KKday, a Taiwan-based travel and experiences platform, has on Wednesday announced record-high 2022 revenue growth of 100 percent year on year, surpassing pre-Covid levels.

KKday said in a statement that the increase was bolstered by doubling down on domestic and international travel and investing in innovation and digital transformation of the Asia Pacific (APAC) tourism industry.

According to the statement, KKday is seeing international and domestic travel markets recovering strongly, driven by the borders reopening in Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong in the fourth quarter of 2022.

In addition, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea markets have recovered and exceeded their pre-Covid-19 revenues.

“2022 was our biggest and strongest year as we doubled down on domestic travel and digital transformation of the tourism industry in Asia,” said Ming Chen, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of KKday.

“As international borders reopen, we saw a surge in traveler demand and the highest number of bookings on our platform,

“We are confident that we will continue to capture market opportunities with our focus on innovating and providing long-term value to travelers and our partners,” he added.

KKday’s strong year was driven by key macro trends – international and cross-border travel is back in full force as borders reopen; the rise of digital-first travelers is driving the growth of digitalization across the APAC tourism industry; more travelers are seeking hyperlocal experiences; new technology will focus on providing travelers with seamless experiences.

According to KKday, the firm saw approximately a 25 percent increase in searches on the website quarter on quarter and a rise of over 100 percent in bookings on its platform year on year for domestic and international experiences.

It said the platform’s travel experiences have grown by 100 percent to 300,000, and it also increased the number of merchants to 14,000 (30 percent increase year on year) to support the demand.

KKday has also seen a more than 110 percent increase in merchant adoption of rezio, a software as a service (SaaS) solution to manage and streamline bookings and inventory for merchants on multiple channels.

It said Asahiyama Zoo, one of the major zoo attractions in Japan, has signed a multi-year contract with KKday to implement rezio’s solutions to help manage inventory.

In addition to rezio, KKday recently launched its Marketplace to provide merchants with a larger audience to market their own experiences on their platform. To date, KKday Marketplace has grown to 1,000 partners.

Meanwhile, KKday said hyperlocal travel experiences are in demand as travelers seek unique experiences as borders reopen.

It saw an uptick in the number of bookings for KKday’s owned signature tours in markets such as Japan, Taiwan, and Korea.

The firm has also seen 100 percent more bookings on its platform year on year as more travelers shift to booking experiences online.

The firm is also working with its merchants to integrate tech-enabled solutions for travelers, including utilizing QR codes and mobile check-ins.

For example, KKday partnered with Nami Island, a popular attraction in South Korea with millions of annual visitors, to integrate its software rezio with the attraction’s hardware (e.g., e-gate, kiosk, POS system).

On the outlook, KKday said APAC will continue to be a top destination for domestic and international travelers as borders reopen.

It said the international markets have recovered by 25 percent, and it expects this to fully recover by mid-2023.

With more frequent traveling in 2023, it expects more travelers seeking hyperlocal experiences.

The firm saw an uptick in the number of bookings for KKday’s owned signature tours in markets such as Japan, Taiwan, and Korea in 2022, and it expects this to continue to grow in 2023.

KKday also noted the continued digital transformation of the APAC tourism industry will only accelerate its current recovery.

According to KKday, the firm plans to continue to scale and build new rezio features to automate and streamline solutions for merchants.

It said it will also continue scaling KKday Marketplace. The firm targets to increase by 100 percent new merchants on KKday Marketplace by the end of 2023.

Founded in 2014, KKday is Asia’s leading travel experiences platform, with millions of users and 12 offices across the Asia Pacific.

The platform offers more than 300,000 unique experiences in over 550 cities and 92 countries.

KKday aims to provide users with seamless access to endless lifestyle experiences, from local theme parks and top restaurants to staycations and multi-day hiking trips.

The firm currently has over 900 employees in 12 offices across Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Shanghai, and Australia.

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