GroundK entered the Thai market through an R&D partnership with GolfT, a Thailand inbound travel agency. The collaboration produced RoundT, a tailored transfer-booking service for Korean golf tourists, while a local limousine company, GB Limousine, adopted GroundK's mobility solution, T-RiseUp. The result is GroundK's first overseas case spanning both inbound tourism and MICE.
Why Thailand became the first overseas market
GroundK opened the Thai market on the back of its own mobility solution, T-RiseUp. Thailand is a steady destination for Korean golf tourists, yet the structure of the local ground-transport industry made it hard to keep transfer quality consistent. That gap was exactly where GroundK saw what technology could change.
What makes this step meaningful is that it was not a simple service export. GroundK delivered results in inbound tourism and MICE at the same time, and used the experience to secure a strategic foothold in Thailand for expansion across Asia.
RoundT, built with GolfT
In August 2023, GroundK began a business collaboration with GolfT to upgrade the service environment for Thai golf tours. GolfT was already running a tailored booking service that bundled accommodation, golf courses and transfers for Korean travelers.
The problem sat with the transfers. Given the nature of the local transport industry, cancellation rates were high even after a transfer was booked, which made quality hard to manage. When a confirmed ride fails to show up on the ground, the entire trip experience of a visiting tourist is at risk.
GroundK answered with a technical upgrade, and the work produced RoundT, a tailored booking service for Korean golf tourists. With RoundT, Korean travelers no longer have to hail a taxi on site; a single booking carries them through their golf-tour transfers.
A local limousine company adopts T-RiseUp
The second axis of this market entry was a systems partnership with a local operator. GB Limousine, a Thai limousine company, adopted GroundK's mobility solution, T-RiseUp.
GB Limousine put T-RiseUp to work in live event transport. Notably, the company used the system for transport at Asia Defense, an event held in Thailand, building a local MICE reference. It was practical proof that GroundK's solution works on overseas ground, not only in Korea.
Results across inbound tourism and MICE
The Thai entry comes down to two tracks. In inbound tourism, the GolfT collaboration improved the transfer experience for Korean golf tourists. In MICE, GB Limousine's adoption of T-RiseUp and its use at Asia Defense created a local transport reference.
"This Thai market entry confirmed that our mobility services and solutions hold strong potential overseas. Building on this valuable experience, we are exploring a strategy to expand across Asia." — Dongwon Jang, CEO of GroundK
With this experience as a stepping stone, GroundK continues to carry the mobility solution it proved in Korea outward across Asia.