Zuji offers HK$10 flights in 10th anniversary tactical campaign

Flights to mystery destinations with designated travel dates, including both long- and short-haul, will be announced hours before the day of sale on the Zuji official website. Its Facebook page will also provide hints on what the daily offers will be.

From 11 March to the end of the month, the campaign continues with HK$1,000 off travel packages that cost a minimum of HK$10,000, as well as 10 per cent off all hotel bookings.

These celebratory discounts are absorbed fully into Zuji's 10th anniversary marketing budget, which increased 30 per cent over last year's.

Charlie Wong, general manager of Zuji Hong Kong, tells Campaign Asia-Pacific that as an online travel agent, it is hard to guarantee a certain number of HK$10 flights, because availability depends on the actual-day supply and demand. Currently, the bulk (70 per cent) of Zuji's customers are Hong Kong outbound travellers.

Ten years ago, the concept of e-commerce in the travel industry was not well-accepted, and Wong likes to think Zuji has helped to "push the whole industry forward".

According to Euromonitor, 5 per cent of all travel bookings are made online in the whole travel market in Hong Kong. Wong reveals that Zuji has a quarter-share of that 5 per cent pie.

Given that local traditional travel agencies are also jumping on the online-booking bandwagon, Wong sees it as an acknowledgement of this very concept of travel e-commerce. "They are also helping to educate the market. Plus this proves that the OTA market is profitable enough for many players," he said, adding that Priceline is Zuji's closest online competitor.

Travellers now have more flexibility in deciding their own travel itineraries and are no longer bound by traditional travel tours, though online booking for travel still has not caught on widely.

"Many offline customers are still not aware about Zuji as an online travel agency," he says.

As part of the campaign's media outreach, Zuji will have advertisements in free daily newspapers and major travel magazines, with media selection weighing more on offline channels such as MTR trackside posters at every single station in Hong Kong, 4-sheets at the Bank Centre in Mongkok and Hang Lung Centre in Causeway Bay.

The travel brand's media agency is Initiative, and PR is handled by Waggener Edstrom.

As for this year's marketing plans, a Weibo account and a Chinese-language landing page are in the pipeline to improve conversion rates, Wong said.