Having seen significant growth and a fresh investment of $ 15.2 million in January 2019, the leading Korean travel service portal, MyRealTrip, is now focussing on expanding services and increasing customer-friendly features. MyRealTrip is the most reliable travel platform for Koreans where they can book tickets, accommodations, tours and even guides.
Investment booster in the beginning of the year
The startup was founded in 2012 with a mission to match travellers with highly-equipped tour guides by Donggun Lee, the CEO and founder, while he was still studying at Korea University. In a short span of six years, the company has become the best marketplace for all things travel among Korean tourists.
The latest round of investment comes from repeat investors Altos Ventures, Smilegate Investment, IMM Investment, IBK Capital, and Mirae Asset-Naver Fund. The startup’s cumulative investment is now $26.6 million including $6.2 million got from the 5 venture capitalists in 2017 and the initial seed funding from Primer and BonAngels.
Aggressive expansion to serve better
MyRealTrip has the vision to become a one-stop platform that serves all travel needs, for which the company is aggressively expanding its services. In February, the travel portal added ‘World Hotel Comparison Service’ where the user can compare prices of 480,000 hotels, hostels and guesthouses through partnerships with global online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Booking.com, Agoda and Expedia. MyRealTrip also partnered with Korea’s largest internet company Naver and designed ‘Naver Tour’, a service that allows travellers to compare and book tours seamlessly and effortlessly.
Over the years, MyRealTrip has evolved from a simple travel-tour guide match company to a full-fledged travel platform and app. The startup has made many integral changes and is currently selling over 18,200 products, including local guides, activity tickets, transportation tickets, lodging, rental cars, and reservation tickets in over 680 cities in 80 countries.
The niche travel platform also records its clients’ reviews and to date has over 450,000 registered reviews for its services. MyRealTrip has successfully served over 4.3 million travellers. In January, the startup recorded the maximum transaction value per month of 22 billion won or $19. 6 million and achieved the highest transaction value of 130 billion won or $ 116 million in 2018.
