Holiday activity booking platform WAUG has received 2.7 billion won (USD $2.39m) in funding from leading tax refund company Global Taxfree. The national chain has over 100 tax refund windows and 9200 shopping outlets around the country, making it Asia’s biggest tax refund firm.
WAUG — short for “Where are you going?” — lets users easily book activities both around Korea and at popular holiday destinations. Travelers can get discounts and book activities through WAUG’s mobile app. Launched just over a year ago, the site is now the largest of its type in Korea with over 600,000 visitors and 80,000 transactions per month.
The website originally only offered deals for adventure activities aboard, but sustained growth in the number of tourists visiting Korea has led WAUG to begin developing a service aimed at overseas visitors. Activities in different areas around Korea are already listed, though this is currently in Korea.
“We will install WAUG’s voucher technology at our automated kiosks in major tourist locations so that travelers visiting from abroad can purchase tickets for tourists spots at a discounted price,” said Kang Jinwon, CEO of Global Taxfree. “We plan to carry out cooperative marketing with WAUG by promoting Global Taxfree stores or offering discount coupons to travelers as they leave Korea.”
CEO of WAUG Travel Matthew Yoon says that his company is competing with Korea’s largest tour companies. “Korea’s adventure market is very competitive with companies like Hana Tour and Modu Tour, but no single company has dominated in this area yet.” Yoon adds that he expects the platform to get good exposure by making WAUG coupons available at kiosks around Seoul.
