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Online Travel

What Zuji’s Suspension for Missed Payments Means for Asia’s Online Travel Pioneers

Raini Hamdi

Photo Credit: A terminal at Singapore Changi Airport is shown. Online travel agency Zuji, which operates in Singapore and Hong Kong, has failed to meet its payment obligations for airline ticket sales and has been suspended by the International Air Transport Association. Flickr / johnlsl

Skift Take

All is not well with Zuji, a pioneer in the online travel space in Asia-Pacific. An ownership that is more adept at aviation than running an OTA may be an issue, but it’s clear the entry of global OTAs flush with marketing wherewithal and expertise is making it difficult for the pioneers to compete.

Asian online travel agency Zuji has failed to meet its payment obligations for airline ticket sales and has been suspended by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) from selling tickets through a settlement program with participating airlines. Zuji operates in Singapore and Hong Kong but its websites in both markets have been taken down, proclaiming, "New site coming soon." One of the earliest OTAs to open in Asia-Pacific, its fate is now uncertain. “Discussions are underway to reinstate Zuji’s participation in the IATA Billing & Settlement Plan (BSP) once repayment conditions are met,” IATA’s spokesperson Albert Tjoeng told Skift. The so-called BSP is a settlement system that facilitates and simplifies the selling, reporting, and remitting of funds between IATA-accredited travel agents and airlines participating in a particular plan. It i

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