Travel agency group HIS has led a $10.5m series B round for Taiwan-based travel experience platform KKday that included venture capital firm MindWorks Ventures.
Founded in 2015, KKday has created an online platform for curated tourism experiences, listing some 10,000 tours or activities across 500 cities in 80 countries.
The company is looking to build partnerships with travel agencies such as HIS to help them attract visitors from across Asia to mitigate seasonal fluctuations.
The series B funds will be used to grow KKday’s business across Asia, expanding its presence in China and moving further into targeting Asian travel experiences for US and Europe-based travellers. It will also add features such as personalised itineraries to the platform.
Ming Chen, chief executive of KKday, said: “HIS is not just a financial investor, but is valued as a strategic investor.
“By utilising HIS’s global resources and integrating it with KKday’s strong marketing and big data programs, we will be able to change the in-destination travel operations model.”
The company has now raised a total of $22m. It received $4.5m in an early 2016 series A round led by accelerator AppWorks that included VC firm 91Capital.
KKday then closed a $7m series A+ round at the end of the year that was co-led by VC firm Monk’s Hill Ventures and AppWorks that also featured MindWorks, Cathay Venture and Substance Capital.