Online ticketing coup

Online ticketing portal Zimticket, which is determined to wrest the local market from South African giant Computicket, officially launched its platform last week.

It is believed that the project has the potential to generate more than US$10 million per annum through systematic accounting of funds from various services such as car hire, and online event and hotel bookings.

The local market haemorrhages millions of dollars yearly through foreign systems that capitalise on the vacuum in this niche in Zimbabwe.

Purchased tickets are either printed online or a redeemed at syndicated shops. Selected Chicken Inn outlets, which are a subsidiary of African industrial giant Innscor, including Talk City, have been roped into the project.

Zimticket, which was adjudged the best ICT innovating company by the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Ministry last week, says it has already secured strategic partnerships with key partners in Showbiz and the financial and retail sectors.

The introduction of mobile money services by the country’s three biggest telecommunications companies — Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (EcoCash), Telecel (Telecash) and NetOne (One Wallet) — has provided a key pivot for the project as consumers can simply make payments online using either their debit or Visa cards.

Tourism Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi, who was represented at the launch by his director-general for policy, planning and development, Mr Darlington Muzeza, said the integrated e-ticketing system would help boost consumption of local tourism products.

“There are two revolutions taking place in our contemporary times: these are travel and ICT revolution. Information and communication technologies will modernise and dynamise the way we do business.

“The development of integrated and all-embracing e-ticketing systems for public consumption by Zimticket will bring huge benefits to the economy.

“The idea of integrated e-ticketing system combines several modes of business from transport such as local and transnational bus services, car hire, airlines, live shows and events, sporting activities, etc.

“I am convinced Zimticket’s high-niche business modernises business by use of multiple applications for carrying out transactions that are able to incorporate additional areas such as accommodation payment and such related tourism product chain in the market.

“More importantly, the e-ticketing system by Zimticket aims to facilitate the sale of a combination of tourism products across the globe by making the ticketing system as easy and attractive as possible,” said Eng Mzembi.

Zimticket plans to spread its tentacles across Southern and East Africa and their operations director, Mr Bright Gumbochuma, said the system would “democratise innovation”.

“ICT companies like Zimticket will positively change the way companies do business, transforming public services delivery and democratising innovation. I believe our company can make a contribution to sustainable development. In the first place, strong human capabilities are required if these new technologies are to be used to their best.

“Secondly, in order to ensure that ICTs will have a major contribution to sustainable development, a policy framework like Zim-Asset needs to be formulated and financial back-up is essential in these new developments.

“Our future plans are to expand into the whole of Southern Africa and East Africa starting with Zambia next year.”

Computicket, a South Africa-based portal established in the 1970s and now owned by supermarket chain Shoprite, has been thriving across Southern Africa.

The platform is marketing the MoneyGram Zimbabwe Achievers Awards, a celebration of talent, business and achievement in the Zimbabwean community living and working in South Africa.

Tickets for the event, which is scheduled for Saturday November 8 in Midrand, South Africa, are being sold for between R750 and R1 000.

Pastor Charamba’s Family Gospel Show in Johannesburg mid-last year was sold through Computicket, which has a footprint in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Most clearly, the appetite for a local online ticketing system was shown through John Legend’s abortive “All of Me” tour that was pencilled in for the 19th of this month.

Though Davies Events, the organisers of the show, started selling online tickets by June 29, by July 2, when the physical tickets started selling, all the lowly-priced tickets (US$30, US$50 and US$75) had already been sold out.

Only tickets fetching the princely sums of US$100 to US$150 were left.

There are reports that the local Premier Soccer League is mulling introducing an online ticketing system in order to keep pace with global trends.

Similarly structured products such as Ticketbiscuit in the USA and Ticketmaster in UK use ICT-based systems to generate tickets and bookings, encoading them and able to decode them at the point of sale or admission, offer convenience to customers.