Phocuswright 2015: ZOZI launches iOS tours and activities app as it seeks to ‘capture the local’

Phocuswright 2015: ZOZI launches iOS tours and activities app as it seeks to ‘capture the local’

Tours and activities reservation system provider ZOZI says it is out to “capture the hearts and minds of locals” as it launched its new iOS app enabling mobile booking and payments.

Tours and activities reservation system provider ZOZI says it is out to “capture the hearts and minds of locals” as it launched its new iOS app enabling mobile booking and payments.

ZOZI’s new app will enable customer check-in, payment using EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) credit card chip readers, can scan barcodes for redemption and track inventory.

Founder and chief executive TJ Sassani told last week’s Phocuswright conference in Florida that successfully scaling in the sector will mean tapping into local demand.

“You can monetise the tourist once or twice a year, but the local you can monetise more often. We want to capture the hearts and minds of the local,” he said.

As well as the Software as a Service ZOZI Advance reservation and payments system, ZOZI also operates zozi.com, a marketplace for tours activities linked to other products like outward-bound equipment.

The iOS mobile app gives merchants the ability to manage their business on the go while reducing the risk of fraud.

ZOZI estimates the global tours and activities market to be worth $125 billion. It operates in nearly 90 countries and is close to achieving $1 billion annual gross transaction value.

The company has secured nearly $50 million in financing from investors, including Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and Pritzker Vlock Ventures.

Sassani said: “ZOZI leads the way in modernizing the activity industry by investing heavily in our technology and mobile strategy. We’ll bring hundreds of thousands of activity merchants online over the next decade.”