Klook Targets Growth in China and Gen Z Travelers

Bookings have surged for Klook, one of Asia’s leading online marketplaces for travel experiences.

Klook celebrated its ninth anniversary in September, and revealed it had made $3 billion in annual gross bookings, three times its pre-pandemic figures in 2019. In the first quarter of this year, Klook told Skift Research that its bookings value was double that of 2019 and was targeting a ten-fold increase by 2025. Klook is not a public company and doesn’t release its financials.

Klook’s growth comes as the Asia Pacific’s travel sector still grapples with reduced flight capacities. The company attributes the leap in sales to its focus on activities for a younger set of travelers.

Ethan Lin, CEO and co-founder at Klook, said the company has seen an increase in traveler spending of 30% over last year and a 20% increase in activities booked per trip.

Lin said Mainland China shows untapped travel potential with the upcoming ‘Golden Week,’ as Chinese travelers are willing to spend over $5,000 on their next holiday. He added that Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and Korea were among the top destinations that travelers were returning to. 

Klook’s geographical split is 40% from greater China, 35% from Southeast Asia, and 25% from the rest of the globe.

A Marketing Shift

Gen Z and millennial travelers, who make up 70% of Klook’s 60 million monthly visits across its platforms, are increasingly splurging on travel experiences, with many willing to spend over $3,000 per trip, according to a recent Klook survey.

The company’s data also showed that 85% of its bookings come from mobile. As a result, Klook is now focused on channeling “almost its entire advertising budget” into social media and digital content creators with its newly launched ‘Klook Kreator Program.’

“1,000 content creators will form part of a collaborative effort of user-generated content to create an authentic and informative travel resource across eight social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram,” said Eric Gnock Fah, COO and co-founder of Klook.

Measuring the campaign’s reach and success would look at “conversions and sales made using personalized promotional codes that these creators have, and virality and engagement levels of these content,” said Gnock Fah.