Singapore-headquartered travel tech company Smoove Xperience has launched a new eponymous AI-powered app that aims to provide a seamless travel experience through curated guides and user-generated content, itinerary planning tools, and local deals.
Unlike most travel apps that are more localised and only address certain aspects of the journey, the “traveller-centric” platform not only focuses on improving every aspect of the travel journey, but also curates hyperlocalised travel guides, deals, and promotions.
Francis Ong, executive chairman of Smoove Xperience, said that the idea to launch an all-in-one travel app was born after a difficult and complicated trip to China in January 2020, shortly before Wuhan went into the world’s first coronavirus lockdown.
Following his return to Singapore from Beijing, Ong and his team started discussing the idea during Singapore’s circuit-breaker period last April.
Ong explained: “If you have ever been to China, you will understand the challenges we, as travellers, have to go through during our trips. Taking a cab to the hotel, finding a good restaurant nearby, learning about interesting places to visit, and most importantly, using their local digital payment systems.
“A few of my local friends tried helping me by recommending at least eight to 10 different apps, and you can probably imagine what a headache it was for a trip lasting just a few days. With this challenge in mind, we envisioned what the next generation of travel apps would be like.
“We realised that this is a very common problem not only for those going to China, but travellers going to any country. That is also how our company slogan ‘Your local companion’ was born.”
Soft launched in January 2021, the Smoove Xperience app also provides simple navigation and transportation options, easy F&B bookings, tax refunds, and smooth digital payment via its multi-currency e-wallet.
Other in-built tools include the option for business travellers to book a workstation or meeting room at their destination, and the facilitation of processes such as pre-departure Covid testing and e-visa application for medical tourism purposes.
Currently, the lifestyle travel app has more than a dozen partners onboard, including prominent names such as China T-Union, a nationwide contactless card initiative, and online maps provider Here Maps.
The app also provides the latest and most accurate epidemiological data of the user’s chosen destination, by working with an undisclosed third-party vendor; and showcases a range of medical travel services offered by its multi-country medical partner.
With the pandemic having converted many people to digital natives who rely on digital tools for everything, the travel market must adapt to change, said Ong.
“That is why we believe that a single digital platform addressing all the needs of a traveller will be key to the post-pandemic travel industry. We aim to be the new breed of innovators, using this opportunity to modernise and push the travel industry towards new frontiers,” he said.
The app caters to a variety of travellers – from business and family travellers to FITs – and is focused on the travel industry in China and South-east Asia.
As the world gradually recovers from the pandemic, Ong foresees that the Asia-Pacific region will be among the first to return. In-region travel will also likely be at the centre of the recovery, where according to an ILTM report, an estimated 57.5 per cent of Asia-Pacific traveller outbound spend will be captured within the region.
Ong noted that Asia-Pacific has been the fastest-growing wealth region, with China also being one of the largest contributors to travel-related spendings – not just in Asia, but across the globe.
He said: “Given our team’s familiarity with China and the South-east Asian market, we chose to start with these markets first, and have plans to expand to the wider Asia-Pacific region and beyond.”
One-third of travel industry experts in Asia-Pacific expect travel to resume to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, according to a new survey by Collinson.
While most travel experts (89 per cent) believe that it is safe to travel, they are pessimistic about the industry’s recovery – whether due to the policies being put in place, wider perceptions of safety, or both. The data highlights that 31 per cent of respondents in Asia-Pacific expect travel to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, closely followed by 2024 at 25 per cent, and late 2022 with 17 per cent.
The survey was carried out in April 2021 by Collinson in partnership with Centre for Aviation (CAPA), polling more than 330 C-Suite and senior managerial-level travel experts globally from leading travel industry brands.
Most travel experts in Asia-Pacific surveyed overwhelmingly believe that it is now safe to travel – with 11 per cent saying it is “extremely safe” and 30 per cent saying it is “quite safe”, with a further 48 per cent saying it is “extremely safe provided preventative solutions are adhered to”. However, over half (56 per cent) are “very concerned” at reports of fraudulent Covid-19 test results and vaccination passports.
Global herd immunity is a key driver of the return to normality; and yet, because of public resistance to the vaccine in certain locations, coupled with vaccine inequality – this will take a considerably long time.
When asked what they thought was the most plausible scenario by 2022, 30 per cent of experts in Asia-Pacific believed herd immunity would be reached in the US, the UK and a select few developed nations. By contrast, 27 per cent believed a handful of smaller nations would do so, with the rest of the world including the US and the UK failing to do so. Only 16 per cent believed that most countries in the developed world would achieve herd immunity by next year.
A high number of respondents believed that leisure travel would recover significantly faster than business travel, while in both categories, shorter-haul flights will make a faster comeback.
When asked to select the most plausible scenario in 2022 for the recovery of leisure travel, 27 per cent of respondents in Asia say they expect 41-60 per cent of 2019 levels next year.
Meanwhile, the outlook for business travel markets is weaker than leisure. For short-haul flights, 31 per cent expect to see 41-60 per cent of 2019 levels next year; while 35 per cent of respondents expect longhaul business travel in 2022 will be only 20-40 per cent of 2019 levels.
Most Asia-Pacific respondents (51 per cent) expect that robust testing protocols will remain key to reopening global borders until end of 2022. Almost one-third (32 per cent) of respondents believe robust testing protocols will remain key for the next three years, while just 13 per cent expect testing will be phased out in 2021 in line with the vaccine rollout.
As such, almost half (49 per cent) of Asia-Pacific respondents believe quarantine measures will be phased out by 2022, with a further 11 per cent expecting quarantine measures to be lifted by mid-2021. Yet, 30 per cent still believe quarantine measures will remain in place beyond 2021.
Most Asia-Pacific respondents (58 per cent) expect aviation market access arrangements by governments to evolve at different rates, depending on the region/market through 2021. Over a quarter (27 per cent) expect aviation market access arrangement by governments to “remain the same until at least 2022”, while only five per cent expect access arrangements to “substantially ease” or even just “start to ease” as we go through 2021.
It is, therefore, critical for governments and members of the travel ecosystem to come together and collaborate for the safe return of global travel.
Asia-Pacific respondents overwhelmingly (75 per cent) shared the view that vaccine passports were of “vital importance”, as governments won’t reopen borders without them. Meanwhile, only 18 per cent said they were “not important” as some governments will allow access regardless of digital health documents. A further seven per cent said they were “not relevant” compared to other issues, such as mutual recognition of vaccines.
Asia-Pacific respondents were also overwhelmingly (76 per cent) concerned by reports of fraudulent Covid-19 test results and vaccination passports surfacing, with only six per cent saying they were “not concerned”.
In light of this, Collinson is supporting the development of accredited testing solutions, along with Verifly, CommonPass and IATA, including the piloting of digital health passports aimed at reducing the chance of fraudulent activity – while expediting the safe return of global travel.
“The global travel recovery won’t be immediate, but we do have the unique opportunity to make things better than ever before by working together to evolve current practices,” said Todd Handcock, Asia Pacific president for Collinson.
“This joint research with CAPA has helped shine a light on the areas that require immediate, combined focus and effort from government bodies and private organisations – particularly those in the travel ecosystem – in order to remove remaining barriers and help achieve the safe, long-term return of global travel.”