as the region’s go-to destination. Our collaboration reflects our shared values and commitment to responsible tourism and protecting the planet and its wildlife.”

The first marquee campaign for the partnership will kick off with the soft opening of Singapore’s new bird park at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, Bird Paradise on 8 May, Singapore Zoo’s 50th anniversary or Golden ZOObilee, and a series of mini-events to encourage young couples to go on memorable dates at the Mandai Wildlife Reserve.

Singapore – Due to concerns about inflation and rising costs, travel and leisure e-commerce platform Klook’s new survey results have unveiled that four out of five travellers (77%) in Asia are anxious about travelling next year.

However, despite these concerns, 81% of the respondents still plan to travel, with one-third of them wanting to make two to four trips in 2023. Meanwhile, 92% of travellers in Singapore are likewise eager to travel.

The study also revealed that 63% of travellers in Asia are worried about the increasing travel prices, with Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan travellers ranking the highest for cost as a concern. Amidst this, 80% are still planning to spend the same or more on travel. 

Moreover, Singaporeans are among the most excited to travel despite their worries, with 40% intending to spend more on travel in 2023. Meanwhile, concerns around COVID-19 still stand, with 39% worried about catching the virus while on holiday. 

It also found that despite the anxiety over the global recession, Asians are still not giving up on travel as 35% of the respondents plan to opt for a nearer destination or travel during off-peak seasons, while 34% are willing to cut back on other expenses in order to save more for travel.

Marcus Yong, vice president for global marketing at Klook, predicts travellers will remain resilient against all odds in 2023. “After two years of being grounded, travel is now an experience that people treasure more than ever before, and this is clear from our survey data.”

He added, “Although travel behavior and attitudes have evolved in the past few years, we still see that travelers are ready to adapt and determined to travel no matter what it takes in search of the joys and rewards of travel.”

Yong also mentioned that 2023 is the year of ‘Travelsilience’, which stands for travel and resilience. This means that travellers pursue travel to create new experiences despite all struggles and hindrances.

The survey was conducted in November 2022 via Stickybeak, drawing 902 respondents across nine markets including Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and Korea.

Klook has previously partnered digital travel agency Booking.com to enable travellers to access Klook attractions directly on the latter’s platform.

Singapore – Digital travel agency Booking.com has announced a long-term strategic partnership with Klook, a travel and leisure e-commerce platform, to enable travellers to access Klook attractions directly on Booking.com.

The new global partnership will connect travellers on the go with seamless access to an even greater range of attractions and things to do, all instantly bookable on Booking.com. 

Booking.com said that Klook is the latest attractions partner to integrate with the platform. Klook experiences are now live in over 175 cities, across over 30 markets on Booking.com, and the majority of these are available in Asia and Oceania.

Matthias Schmid, SVP for the trips division at Booking.com, shared that this year was an important year for travel, as borders are opening up, restrictions are easing, and travellers are once again travelling – and showing more enthusiasm and vigour than ever before.

“What a time to be partnering with Klook, a well-known, highly respected household name for travel and experiences, particularly in the Asia Pacific, where this new partnership will significantly increase our coverage and offering within the region. We’re very excited about this collaboration and all the new attractions and experiences we can now provide,” said Schmid.

Meanwhile, Wilfred Fan, chief commercial officer at Klook, commented that they are delighted to partner with Booking.com, connecting their user base to the amazing and unique experiences that the Asia Pacific region has to offer. 

“Cross-border travel in the Asia Pacific is just taking off, and this partnership will enable our merchants to reach an even larger customer demographic globally and accelerate travel recovery in the region,” said Fan.

Singapore – Tiqets, an online platform for cultural and leisure experiences in Europe and North America, has partnered with Klook, a travel and leisure e-commerce platform in the Asia Pacific, to connect both their supply channels to offer consumers a world-class supply of cultural and leisure experiences.

Through the new partnership, customers can now use both platforms to seamlessly book an expanded range of experiences available through either Klook or Tiqets. With this integration in place, museums, attractions, and tour operators working with Tiqets and Klook can significantly increase their reach, and consumers will be able to easily book thousands of unforgettable experiences wherever they travel.

As the travel industry enters its rebound phase after a gruelling, two-year global pandemic, both companies have made a remarkable comeback. Over the summer months, Tiqets saw a 220% surge in bookings in Europe and the UK alone. Similarly for Klook, the company has seen outbound bookings grow eleven times in the same period compared to earlier in the year, signalling that the travel bug is stronger than ever. With the end-of-year holiday season on the horizon and the partnership underway, another impressive increase in bookings is expected.

Luuc Elzinga, Tiqets’ president and founder, commented, “We are thrilled to be partnering up with Klook, one of the most impressive OTAs in the industry. Through this partnership, our network of more than 4,000 of the best museums, attractions and tour operators that provide guided tours at these museums will benefit from greater visibility in the APAC market, and Tiqets will benefit from the new supply that Klook already has connected.”

Meanwhile, Wilfred Fan, chief commercial officer at Klook, said that this partnership with Tiqets opens new doors for both groups of customers to enjoy instant and seamless access to the widest selection of attractions and experiences across the Asia Pacific and Europe.

“Klook has gone from strength to strength during the pandemic, and we’ve quadrupled the number of activities on our platform over the last two years in anticipation of travel recovery. We will continue to work closely with our merchants to accelerate their recovery and reach even more customers around the world,” added Fan.

Thailand – Klook, a travel and leisure e-commerce platform, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Central Pattana plc, Thailand’s retail-led mixed-use real estate developer and operator of central shopping centres, residential and office buildings, and hotels, to boost inbound tourism to Thailand.

The partnership, which begins in October 2022, seeks to leverage the strengths of Central Pattana’s leading retail presence, which encompasses over 37 shopping centres across Thailand’s most popular destinations, with 19 branches located in 15 provinces, both in major and secondary cities, and Klook‘s digital reach and global user base, to position Thailand as the destination-of-choice for travellers from key Asian markets, including Singapore, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. 

Moreover, the partnership will also include a variety of digital marketing initiatives and online-to-offline (O2O) campaigns to increase the visibility of Thailand’s tourism businesses and exposure to international markets. Klook will also collaborate with Centara Hotels & Resorts, the Thailand-based hotel chain, to offer customers specially curated deals and seamless accommodation booking experiences.

Marcus Yong, Klook’s vice president of global marketing, commented that they are excited to be the first travel and leisure e-commerce platform to partner Central Pattana on an integrated marketing campaign to drive tourist arrivals and increase spending in Thailand.

He further shared that partnership enables them to tap into their respective strengths and innovate on offerings that combine travel and retail to help build travellers’ confidence and drive recovery.

“At Klook, we are ramping up to support and drive the next stage of travel recovery in Thailand, which will not only see tourists resuming their favourite pre-pandemic activities like eating local cuisines and shopping, but also branching out to discover more of what Thailand has to offer,” said Yong.

Meanwhile, Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president of marketing at Central Pattana plc, noted this partnership will enable Central Pattana to leverage Klook’s digital capabilities, strong user base and presence in multiple markets to capture new audiences.

“We look forward to working closely with Klook to create joint offerings that will attract and help us welcome more tourists back to Thailand by launching exclusive promotions for foreign customers: get a free Starbucks e-Coupon worth 100 baht when spending 2,000 baht, a free Klook discount code worth 200 baht when spending 2,000 baht on shopping at Central Ayutthaya or 2,500 baht at centralwOrld and Central Phuket. Organising the ‘Pick Up & Drop Off One-Day Tour’ area for international tourists at both centralwOrld and Central Ayutthaya in addition to Klook Downtown Service Counter at centralwOrld, the first comprehensive tourism service in Bangkok,” said Tangpoonsinthana.