Nick Mordowanec 
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April 20, 2020 
Every person has interests, but sometimes it can be a real chore to sift through all the possibilities. One company wants to bring the fun to the people on vacation, rather than the other way around.
Ceetiz, a web platform and iPhone application created in 2012, does just that by helping individuals find the right activities in a sea of thousands of worldwide offers. Sebastien Gal, the chief marketing officer for Ceetiz, said the company’s goal was to give people the right tools based on their budgets, time restrictions and organization requirements. He talked with RewardExpert.
A trip to New York changed everything
Ceetiz was created by Eric Blanc, the former CEO of a leading French hospitality company called Pierre & Vacances, and Damien Bellon.
Blanc got the idea for the product while on a trip with his daughters, all waiting in line to see the Statue of Liberty. The time-consuming process gave him an idea.
“Blanc imagined a platform where people could book tickets for attractions and activities — such as visits, tour buses, shows or experiences — and skip the lines with their tickets,” Gal said.
That’s what they did, starting the original project in Paris and then deploying to London, Rome, New York, Barcelona, Las Vegas and Dubai. Today, the platform has gathered approximately 6,000 activities in 200-plus destinations. It’s available in 20 countries and eight different languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.
Ceetiz is an all-in-one application
Gal said that engaging in tours and activities while traveling is a rather new concept, with only “half a dozen major international players only.”
He said the first goal is education, and more specifically the program’s benefits: a single platform for all activities; comparing activities based on user reviews; language-friendly customer service; discounts and promotions; “skip-the-line” tickets; hotel pickups and more.
“The competition is already high in this segment, and we have rapidly faced the need to differentiate ourselves from the competition,” he said.
Distinguishing themselves from competition is done by: working with both users and those in the travel realm, who want to utilize Ceetiz for their own businesses; carefully picking activities and developing strong relationships with partners; and “special positioning” of travel sites and activities that are off the beaten path.
Ceetiz uses “Spotter,” where a network of people divulge in their favorite activities. Gal said Spotter encourages users to maybe step out of their element and learn something new, which they may ultimately enjoy.
A few examples of individuals using “Spotter” include: learning how to blow glass in Brooklyn, stand-up paddle boarding on the canals in Venice; or attending a sumo wrestling tournament in Tokyo.
Expanding customer base is on the agenda
Ceetiz does not offer mileage or points reward programs, and due to its various partnerships in the air-transportation sector, it can only offer savings based on activities conducted while at a destination.
The next few months’ agenda items revolve around internationalization, improving customer service and enriching the product catalog. Expanding partners’ networks will give customers an avenue to book activities online, and customers’ feedback will be consumed to better Ceetiz as a whole.
A bigger catalog reinforces partner relationships and user experience, Gal said, and will allows users to find anything, anywhere, anytime.
For more information visit www.ceetiz.com.