Singapore based travel site, BeMyGuest that specialises in niche travel experiences around Asia, has secured SGD$500,000 in angel funding, as well as a new partner to fuel its expansion.

The successful investment has led to the company boosting its senior executive team with Blanca Menchaca (pictured right) as a new partner and chief marketing officer. She was previously global head of online marketing at travel metasearch site Wego.com,

BeMyGuest, launched in beta in October 2012, is now the largest aggregator of tours and activities in Asia with 10,000 contracted tours and activities.

The company was inspired by a business trip undertaken by founder, chief host and travel industry veteran, Clement Wong (pictured below left), while in Africa.

“I wanted to explore Kenya further off the beaten track,” he explained. “I soon realised that my effort to connect with true local life was not so easy with much of the money I paid going to intermediaries, which doesn’t help to elevate tourism responsibly in local communities.”

Wong decided to fill the gap left open by many online travel agencies and created BeMyGuest.

The site directly links local travel experiences offered by local communities providing travellers with authentic cultural perspectives and encounters.

Wong said tours and activities are the final frontier in travel distribution, but most of the providers of such services lack the resources to invest in modern distribution technology.

BeMyGuest fills this gap by providing a free, fully customisable content management system which not only digitalises and distributes this content via its website but also to the entire travel ecosystem.

“By digitalising and standardising local travel content from suppliers across emerging markets we provide a marketplace for products otherwise unattainable for travellers who seek a unique and immersive experience, while supporting local businesses. Travellers today more frequently seek authenticity and interactive travel experiences which is what we’re able to deliver,” he added.

Wong’s extensive travel industry history extends over a decade with travel giants PhoCusWright, TravelPort GDS and Euromonitor International.

BeMyGuest was the only travel start-up finalist at the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation Awards 2013, and is the only Singaporean travel start-up semi-finalist for Web In Travel Start-Up of the Year 2013.