Tripstore, an O2O platform for overseas package holidays, has received 600 million won (USD $545k) in investment from early-stage VC firm BonAngels Venture Partners.
Tripstore helps holiday goers find and book the best holiday packages from popular travel agencies quickly and easily. Rather repeatedly searching through different options on multiple travel sites, the service makes curating your vacation easy by recommending packages based on your travel dates, budget, number of people and whether you want to go shopping or just sightsee. Another great feature is being able to see prices of packages across a calendar view, making it more convenient for users to select affordable options and change travel dates accordingly.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization and Korea Association of Travel Agents, the local package holiday market accounts for 40% of travelers and is expected to maintain steady growth. In addition to this, it’s estimated that the market will reach 7.4 trillion won by 2021, with online sales making up 5.2 trillion won of that figure.
BonAngels CEO and General Partner Simon Kang says that Tripstore not only offers a new convenient way of booking holidays, but opens up new sales channels for travel agencies. Kang also mentioned the potential for partnerships with travel agents that offer major holiday packages.
“The good thing about package holidays is that with less preparation and other things to worry about, you can save both time and money, as well as receiving help from local guides,” says Tripstore CEO Soo Kwon Kim. “We want to help make package holidays more easier and convenient for a wide range of ages, including 30-40 year olds who prefer them the most.”
Tripstore may be one startup to keep an eye on as the team includes founders from the successful Woowa Brothers who created leading delivery service Baedal Minjok.
