NusaTrip, Indonesia’s first IATA-certified online travel agency (OTA) and the travel vertical of Society Pass Incorporated (SoPa), has on Wednesday announced the opening of its first regional office in Singapore and first office outside of Indonesia.

The office opening positions NusaTrip as the travel platform of choice for travelers desiring access to the booming recovery of Southeast Asia’s (SEA) tourism industry and reflects NusaTrip’s commitment to developing a wider range of marketing and commercial partnerships with airlines, hotels, and tourism boards, SoPa said in a statement.

It said customers in Singapore can now directly book flights and hotel rooms and pay in local currency on NusaTrip.com’s dedicated website for Singapore travelers.

“Singapore’s strategic location at the center of Southeast Asia (SEA) make it a preferred destination for travelers from around the globe. Ranked the third busiest airport in the world by Skytrax, Singapore’s Changi Airport (IATA: SIN, ICAO: WSSS) plays an important and strategic role in SEA’s travel, tourism, and hospitality industry,

“The presence of NusaTrip in Singapore is only the beginning of many significant advancements to come. It is an important step toward increasing our accessibility and credibility among our key stakeholders in Southeast Asia (SEA)”, said NusaTrip’s Chief Executive Officer Johanes (Joe) Chang.

Leveraging SEA’s soaring momentum of the travel and tourism industry recovery post-COVID-19 pandemic, NusaTrip is expanding its offering beyond air travel.

Cited the World Travel & Tourism Council’s “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2022” report, it said the travel and tourism gross domestic product (GDP) in Asia-Pacific is forecasted to grow at an average annual rate of 8.5 percent or twice the 4 percent growth rate for the regional economy.

Against this backdrop, NusaTrip expects to significantly add to its supply of hotels beyond the current 200,000 registered hotels on its platform.

NusaTrip connects worldwide flight content through streamlined integration with low-cost and full-service airlines from multiple points of sale and enables global distribution at ease via its proprietary technology, the NusaXchange platform.

Founded in 2018 as a next generation, data-driven, loyalty, fintech and e-commerce ecosystem in the fast-growing markets of Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, which account for more than 80 percent of the SEA population, and with offices located in Angeles, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila, and Singapore, SoPa is an acquisition-focused holding company operating six interconnected verticals (loyalty, digital media, travel, telecoms, lifestyle, and food and beverage), which seamlessly connects millions of registered consumers and hundreds of thousands of registered merchants/brands across multiple product and service categories throughout SEA.

SoPa completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SoPa in November 2021. Its shares were added to the Russell 2000 index in December 2021.

SoPa acquires fast growing e-commerce companies and expands its user base across a robust product and service ecosystem.

The firm integrates these complementary businesses through its signature Society Pass fintech platform and circulation of its universal loyalty points or Society Points, which has entered beta testing and is expected to launch broadly at the beginning of 2023.

SoPa loyalty program members earn and redeem Society Points and receive personalised promotions based on SoPa’s data capabilities and understanding of consumer shopping behaviour.

The firm has amassed more than 3.3 million registered consumers and over 205,000 registered merchants and brands. It has invested 2+ years building proprietary IT architecture to effectively scale and support its consumers, merchants, and acquisitions.

SoPa leverages technology to tailor a more personalised experience for customers in the purchase journey and to transform the entire retail value chain in SEA.

The firm operates Thoughtful Media Group, a Thailand-based, a social commerce-focused, premium digital advertising network; NusaTrip, a leading Indonesia-based Online Travel Agency; Gorilla Networks, a Singapore-based, web3-enabled mobile blockchain network operator; Leflair.com, Vietnam’s leading lifestyle e-commerce platform; Pushkart.ph, a popular grocery delivery company in Philippines; Handycart.vn, a premier online restaurant delivery service based in Vietnam; and Mangan.ph, a leading local restaurant delivery service in Philippines.

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