After facing a tough time during the pandemic, global tourism bounced back by almost 60% of the pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Reportedly, it is forecasted that global spending on travel and tourism will rebound strongly in the coming years and will exceed the pre-COVID levels by the end of 2023. In addition to this, the travel experiences market is estimated to be worth over $1.5 trillion and GetYourGuide is catching up on this category’s growth.
Founded by Johannes Reck, Tao Tao, Martin Sieber and Tobias Rein in 2009, GetYourGuide falls into direct competition with TripAdivisor and lets travellers discover and book the best and most unique activities, including guided tours by local experts, culinary excursions, cooking and craft classes, skip-the-line tickets, as well as exclusive bucket-list experiences in any destination.
Attains double unicorn status
The Berlin unicorn has built a marketplace for finding and booking tourists, travel, and other experiences and now has bagged $194 million in equity and credit financing. Blue Pool Capital led the $85 million Series F funding round, with participation from KKR and Temasek, which backed Zilingo and Global Processing Services. UniCredit led the Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) of $109 million with participation from BNP Paribas, Citi and KfW. According to reports, the online travel startup, supported by SoftBank, has reached a valuation of approximately $2 billion after a recent funding round – which is double its valuation compared to the $484 million Series E funding it picked up in 2019.
Expansion in US and invest in AI
GetYourGuide has secured new funding to fuel its expansion efforts in the United States and to bolster investments in AI and product development. The funding arrives just in time for the peak travel season, during which the German startup anticipates significant engagement on its platform.
The strategic investment will support the marketplace’s expansion into key markets like North America and drive innovation for both travellers and experience creators worldwide. Additionally, the investment will accelerate the pace of innovation, leveraging the advancements in AI and Large Language Models to enhance the experience for travellers and supply partners.
“In the current market, we view this as a vote of confidence from our investors who believe passionately in unlocking unforgettable experiences for travelers around the globe,” said Johannes Reck, CEO and co-founder of GetYourGuide. “We are still early in the transformation of our category and the larger $300 billion category and the even larger $1.5 trillion experiences market. And our technology is poised to help drive innovation and growth for our partners and customers alike.”
Further, the company offers over 75,000 activities from over 16,000 experience creators. To date, travellers from over 150 countries have booked more than 80 million tours, activities and attraction tickets through GetYourGuide.
