Tiqets, a company that sells admission to museums and attractions, has navigated the pandemic better than some rivals thanks to a strategic investment from Airbnb. The company has been profitable since last year, reducing the need for additional funding, according to CEO Laurens Leurink. Tiqets offers unique experiences such as special early morning or late night entries and exclusive inventory obtained through hardware and software sales to attractions. The company is focused on global expansion and aims to bring its curated offerings to more destinations.
Tiqets has formed strategic partnerships with companies such as Sofar Sounds and Klook as part of its growth strategy. The company has a focus on distributor and affiliate relationships, recognizing the importance of activities in the travel planning process. Tiqets curates its offerings by considering destination maturity, audience mix, distributor partner wishes, and other criteria. The company works with a variety of distribution partners, from large online travel agencies to small travel media outlets, using various tools to share its inventory.
Tiqets is investing in innovations such as AI and AR to enhance the visitor experience in museums and attractions. The company uses AI for internal efficiency, customer service, and optimizing content through localization. With the help of AI, Tiqets has quadrupled its business while maintaining a relatively small team of roughly 250 people. The company is experimenting with AI for UX changes to recommend packages and combinations to customers. Tiqets sees significant opportunities for growth in the travel activity space and plans to continue partnerships with companies like TripAdvisor.
Tiqets’s long-term vision includes further geographical growth in markets such as Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. The company aims to bring more destinations to full maturity, focusing on the top 200 destinations where it currently operates. Tiqets is particularly interested in exploring new markets and types of experiences. The company has doubled its team in the U.S. and is expanding rapidly in the domestic market. There is still significant potential for growth in less-known states and destinations within the U.S.
Airbnb’s investment in Tiqets prior to the pandemic, along with government support in the Netherlands for salaries, helped the company navigate the crisis. Tiqets has accelerated its growth plans during the pandemic, focusing on finalizing projects such as automated search and landing pages. The company has had internal fundraising rounds among existing shareholders but is currently profitable and not actively seeking additional funding. Tiqets plans to continue expanding and focusing on bringing more destinations to full maturity in the coming years.
