Prior to tourism sector innovation, tour operators were doing a good job with limited resources. Most operated on low budgets, especially private travel agencies, which had to do their own packaging, marketing, trading, and site building to generate better returns.
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many people out of business. Some did not return, but a significant number have recovered, but have not yet. means less spending.
Lwere Shakur started his Mabamba tour in Entebbe, but managed to bounce back despite the lockdown and travel restrictions that had a huge impact on his customers. “I had to compile the package, the itinerary, what was included and what was not included, and it was hard,” says Lwere, who makes daily trips for tourists in Entebbe.
Hilda Namara, who runs Rohimo Tours and Safaris, has been in the business for 4 years and looks back and sees improvement. “I don’t have a website and didn’t know what strategy to use to market my services. Tripesa has developed a website for my business that I can update anytime. I did,” says Namara.
Fintech’s role in the tourism sector
Tripesa – a financial content management system that has helped tour operators such as Lwere and Namara shoulder the burden and increase sales for their businesses in the tourism sector.
The country, where tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors, needs to streamline its products and services to meet the growing demand. As the number of tourists also increases, more tour companies are popping up every other day.
Such growth is projected to generate more than 130 million arrivals and 32 million jobs by 2030, earning more than $260 billion annually by 2030, making digital A large-scale campaign on sanitation is called for.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by integrating financial technology into the tourism industry, giving operators access to more resources, providing not only an exciting trading experience for their clients, but also for business. is to optimize
“Maru bob” experience
It wasn’t until 2013 with Round Bob, a travel booking platform that worked with smaller tour companies, that innovation eased the tourism industry’s business processes.
With the birth of Tripesa, tour operators can streamline processes, reduce costs and track business performance online. “We want to give everyone their own ‘round bob.” Rather than waiting for a larger company to take the lead, tour operators can now package and distribute their products and own the tools to personally make money,” said Tripesa co-founder Managing his director he explains David Gonahasa.
Its scope extends to hotels, events, car rentals and other aspects of tourism. Despite the lack of tools and services, small companies are an integral part of the tourism cycle, Gonahasa said.
“Many people can barely package or even market what they offer. Distribution is another hurdle, as there is no interactive website or customer relationship system. It limits flowering,” he adds.
One year later, Tripesa supports small travel and tourism operators in Uganda and Kenya to help them package their products, sell online, accept bookings and accept payments in various currencies and installments. did.
“Most tour companies do not adequately educate people on how to experience things online,” said Job Soyekwo of local tour operator Mulima Adventures.
Tripesa focuses on building no-code websites and payments, in addition to leveraging a decentralized approach to digitization. This ensures that product owners have full rights to their customers, payments and data.
Kennedy Akora, User Interface Designer, said:
The brains behind this innovation say it is a user-friendly platform that users can easily navigate and access various services. The team is also made up of people who have a deep understanding of the needs of the tourism business.
Country Director Jafar Ajena previously worked for the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) as a Digital Marketer and was involved in sustaining the growth of Ugandan destination brands during the Covid-19 pandemic. rice field. One of his best ways to grow a brand is to win old clients while at the same time attracting new ones.
Inquiry and booking tracking
With the help of a customer relationship management system that allows tour operators to track inquiries, bookings, account registrations that occur at customer sites, and track customer details, tour operators are aware of the market and are therefore more of customers can be obtained. demand and trend. Another exciting feature is our content management system built to help tour operators succeed.
“We have built a customized content management system that meets the needs of tour operators who want to make money on their packages. With the Tripesa dashboard, you can create and list your events and pay from overseas. We have integrated payments within the Tripesa website and transfers to accounts, but you can also receive payments with mobile money,” Ajena explains.
For travelers who book packages in installments, tour operators monitor and track transactions online.
Tour operators can also sell packages. Loy Namata of Vamos Tours and Travel, who has been in the business for seven years, uses marketing and content creation tools to record more bookings.
Although there is room for growth, Tripesa still has many factors to play. In Uganda and Kenya, he has over 250 tourism business subscribers on his platform, yet many tour operators are unaware of the benefits. “Not all tour companies do business online.
Many of the biggest investors are still hesitant to invest in tourism, even though tourism is a proven cash cow that creates jobs. Online establishments such as Tripesa have a big mission to win the trust of many people.
There are people out there who do not believe online trading is real. It requires costly training and extensive sensitization.
As financial technology continues to expand its horizons in local markets, the next step is to expand into more countries in the region, including Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
However, current regulatory standards in various markets make it difficult to do business. The long-term goal is to become a payment solution while facilitating the growth of the travel and tourism industry in Africa.