Gullivers Pacific and Zuji partner

May 27, 2004 |

New Zealand's largest travel group, Gullivers Pacific, and Asia Pacific’s leading online travel company, ZUJI, have joined forces in a strategic alliance.

New Zealand’s largest travel group, Gullivers Pacific, and Asia Pacific’s leading online travel company, ZUJI, have joined forces in a strategic alliance.

The alliance will result in the development of an online travel web site for New Zealanders, to be branded ‘ZUJI’ and managed by Gullivers Pacific. The ZUJI site is envisaged to be the most comprehensive online travel offering in New Zealand. The ZUJI network has international access to 300 airlines, 33,000 hotels, 50 car hire companies and more than 3,000 activities and attractions.

ZUJI is backed by 15 Asia Pacific airlines and Travelocity â€“ a leader in online travel. ZUJI is the only online travel agency with a pan-Asia Pacific footprint, and New Zealand will be ZUJI’s 6th country market. This deal represents the first time that ZUJI has partnered with a local company to enter a new market, a reflection on Gullivers’ reputation and capabilities.

ZUJI entered the Australian market in 2002. It is Australia’s fastest growing online travel company with growth of 44% over the previous quarter and over 200% on the same quarter last year. It also has highly successful online travel sites operating in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and (South) Korea.

Gullivers will represent the ZUJI brand in New Zealand, and manage operational aspects of running the business in New Zealand. Travel content and deals for the New Zealand ZUJI site will be sourced by Gullivers Pacific.

In announcing details of the plan, David Wafer, Gullivers Pacific Chief Executive Officer, said:

“New Zealanders are highly tech-savvy, love to travel and are already actively exploring options for making travel reservations online. With almost 80% of New Zealanders now online (Nielsen Q4 2003), and close to 10 percent of travel booked over the Internet across the Asia Pacific Region today, it is clear that Gullivers must embrace this emerging market opportunity. To do this, we have decided to implement an online distribution channel. This channel is ZUJI.

“This decision is a strategic business move for Gullivers. The ZUJI online travel site will co-exist alongside our current wholesale and retail businesses. Together, Gullivers and ZUJI make a formidable team in New Zealand,” said Mr Wafer.

The ZUJI relationship allows Gullivers access to ZUJI’s highly sophisticated booking technology and core content. Establishing an online channel with ZUJI allows Gullivers to ‘hit the ground running’ with a travel site in a matter of months, versus years. The site is anticipated to be ready to take consumer bookings by Q4 2004. ZUJI’s entry to New Zealand offers travel suppliers a new distribution channel to reach travelers in New Zealand.

Chad Howard, ZUJI’s General Manager, Partnerships, commented:

“ZUJI is delighted to announce our relationship with Gullivers, the first ZUJI Network Partner.

“The driving force behind the creation of the ZUJI / Gullivers relationship are ‘Net-savvy travelers, who are already buying flights and hotels online in New Zealand, across Asia Pacific and the world. The trend towards booking travel online has now found traction in New Zealand. ZUJI’s market-entry here is evidence of that.

“New Zealander travelers will soon be able to visit the ZUJI site in New Zealand to find a comprehensive, one-stop-shop for travel, which will accept real-time bookings and secure payment for purchases on or offline.

“Bringing ZUJI to New Zealand is part of our plan to extend the ZUJI brand and services into new markets. Our goal is to become the number one online travel agency site in New Zealand, supporting our leadership position across Asia Pacific.”

ZUJI’s scale gives it the ability to leverage regional supplier relationships across Asia Pacific. This, combined with its low infrastructure model, and dedicated local teams â€“ in this case Gullivers - allows ZUJI to offer great travel deals online.

ZUJI’s highly sophisticated technology makes shopping for available travel options (seats/flights, rooms/hotels, car hire, attractions), and making reservations online in real time, easy â€“ as well as ensuring highly secure online payment/e-commerce environment.

Many overseas travelers already use ZUJI’s international sites to book trips to New Zealand. In Q1 2004, Auckland was one of the Top 20 destinations booked on ZUJI, and the number one international destination booked on ZUJI’s Australian site (ZUJI Online Travel trends, Q1 2004).