Traveloka, Southeast Asia’s travel and lifestyle superapp, with over 60 million downloads, is optimistic on the country’s domestic tourism recovery looking at the result of the recently completed EPIC Sale in Thailand.
Successfully held from November 5-11, 2021, Traveloka EPIC Sale 2021 is aiming to stimulate customer demand while at the same time supporting its business partners’ operations, especially SMEs.
In addition, Traveloka has also been consistently promoting safe travel to support the tourism sector’s revival through various initiatives.
Traveloka Thailand Country Manager, Panicha Thananaken, said, “We are grateful to see the increasing demand for domestic tourism after the second EPIC Sale in Thailand was concluded. With around 4.5 transactions uplift and a 40% surge in daily active users during the EPIC HOUR. The program has successfully provided an important boost to our partners, especially SMEs, as we recognize that the tourism industry is one of the sectors that is heavily impacted by the pandemic, with many industry players struggling to stay afloat during this period.”
Traveloka has become an integral platform connecting Thai tourism companies, including SMEs, and their potential customers. During its signature EPIC Sale, more than 1,800 partners participated in this program, of which 35% are SMEs in the tourism and lifestyle sectors. While the number of partners has doubled compared to the previous period in September 2019, pointing to strong momentum for a recovery in the tourism sector in Thailand.
Based on the data gathered during the EPIC Sale period, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Chonburi were recorded as the top domestic destinations where people have a strong interest in visiting with safe travel in mind, a key factor when planning their trips.
Some of other highlights of the significantly increased customer engagement and trends are the following:
Staycation Trend Set to Continue
The staycation trend looks set to continue and become even more popular in line with buffet dining activities. A continued surge in Accommodation and Xperience bookings in Bangkok suggests that a safe staycation close to home is still the easiest way to recharge away from the home office.
Strong Interest in Local Destinations
Other than Bangkok, popular local destinations for visitors include Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya and Chonburi based on users’ interests in flights, accommodations and attractions as people plan to take flights for weekend getaways to Chiang Mai and Phuket or road trips to Pattaya, which has shown strong growth in demand for accommodations. People who are planning a trip to these destinations also showed enthusiastic interest in their surrounding areas through Xperience activity bookings such as Island Hopping and Water Tours.
Safe Travel is the Priority
When considering a holiday, safety issues dominate for people who intend to travel in the months ahead, with interest among Traveloka users in travel insurance increasing by 4.5 times compared to January 2021, while more than 700 SHA+ and Traveloka Clean Partners experienced an increase in traffic and higher sales. Positive surge recorded for CleanFlight increased by 85%, CleanAccommodation increased by 65+%, and CleanXperience increased 165%.
Torphong Wongsathienchai, President of Love Andaman, one of the best reviewed and premium tour operators in Phuket and a partner for Xperience products who participated in the EPIC Sale and received a strong response from users, said, “Love Andaman extends our sincerest gratitude to Traveloka, our esteemed partner who has become an integral part of our success. With your support, be it in sales projects or promotional activities pushing out excellent deals, these combined efforts have brought substantial numbers of domestic and international tourists to our services, reflecting a significant boost in sales. We would like to thank you again for your trust and your confidence in Love Andaman.”
“The EPIC Sale 2021 demonstrates Traveloka’s commitment to meeting the needs of our customers while supporting the government in reviving the tourism industry in Thailand as one of the major contributors of the nation’s GDP. As the economy transitions to a recovery, Traveloka will continue to explore other initiatives to increase the confidence of tourists to return to traveling, positively contributing to the businesses of our partners while at the same time encouraging the safe travel implementation by following strict health and safety protocols,” Panicha concluded.
