Korean Travel startup My Real Trip gets fresh investment of $36 million amidst pandemic slowdown

It is cheerful news for the travel industry amidst the massive slowdown that has happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Korean travel startup My Real Trip gets a new investment from domestic and international investors. My Real Trip is South Korea’s leading online travel platform. It has received 43.2 billion won or $36 million in funding recently.

Founded in 2012, the startup has been offering travellers everything needed for great trips and vacations. My Real Trip is a reliable platform for Koreans to book tickets, accommodations, hotels, guides, etc. The new funding comes from its existing investor Altos Ventures, along with IMM Investment and Smilegate Investment.

Startup to upgrade technology and employ more people

My Real Trip plans to use the fresh funding to upgrade its technology and hire more people. The startup wants to improvise its search and recommendation algorithm and the process in which users can customize their itinerary such as flights, accommodations, tours, activities, and more based on their preference. My Real Trip also plans to increase its staffing, which currently stands at 140 employees, including 70 developers.

This was the fourth consecutive investment from Altos and IMM, and the fifth from Smilegate. There were also new investors, including state-lender Korea Development Bank, Singapore-based Axiom Asia Private Capital, France-based Partech Partners, and US-based Tekton Ventures. Since its inception in 2012, the company has raised 82.4 billion won ($68.6 million) to date, including $ 15.2 million in January 2019.

My Real Trip is a 360-degree online platform for travel, providing a range of travel products and services such as accommodations, flights, package trips, activities, etc. Users can create an itinerary based on their preferences, and the platform helps to match the user with the best suited local guide.

My Real Trip has planned over 7.6 million users have planned trips and the offers over 2,000 products for domestic travels and over 23,300 products for overseas travels across 780 cities worldwide. The company posted a record-breaking 360 billion won about $ 30 billion in transaction volume in 2019. In June 2019, the company began to offer virtual tours where seasoned guides across the world introduced travel destinations in real-time.

View this post on Instagram

#마이리얼트립_제주도 제주 한달살기가 힘들다면 2주살기는 어때요? 2주 동안 다녀온 곳들 중 가장 좋았던 곳을 추천할게요🙆🏻‍♀️ by @sseungyeon_ . 📍사진1) 돈내코 #원앙폭포 보자마자 한국 맞아? 물 색깔 뭐야?! 너무 예뻐서 놀란 곳이에요>_< 스노클링하고나면 시원하고 개운해요! . 📌입구에 있는 매점 – 구명조끼 대여 가능! 현금 5천 원 준비 필수 – 물놀이 하고 나와서 매점에서 컵라면에 계란 먹으면 기가 맥힘!!👍🏻 . . 📍사진2) #금능해변 와인 피크닉 제주도 좀 와봤다- 하는 사람들은 다 아는 일몰 맛집 금능해변이에요! 일몰 보면서 와인 마시면 행복 그자체💕 . 📌준비물 꿀팁 – 블루투스 스피커 – 예쁜 샤롱 챙겨가기 – 와인 편집샵 #제주멜즈 : 추천받은 와인과 그에 어울리는 치즈 미리 구매함!! . . 📍사진3) #가파도 ⛴배 예약 방법 – 인터넷으로 예약가능 – 전화로도 하루 전날 예약 가능 – 운진항▶️가파도 10분소요 – 배시간은 오전11시를 추천! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ . 🚲자전거 대여 – 터미널 근처 대여소 – 1인용 5천 원 / 2인용 만 원 – 시간제한 없어서 핵이득!!★★ . 🍛맛집 추천 – #가파도용궁정식 – 상다리 부러지게 여러 해산물과 밑반찬으로 상을 가득 채워주심 – 가파도 선착장에서 20분정도 걸어야함 . . 📍사진4~5) #인디안썸머 한마디로 정리하면 인. 생. 카 .페 힙 of 힙, 갬성 of 갬성 말로 표현이 안 되는 카페예요. 낮에가도 밤에가도 좋아요. – 매주 수,목 휴무 – 커피, 음식, 와인 모두 추천!! . . 📍 사진6) #비밀의 숲 #안돌오름 요즘 떠오르는 사진 찍기 좋은 곳이에요! 편백나무숲이 멋있게 뻗어 있어요🌲 – 초입길이 비포장 도로라 안전운전 필수 – 개인 사유지여서, 입장료는 2,000원 (현금 or 계좌이체) . . 📍 사진7) 한라산 등반 – 코스: 영실코스로 올라가서(2h) -> 어리목코스로 내려옴(3h) – 아름다운 절경을 뽐내는 #영실코스 강추👍🏻 – #어리목코스는 돌이 많아 내려올 때 힘듦..😇 . 🏃🏻‍♀️뚜벅이들 주목! – 영실로 가는 240번 버스는 배차간격이 1시간이니 시간표 미리 확인하기! – 영실 매표소▶️영실 휴게소까지 40분 정도 걸어서 올라가거나 혹은 택시 이용 (*미터기로 계산한다고 적혀 있지만, 대부분 7천 원 정도 받음) . . 📍사진8) #수우동 원래 입소문이 자자한 곳이지만 방송으로 더 유명해진 우동 맛집이에요! 당일 현장예약, 혹은 전화예약만 받아요. 냉우동은 짭쪼름하고 시원한 맛! 오동통한 돈까스까지 같이 먹으면 꿀맛이에요🍯 – 매주 화 휴무 – 영업시간 11시~19시 (브레이크 15:30 ~ 17시) – 시그니처 메뉴: 자작냉우동(11,000원), 수제 일식돈까스(14,000원) . . 당신의 여행에 #마이리얼트립 을 태그하세요. 마이리얼트립이 찾아갑니다! @myrealtrip

A post shared by 마이리얼트립 (@myrealtrip) on Jul 16, 2020 at 1:00am PDT

Investors optimistic about growth

The global travel industry is facing a sluggish time because of the pandemic situation this year. The slowdown affected My Real Trip as well, with 90% of its revenue is from overseas travels. However, the startup’s strategy to promote domestic travel has helped the company. “My Real Trip was quick to transition its focus to domestic travels, and fortunately, the domestic travel business quadrupled compared to pre-coronavirus,” according to a media statement by Dong-gun Lee, the chief executive offer of My Real Trip.

The travel industry investors are holding an optimistic view with the restructuring formula and are providing funds to promising startups like My Real Trip. “It will be crucial for online travel platforms to offer as many products as possible to increase transaction amount since their main source of income is based on commission fees,” said Sung-bae Ji, the chief executive officer at IMM Investment. He added, “It may take time, but we are confident that My Real Trip will be at the forefront of the post-pandemic recovery.”

“Traveling will make a comeback,” Han Kim, the Managing Director of Altos Ventures, posted on his Facebook. He added, “Teams that are prepared will be able to take over the market.”

What’s your thoughts?