Taiwanese travel startup KKday announced that it has secured additional funding for its Series C+ round led by private equity firm TGVest Capital.
KKday did not disclose the amount it raised in the fresh funding but said the latest investment brings the total money it secured for its Series C round to $95 million.
In 2020, the startup secured $75 million in Series C funding led by state-backed Cool Japan Fund and National Development Fund.
KKday said it will use the fresh capital injection to expand its team globally and deepen its footprint in markets where there is a focus on domestic travel, such as Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, among others.
Launched in 2015, KKday engages in local in-destination tours and activities through a collection of curated experiences. It covers over 550 cities and 92 countries and claims to have five million users across Asia.
The fresh funding comes as international tourism saw a 182% year-on-year increase in January-March 2022, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. The report said destinations worldwide welcomed an estimated 117 million international arrivals in Q1 2022 compared to 41 million in Q1 2021.
KKday said it was able to rebound swiftly due to growth in its domestic travel business, new business verticals, and the successful rolling out of rezio, its all-in-one SaaS solution to manage bookings and inventory for merchants on multiple channels.
“We plan to double down on our current initiatives, including partnering with our merchants and online travel agencies (OTAs) to digitize their businesses in anticipation of pent-up demand for tourism and travel,” said Ming Chen, CEO and founder of KKday.
During Covid-19, KKday said its domestic travel business has been the main driver of growth across key markets, including Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.
It also expects to see strong domestic business growth in Japan, particularly off the back of its acquisition of Activity Japan, one of the leading tours and activity OTAs in the country.
In 2019, the startup raised an $11 million Series B++ round from Cool Japan Fund. In November 2018, KKday had secured an undisclosed amount in Series B+, co-led by LINE Ventures and the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund. It secured $10.5 million in Series B funding led by Japanese travel giant H.I.S.