OpenDNA and Sightseeing Pass Australia team up to market ‘digital disruptor’ offering for Chinese tourists
OpenDNA has tapped into the Chinese travel market after teaming up with Sightseeing Pass Australia.
Artificial Intelligence and e-commerce marketing company OpenDNA (ASX: OPN) has inked an agreement with Sightseeing Pass Australia to market and sell Australian tourism packages to Chinese travellers.
Under the two-year deal, OpenDNA’s RooLife e-commerce platform will market to and profile prospective travellers while also suggesting appropriate travel plans to Chinese visitors seeking holiday packages in Australia.
Importantly, the deal will allow industry partners in China and Australia to access attractive travel deals with OpenDNA to manage collection of all payments via the preferred WeChat and Alipay payment methods.
The duo will provide tour package marketing material in Mandarin and Sightseeing Pass Australia will source and deliver all tour packages with a focus on guided tours delivered in Mandarin.
OpenDNA said it would receive commission on all products sold through the company’s RooLife platform while concurrently gaining valuable insights into the Chinese tourist travel market.
Tapping into the Chinese travel market
The deal represents a significant opportunity for OpenDNA, giving it access to Australia’s largest inbound tourism sector of 1.43 million Chinese tourists who are currently spending $10 billion per annum.
According to government statistics, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia is forecast to grow annually by 11.9% over the next decade to reach 3.9 million visitors.
OpenDNA claims the integration of its China marketing and sales capabilities, together with Sightseeing Pass Australia’s multi award-winning online travel platform, will provide access to more than 350 tours and multi-attraction discounted passes.
Partnership in line with broader strategy
OpenDNA said its entry into the tourism sector formed part of its strategy to engage with tour operators and tourist destinations in Australia.
Lately, the company has stepped up its efforts to market products and services into the rapidly growing consumer market in China, having recently entered into an agreement with health and wellness company Better Nature to lead its entry into the growing Chinese market.
The agreement followed hot on the heels of OpenDNA’s supply channel agreement with NNM Services.
Commenting on the deal with Sightseeing Pass Australia, OpenDNA chief executive officer Bryan Carr said he expected this new product offering to be a digital disruptor and game changer in the tourism sector.
“We were immediately attracted by the like-minded approach to make it easy for Chinese travellers to access and visit some of Australia’s great tourism attractions and offerings,” he said.
“Our combined offering will allow us to promote tours directly to Chinese travellers online, accept payment from their mobile wallet either via WeChat or Alipay and rely upon a well known and highly-credentialed tour aggregator such as Sightseeing Pass Australia to deliver the tour packages – it’s a perfect solution for both companies and all Chinese tourists.”
OpenDNA’s shares were travelling 15.2% higher in afternoon trade to $0.053.