Digitizing Travel – Soutchai Travel goes mobile

TEXT BY JASON ROLAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY PONGPAT "LOU" SENSOUPHONE / SOUTCHAI TRAVEL

A traveler uses the Soutchai App to fi nd her way around

The secret of business is fi nding a niche and fi lling it well. For Soutchai Travel, this means facilitating travel for a broad spectrum of clients in many locations. To this end, they have recently launched a new app that gives tourists access to travel services 24 hours a day.

Soutchai Travel grew out of humble origins in 2010 by founder Khen Vongthongchit. “Originally we only had Soutchai guesthouse in Pakse. We found that tourists often needed other services, so we developed Soutchai Travel as an in-house agency to fi ll the need,” Khen mentions. Over the past decade, he has worked hard to grow the company from a small single desk in Pakse and now boasts a busy head offi ce in downtown Vientiane and branch offi ces in Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, the 4000 Islands, and the original location in Pakse, now employing 125 employees. The company also owns a resort near a waterfall just outside of Vientiane offering overnight stays

In 2018, Khen noticed that more and more clients were becoming tech-savvy and with very little competition from any local online companies offering full services, he noticed a gap in the market. He and his team began work on an app to offer tourists the ability to book services from their own mobile phones with the utmost of convenience. After a full year of development and trials, the Soutchai Travel app was launched to the public in August 2019.

“The reception of the app has been very positive. Tourists love the ease and convenience of being able to book travel anytime they like without having to visit an offi ce,” Khen stated.

The Soutchai Travel app has four primary functions: Bus and Train tickets, Accommodation, Activities, and Coupon and Discounts. “Clients really appreciate us taking away the headache and hassle of navigating unfamiliar bus stations and crossing the language barrier for them. On some of the bus routes, we even collect passengers at their hotels,” added Khen.

Accommodation allows bookings of participating hotels and guesthouses, while the Coupon and Discounts function offers special discounts for app users

MORE INFO Learn more about Soutchai Travel at their website: soutchaitravel. com and download the Soutchai Travel app in the App Store and Google Play.

1. Arriving in style with Soutchai Travel 2. The app interface is easy to use 3. Planning trips and meeting new friends 4. Khen Vongthongchit, founder and pioneer of Soutchai Travel

at many restaurants throughout the country. In Activities, guests can book tours and other things to do around Laos. As Soutchai Travel also serves the Lao market, they offer set departure join-in trip packages in the app to nearby Vietnam and Thailand, including hotels, meals, and return transportation!

Khen has plans to add a few more functionality in the future, including a mobile sim card service, so tourists can purchase a sim card in advance and have it ready for them on arrival in Laos. This will help travelers who can’t wait to begin posting their journey on social media. Also in the pipeline for the app is a car rental service, which offers the highest level of travel fl exibility, allowing travelers to go and stop wherever they like.

Currently, the app is available in English and Lao languages, but there are plans to add Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, and Spanish. Tourists can even pay in the app with a credit card, the BCEL One app, and soon, through AliPay and WeChat Pay. This allows a maximum of fl exibility and convenience for guests from any country to book and pay easily.

With the combination of functionality, convenience, and a passion for travel, the Soutchai app helps all guests create their perfect itinerary.

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数字化旅行

老挝旅行，手机帮您 翻译 : 尹航 图片： PONGPAT "LOU" SENSOUPHONE / PHOONSAB THEVONGSA

商业的秘诀是找到合适的位置并很好的填补这个位置。 对于Soutchai 旅行而言，这个需要被填补的位置就是为 众多客户提供旅行便利。为此，他们最近启用了一个新的 应用程序（APP），游客可以24小时使用旅行服务。

Soutchai 旅行于2010年由创始人Khen Vongthongchit创立，白手起家，“最初，我们只是在巴色 有家Soutchai旅馆。我们发现游客经常需要其他服务， 因此我们创立了Soutchai 旅行供内部使用满足客户需 求。” 在过去的十年中，他非常努力的使公司从在巴色的 一个小办公桌成长目前的公司集团，其在万象市中心拥 有总公司，在万荣，琅勃拉邦，4000美岛以及在巴色的创 立地设有分公司，员工数量达125人。该公司还在万象外 的瀑布附近拥有一家度假胜地，可提供过夜住宿。 在2018年，Khen注意到越来越多的客户需要高科技 的服务，并且在当地具有提供全面服务的线上公司很少， 这也就意味着竞争小，他再一次注意到了市场的空白。 他和他的团队开始开发一款应用程序（APP），旨在为游 客提供最大程度的便捷性—游客可以通过自己的手机预 订旅行类服务。经过一年的开发和试用，Soutchai 旅行 APP于2019年8月向公众发布。

“对该APP的反馈非常好。旅客很享受可以随时

轻松，方便地预订旅行服务，省去了去预定处的麻烦。” Khen说。

Soutchai 旅行APP具有四个主要功能：公共汽车和 火车票预定，住宿预定，活动预定，以及优惠券和折扣购 买。 “客户真的很感激我们消除了前往陌生的公交车站 麻烦，并为他们解决了语言不通的问题。在某些公交路线 上，我们甚至可以到酒店接在旅客前往车站。” 住宿预定涵盖了众多酒店和宾馆，而优惠券和折扣 功能则可在老挝全国许多餐馆的使用。活动部分，客人可 以预订老挝各地的旅行套餐和其他活动。由于Soutchai 旅行还为针对老挝本土客户，因此他们在应用程序中提 供了前往附近国家，包括越南和泰国等旅行套餐，包括酒 店，餐饮和往返交通！

Khen计划在将来增加更多功能，包括移动SIM卡服 务，以便游客可以提前购买SIM卡，并在抵达老挝时为他 们准备好了。这将帮助迫不及待想马上使用社交媒体的 旅行者。该应用程序还将提供汽车租赁服务，该服务可以 说是所有旅行交通中灵活性最高的，旅行者可以随时随 地停下，享受自驾游。 目前，该应用程序支持英语和老挝语，但计划添加泰 语，越南语，中文，日语，韩语，法语和西班牙语。游客甚至 可以使用BCEL One及信用卡支付，并很快可以使用支 付宝和微信支付。这为来自任何国家的客人预订和付款 提供最大的灵活性和便利性。 集功能性，便利性和对旅行的热情，Soutchai应用程 序（APP）可帮助所有客人计划完美的旅行。

了解更多关于关于Soutchai 旅 行的信息： soutchaitravel.com 请在App Store和Google Play中下 载Soutchai 旅行应用程序（APP）。

1. 加入Soutchai的流行旅行方式 2. 应用程序页面操作简单 3. 策划旅行，遇见新朋友 4. Khen Vongthongchit, Soutchai 旅行创始人及引领者