Korean startup, Travelai plans to open new branches in Thailand and Malaysia in the first half of 2023 as part of their overseas expansion, capitalizing on the thriving Southeast Asia travel market. The startup began its expansion by establishing a Singapore subsidiary while participating in the 2021 Global Challenge Program.
Travelai will execute its Southeast Asian expansion in 2023, armed with the knowledge gained while operating its Singapore branch. In the second half of 2022, the startup visited Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Malaysia to plan the establishment of its overseas branches.
Travelai has created a one-of-a-kind integrated platform AL:OOO, an all-in-one on-demand service tailored for travelers and local content creators. AL:OOO, caters to travelers in their twenties and thirties who prefer unique travel experiences.
AL:OOO, available on the App Store, is a personalized travel app that finds and recommends all travel information that matches the traveler’s preferences. The startup wants people to use its platform to find the best travel-related products, such as the cheapest flights, best hotels, transportation, activities/shopping, and so on.
Unlike a typical top-down OTA platform, the company aspires to become a social media platform for travel-loving consumers where sellers, creators, and end-users can connect directly. The startup is planning and developing BMs that will eventually evolve into platforms allowing individual influencers to create their markets.
The startup’s ultimate goal is to enter Southeast Asia first, led by Singapore corporations, before expanding into European and North American markets. To that end, it is conducting an on-site investigation to open a Southeast Asian branch, with an official launch scheduled for early next year after establishing a stable service in Korea.
Travelai is looking forward to activating its platform in Thailand and Malaysia, among other Southeast Asian countries, to develop modules, customize them, and recruit influencers from the respective countries. It intends to launch the service between March and May next year to implement customized OTA based on its AI algorithm.
