After months of rumors and speculative press reports, GetYourGuide, the Berlin, Germany-based online travel agency (OTA) specializing in tours, activities, and attractions, has closed a $484 million Series E funding round. Total funding for the company now tops $600 million since the company’s founding in 2009.
This funding round, following the April funding of $225 million for Klook, the Hong Kong-based OTA, signals the growing opportunity investors see in the digitization of the sector. Between GetYourGuide and Klook, tours, activities, and attractions are now home to two startups that have raised more than $500 million with valuations likely well north of $1 billion.
Such investments are far from the only indicators of the transformation underway, as online booking accelerates in tours, activities, and attractions. Japan-based activities OTA VELTRA had a successful IPO in December 2018; TripAdvisor Experiences continues to be the fastest-growing part of the online travel review site’s overall business; attractions ticket specialist Tiqets raised $23 million in November 2018.
Online travel companies around the world are continuing to invest in the sector, add more supply, and expand partnerships to capitalize on growing traveler demand to find and book activities online.
Read more about GetYourGuide’s funding on TechCrunch and PhocusWire. Watch the full interview with GetYourGuide co-founder and COO Tao Tao from Arival Berlin, where he gets candid about the company’s history and vision, their branded tours initiative called “Originals,” their views on other OTAs and what’s in store for the future.
