Two Singaporean brothers and the golden e-ticket that could shake up the travel industry

Founders of Globaltix, Chan Chee Chong, CEO (left), and Chan Chee Kong, COO (right). Photo credit: GlobalTix.

There were more than 100 million tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia in 2014 alone, but only one-third of them made online bookings.

And while some travelers might purchase plane tickets and hotel stays online, they’re reluctant to do so when it comes to excursions and experiences. That’s where travel agents reign supreme. Tourists may, for example, book visits to Universal Studios and Jurong Bird Park during a trip to Singapore, and they’ll be issued a paper ticket or handed vouchers.

Chee Chong, CEO of GlobalTix, believes that’s really inefficient. He’s been associated with the travel industry for the entirety of his professional career, which started with SilkAir several years ago.

It helps the park earn more revenue by running promotions.

Chee’s career also took him to Singapore Airlines where he was posted to destinations across the Asian continent, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan. After a seven-year stint at the two airlines, he changed industries with a role at Sentosa Development Corporation, which runs the Singaporean island resort.

The entrepreneur’s work in the travel industry helped him understand that there were several gaps which needed to be addressed.

“According to our research, tours and activities account for 21 percent of tourist spending at their destination, and food and beverage another 24 percent, but only 5 percent of this is transacted online,” Chee explains. “This compares to 35 percent electronic ticketing for airlines and 25 percent for hotel bookings.”

Airlines and hotels weren’t affected much – large search engines had helped them expand their business, but tour operators lagged behind. Fewer online options meant they couldn’t entice customers with flash discounts and deals.

So the evidence pointed to holidaymakers being ready to buy day-trips and venue tickets online – what was needed was an online platform to bring everything together. That’s when the GlobalTix team came up with its e-ticketing platform.

Photo credit: Pixabay.

Network effect

Work on it began in April 2013 with the MVP launching roughly a year later, in May 2014. In the meantime Chee was joined by his brother, Chee Kong, who quit a promising job in private equity to support the fledgling company. He’s now the COO, responsible for operations, investor management, and financial reporting.

GlobalTix closed a series A round of funding worth US$2 million in August. It’s also supported by the Singapore Tourism Board.