Velocity Ventures, a Singapore-based hospitality and travel-focused venture capital firm, has partnered with Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) to support companies working with the Korea Tourism Startup Center (KTSC) in Singapore to expand their footprint across South-east Asia.
The first South Korean tourism start-up to benefit from this is Tripbtoz, a Web3 based OTA that integrates community and commerce features with user-generated short-forms serving a market that is gravitating towards video content.
Tripbtoz’s travel video ecosystem aggregates user generated content (UGC) video reviews of hotels and tourist attractions created by travellers, rewarding users with loyalty currency and discount coupons when bookings are made via referral links.
“With a major mobile app redesign scheduled for later this year, we plan to fully localise our sales and marketing through the establishment of an entity to oversee the South-east Asia market,” said Jiha Jung, CEO and founder of Tripbtoz.
“We have direct contracts with 3,000 hotels in South Korea and Japan and our next stage of growth is to expand our reach and help hotels in South-east Asia engage with our user communities. Travellers can use Tripbtoz at every stage of their travel – from travel inspiration to reviews or to upload memories.”
Nicholas Cocks, managing partner at Velocity Ventures, commented: “By supporting these dynamic (South) Korean tourism start-ups spearheading technological advancements here in South-east Asia, we hope that they can help solve the biggest pain points in the industry. Embracing change isn’t just a choice; it’s the path to shaping the future of travel.”
Since its inception in 2020, over 90 South Korean start-ups have participated in KTO’s Tourism Startup Global Challenge Programme, an initiative designed to empower South Korean tourism start-ups to venture into overseas markets, receive grants and industry support to unlock access to business partners.
