Klook, a platform for travel services, successfully closed a $210-million financing round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners and including key investors like BPEA EQT, Atinum Investment, Golden Vision Capital, and corporate entities from Southeast Asia.
This funding secures Klook’s growth trajectory and financial stability, augmented by bank facilities from Citi, J.P. Morgan, and HSBC.
The allocated funds will fuel growth in three key areas: expanding city pass offerings, leveraging the Klook Kreator program for enhanced marketing, and integrating AI innovations, such as Generative AI with Google Cloud, for automated translations, content generation, and customer service. Collaborations with strategic investors in Southeast Asia aim to further boost market share by targeting the burgeoning middle class.
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Amid the initial stages of travel recovery in 2023 across Asia, Klook said it was able to outperform expectations, tripling its 2019 figures, boasting a $3 billion annualized gross booking value, and achieving overall profitability for the first time.
CEO Ethan Lin attributes this success to team efforts in bolstering post-COVID travel readiness, focusing on merchant digitization and expanding their service network, positioning the company favorably for emerging travel trends.
Booking surge
Their app-centric approach contributed to over 80% of bookings occurring via mobile, with a doubling in new customers compared to 2019 and over half of the bookings attributed to repeat customers, indicating strong platform loyalty.
Lin emphasized their robust business fundamentals, foreseeing sustainable expansion in the wake of Asia’s post-COVID recovery and upcoming global events like the Paris Olympics 2024 and Osaka World Expo 2025, coupled with increased digital adoption and expenditure in the region.
The travel industry is projected to reach $15.5 trillion by 2033, with Asia Pacific leading the charge, boasting an 11% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2023-2028. Klook aims to capitalize on this growth, targeting a burgeoning middle class and rising consumer spending, catering to both Asian travelers and inbound tourists with immersive experiences.
Eric Gnock Fah, COO and co-founder, envisions Klook pioneering a transformative travel era for digitally-savvy explorers. Their goal is to facilitate effortless exploration through the Klook app, connecting users to a wide array of in-destination services, focusing on immersive experiences and convenient transportation.
In photo: Klook co-founders Ethan Lim, Bernie Xiong, and Erick Gnock Fah