Thai traveltech firm Tourkrub raises funding from 500 TukTuks, others

Thailand-based traveltech startup Tourkrub announced it has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by the digital arm of local travel retail group King Power Click.

Photo credit: Tourkrub

SMEs Private Equity Trust Fund, the VC fund of the Government Savings Bank, also participated in the round, alongside Thai snack company Tao Kae Noi and 500 TukTuks. Tourkrub also said it is now raising money for its series B round.

Founded in 2016, the online leisure and corporate travel company offers a selection of packaged tours, private groups, and corporate incentives for outbound travelers. It looks to capitalize on Thailand’s burgeoning outbound tourism industry, which has grown on average by 8.8% yearly for the past six years, Tourkrub said.

It plans to use the fresh funds to expand its platform to provide services for outbound travelers from Southeast Asia with transfer flights in Bangkok.

Thanks to Thailand’s strategic location, there are around a million transfers via Bangkok annually from travelers in neighboring countries Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, the company said, citing data from the Immigration Bureau.

“It can be seen that traveling abroad has become a norm and culture of Thai people, whether they are [in their first jobs], working parents, or seniors. Tourkrub saw the important role of technology to address complexity in tour business, and that’s why we jumped onto this bandwagon,” said the startup’s co-founder and CEO Jakapan Leeathiwat.

The head exec added that there were around 40,000 users who booked a tour service through Tourkrub last year, representing a 53% growth compared to 2018. The company expects to have about 100,000 customers in 2020, up 250% and “worth more than 2.5 billion baht (roughly US$80 million),” it said in a statement.

Additionally, the investment marks King Power Click’s first in a traveltech startup such as Tourkrub. The two companies recently inked a sales and promotion collaboration, with Tourkrub users receiving up to 25% discounts when they shop at King Power Click.