Klook Travel (Klook), Hong Kong-based tour and activities booking startup, announced on March 2 it has raised US$30 million in Series B funding.
The investment round was led by Sequoia Capital China along with existing investors Matrix Partners and ex-Tencent executive-backed Welight Capital.
Klook will use the fresh funds to expand its business globally as part of its ongoing efforts to offer one-stop booking for travel services including attractions, tours and activities, dining experiences and shopping.
This is the third round of funding for Klook. In June 2015 it completed a US$1.5 million seed investment round, led mainly led by mainland China tech veteran, Xiaoguang Wu, who is Tencent’s senior executive vice president and CEO of e-commerce. It also launched Klook Mobile at the same time.
In October of the same year it secured US$5 million in Series A funding led by Matrix Partners, along with China Growth Capital and Francis Leung Pak To.
Klook is expanding its spectrum of in-destination offers.
Klook, launched in September 2014, was co-founded by former investment bankers Eric Gnock Fah and Ethan Lin, and tech engineer Bernie Xiong. It now has a multi-national team of over 200 employees based in eight offices across Asia including Shenzhen (China), Taipei (Taiwan) and Singapore.
Its platform covers over 80 popular destinations in Asia and beyond, providing more than 10,000 attractions, tours and activities.
Klook also won WIT Start-Up Pitch held in conjunction with WIT Japan & North Asia, June 4 to 5, 2015 in Tokyo.
As Neil Shen, founding and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China, said of its investment in the Series B round: “Scale advantage is a prominent element in the travel industry, especially within the highly fragmented in-destination sector. With combined strengths in transaction and community, Klook has become a proven leader in Asia. We’re happy to join the company on this exciting journey going forward.”
Added David Zhang, founding managing partner of Matrix Partners: “Ever since our initial investment the Klook team has demonstrated great business judgment backed by sound execution. Having witnessed the rapid growth of the business, we are convinced that Klook has firmly established itself as the clear winner in this space and we’re pleased to continue our support.”
Eric Gnock Fah (left) and Ethan Lin plan to expand business globally.
Klook’s CEO & co-founder Lin said over the past two years the company has been reinventing the supply chain and innovating the site’s UI to create a seamless booking experience.
“Now with a few clicks or taps, the travel services you need and the activities you seek will all be at your fingertips.”
Looking ahead, Klook said it would be broadening its scope of operations beyond Asia, and expanding its spectrum of in-destination offers to meet the spending power and growing appetite of Asian travellers.
“After seeing great results in our newly launched local transfer and WiFi vertical, we are enthusiastically diving deeper into the in-destination ecosystem to offer a wider array of services, from dining and wellness experiences to shopping deals, for travellers to enjoy wherever they go,” said COO & co-founder Fah.
Klook is developing a collection of travel videos exploring new formats like 360° or VR videos.
The company has also introduced Apple Pay to its users, and has teamed up with popular mobile messaging app, WeChat and AirAsia BIG, AirAsia’s loyalty programmes, to bring consumers greater ease when planning trips.
• Eric Gnock Fah, Klook’s COO & co-founder, will be speaking at WIT Hospitality 2017, Hong Kong, on March 28 at the session ‘The Disruption Opportunity’. Registrations now open.
• All images credit: Klook
