With a revival of tourism in Thailand and Asia-Pacific in sight, Go City, the world's largest multi-attraction pass provider, is expanding its footprint in the region, including Bangkok, to boost travel operators.
Jon Owen, chief executive of Go City, said that after the pandemic put its transactions on hold for months, a strong rebound was seen first in the US, with domestic travel back to normal, followed by Europe, which has seen a 70-80% recovery.
Asia-Pacific might be slow to reopen when compared to other regions, but the recent resumption of travel has prompted Go City to reintroduce its product to this market in a bid to serve both inbound demand to Thailand and outbound Thai tourists.
Mr Owen said Go City's business model aims to provide a combined pack of attractions, experiences and tours for a single price. It currently provides passes in over 30 major cities globally, with 3 million active customers and a 30% share of the global market for this kind of service.
This year, the company made Bangkok one of its new locations in Asia-Pacific, along with Tokyo, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, after previously launching in Singapore and Hong Kong.
"We've partnered with 30 attractions and tours in Bangkok and plan to include 10-15 more in our pass, as the city continues to see high demand from Europeans and US tourists," Mr Owen said.
Meanwhile, the company aims to promote the Go City pass in other cities to Thai customers as simplified travel rules have enabled more local people to take outbound trips. Prior to the pandemic, Thai travellers made up the fifth-largest market in the region, with the London Pass the best-selling product.
Mr Owen said the number of site visits by Go City pass holders was five times higher than the average tourist as they wanted to make the most of it.
However, the key point is to help less well-known attractions gain more visitors as those who purchase 1-, 2- or 3-day passes would use their time to explore new places.
Attractions available in Bangkok include the King Power Mahanakhon Skywalk, Chinatown Food Tour, Chao Phraya River Dinner Cruise, and Tuk Tuk Night Tour.
Mr Owen said the firm invested US$35 million in technology during the pandemic to tap digitally-savvy customers and provide tech to help operators digitalise their ticketing services.
