Tripfez, a Malaysia-based online travel agency and hotel review platform to provide Muslim travellers with a better travel experience, has raised US$750,000 seed round of financing.
The round was led by Gobi Partners and Intres Capital (AXIATA Group), and followed by several angel investors in the travel industry including Douglas Khoo, co-founder of Qunar.
Tripez said it would use this investment to expand its offerings, enhance marketing efforts, upgrade technological capabilities including the development of an API for use with partnerships, and bring on new talents.
Tripfez, hotel review platform for Muslim travellers.
The company will also expand its inventory of hotels and restaurants on the Salam Standard platform to help more service providers become Muslim friendly, and increase the number of booking options on the Tripfez website.
“We’re very excited to have Gobi Partners leading the round with their vast experience and network within the travel space, which will provide immense invaluable expertise to our team,” said Tripfez CEO, Faeez Fadhlillah.
Thomas G. Tsao, managing partner of Gobi Partners said: “With their unique set of needs, Muslim travellers represent a highly underserved market segment. With Tripfez and Salam Standard’s halal-friendly travel offerings we believe that more Muslim travellers will feel more confident to explore the world.”
Added Douglas Khoo: “The space that Tripfez operates in provides a great opportunity as the global travel industry shifts towards more localized travel experiences. The Muslim travel market is currently experiencing a similar awakening as the Chinese travel market did in the early-to-mid 2000s.”
Faeez Fadhlillah (seated right) and Juergen Gallist, Tripfez’s founders.
Tripez was founded in July 2013 by CEO Faeez Fadhlillah and COO Juergen Gallistl. The company takes a dual approach to the Muslim travel market – offers a portal for Muslims to complete bookings, and help service providers become more Muslim friendly.
The company also operates the Salam Standard membership scheme that helps hotels become Muslim friendly through information and training.
The standard offers branding, online and offline promotion, and marketing services to participating properties. Certified facilities are included into the Tripfez directory where travellers can then browse and book, offering these hotels a new source of revenue. Several major hotel groups worldwide are members.
Currently over 23% of the world’s population identifies as Muslim, while nearly 15% of all revenue from global outbound tourism is generated from Muslim travellers. This figure is predicted to rise to US$233 billion, representing 13% of total travel expenditures by 2020.
