The Klook funding round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from BPEA EQT, Asian investment funds Atinum Investment and Golden Vision Capital, and Southeast Asia-based institutional investors including Krungsri Finnovate (a subsidiary of Bank of Ayudhya), Kasikornbank Financial Conglomerate and SMIC SG Holdings. The round also included flexible funding from Citi, JP Morgan and HSBC.
Klook just raised capital successfully
For many Asian markets, 2023 marks the first year of a recovery in the travel industry, with promising growth numbers and a rebound in the airline industry. Despite the market still in the early stages of recovery, Klook has seen its business boom, surpassing previous milestones with a three-fold increase from 2019 and an annual gross booking value of $3 billion. Notably, the company also achieved its first overall profit earlier this year.
Ethan Lin, CEO and co-founder of Klook, credited the achievement to the collective efforts of all employees in laying a solid foundation for the post- COVID -19 travel era. “During the pandemic, we doubled our resources to support travel businesses to ‘digitalize’ and expand our service offering, including car rentals and outdoor experiences. This has given us a solid foundation to capture new travel trends post-pandemic,” said Ethan Lin.
The global tourism industry is forecast to soar to a staggering US$15.5 trillion by 2033, with Asia- Pacific leading the way as the fastest growing region. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% in Asia-Pacific (2023-2028), nearly double that of North America and Europe, this dynamic region is expected to capture a larger share of the global tourism market, driven by a rapidly expanding middle class, rising consumer spending and a growing demand for unique travel experiences.
In addition, 2023 is a meaningful year for Klook in the Vietnamese market when recording double-digit growth compared to 2019, making Vietnam one of Klook's leading developing markets. Along with the new investment, the Klook Vietnam team will continue to expand the "digitalization" of businesses and tourism services here to participate in the Klook platform, bringing many products to domestic and international tourists, aiming to make Vietnam one of the must-see destinations in the region.
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