Travel technology company Travello has raised more than AUD$6.5m in an oversubscribed Series A funding round powered by an Australian travel and business A-list.
Investors in the round include Flight Centre co-founder Jim Goldburg, former Tourism Australia chief Andrew McEvoy and ex-Velocity boss Phil Gunter.
The company will use the funds to further fuel their growth and capture pent-up millennial demand for travel experiences as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
With more than 1.2 million users across 180 countries, Travello is one of the world’s largest travel communities, and is aggressively expanding the online travel agent (OTA) side of the business, capturing market share in the growing experiences vertical.
Online sales of experiences is one of the fastest growing verticals in travel and the company’s acquisition of Backpacker Deals in 2020 has added to its online sales capability.
Travello investor, ex-Tourism Australia Chief Andrew McEvoy said that the opportunity was clear for the company.
“The pent up demand for travel is palpable and the pandemic has seen the end of some iconic travel companies previously in the youth and adventure space,” Mr McEvoy said.
“This opens the way for Travello to be a major player.”
Fellow investor and former Velocity CEO Phil Gunter said the company had the fundamentals to scale quickly and globally.
“With a large and engaged community, an effective activities booking engine to deliver value to members and the business, and an innovative rewards program to fuel the whole system, Travello have the trifecta,” Mr Gunter said.
“They also have a proven ability to deliver – growing membership and the business strongly through 2020 when leisure travel practically stopped. The future is certainly bright for Travello!”
Travello co-founder and CEO Ryan Hanly welcomed the oversubscribed round.
“We are really excited to capture millennials’ desire to see and experience the world and we are already seeing huge demand from the youth market,” said Mr Hanly. “We are beyond thrilled to have secured the backing of such a prominent, knowledgeable and experienced group of investors in this round.”
“Travello is uniquely positioned in the market – our ecosystem and media assets are a powerful combination. We are reaching over 80m people across our channels each month and this funding will allow us to expand aggressively and capture the travel resurgence over the next 18 months.
“Experiences is the fastest growing vertical in travel and we’re excited to be at the forefront of this sector in Australia and New Zealand. But the opportunity is much larger than that – we have no intentions of just being a large Australian business – we are aiming global and looking to be Australia’s next global travel company.
“Whether it’s bungee jumping in Queenstown, rafting the rapids in the rockies or kitesurfing in South-East Asia, Travello is ready to connect adventure-starved travelers with unforgettable experiences and get the world moving again.”
.jpg){kind=tracking}