In preparation for the highly anticipated Visit Malaysia Campaign 2020, players in the tourism industry are leaving no stone unturned to provide seamless experiences for travel agents. Among these players is Parlo Tours Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Parlo Bhd, which has taken a significant step by launching an innovative online platform called "The Marketplace."
This platform serves as a business-to-business (B2B) integrated distribution channel, offering travel agents access to essential information such as room itineraries, available dates, flight details, activities, and tour packages in designated locations.
The introduction of The Marketplace has yielded impressive results for Parlo Tours. Within just one month of its launch, the platform has garnered over 318 new registrations, reflecting a remarkable 170% increase in sign-ups. Moreover, this figure has already surpassed 50% of the year-end target, which aims to achieve 500 registrations.
Elaborating on the development of The Marketplace, Parlo Tours' CEO, Dani Yap, revealed that the company is currently working on integrating application programming interfaces (APIs) and is awaiting system testing.
Yap expressed confidence that the platform's wide range of products and seamless trip-planning and booking tools will significantly benefit their agents and staff, ultimately catering to the needs of Free Independent Travelers (FITs) and enhancing the company's bottom line by streamlining day-to-day operations.
With the initial success of The Marketplace, Parlo Tours is already eyeing expansion into other tourism segments, including sports and medical tourism. Yap believes in the importance of continuous growth, whether through travel partners or venturing into the online-to-offline market.
Furthermore, Parlo Tours is looking to expand its business through strategic partnerships with other industry giants. Negotiations are underway with renowned players such as Hong Kong-based Klook and Bedsonline to facilitate this expansion.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) is also gearing up for the future by working on its own digital platform for hotel inventories and tour products. While the platform shares similarities with The Marketplace, it will primarily focus on a B2B model initially and may transition towards business-to-client (B2C) in the future, according to sources.
Matta President, Datuk Tan Kok Liang, stressed the importance of embracing technology to maintain the industry's relevance amid the rise of disruptive technologies, such as online booking engines and e-hailing platforms.
As of 2019, the tourism industry's targets include welcoming 28.1 million arrivals and generating tourism receipts worth RM92.2 billion. The first half of the year witnessed a positive growth rate of 4.9% in tourist arrivals. However, there was a setback in arrivals from China, which dropped by 20%, primarily due to the haze-related poor visibility and health concerns experienced in September.
As the tourism industry gears up for the Visit Malaysia Campaign 2020, the introduction of technology-driven platforms like The Marketplace and Matta's upcoming digital platform promises to reshape the landscape of travel agent operations and enhance the overall experience for tourists.
By embracing innovation, the industry strives to maintain its position in a rapidly changing landscape dominated by the influence of technology.