- Online travel platform Tourplus have announced their success in getting RM500,000 in pre-seed funding from an undisclosed investor.
- They will use this new funding to improve the experience of tour guides on their platform and step up digital marketing efforts.
- This will concur with the upcoming launch of their app specially crafted for tour guides.
Earlier this week, Malaysian-based travel platform Tourplus announced that they successfully acquired RM500,000 in pre-seed funding from an undisclosed pre-seed VC. The platform connects travellers with tour guides around the Southeast Asia region, allowing them to directly interact and schedule travel itineraries in the same way Airbnb lets its users connect with accommodation hosts.
Tourplus currently operates its platform online, and allows travellers to plan tours in popular travel destinations such as Bangkok, Siem Reap, Bali, and of course Kuala Lumpur.
Travellers using the platform will only need to specify their places of interest and choose a service that is available, and after a booking is made, can directly communicate with their tour guides through the app to schedule activities that will fit their schedule.
“Unlike other platforms, Tourplus connects with many tour guides around the region instead of linking up with just one provider,” said Tourplus CEO and founder Rickson Goh. “This gives Tourplus users the ability to fully customise their travel experiences, and know exactly who they’ll be guided by.”
“Our platform also makes sure that pricing is transparent and that travellers will know exactly what they’re paying for.”
Tourplus intends to use most of its newly acquired funding to improve the experience for its tour guides by introducing more intuitive features, and to also step up digital marketing efforts in order to reach a wider user base.
Guiding Tour Guides
Later this month, Tourplus will be holding a grand launch of their “Tourplus for Tour Guide” app on iOS and Android with the theme “The Future of Travel is Here”. During this event, they’ll introduce more features for their tour guides that they hope will help transform the tourism industry into a digital shared economy.
This will coincide with their collaboration with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in an effort to build e-tourism in Malaysia.
This collaboration aims to take advantage of the opportunity that is present within Malaysia’s tourism industry— In 2017, Tourism Malaysia reported that 25.9 million international tourists visited Malaysia, making us one of the most travelled destinations in the world.
“MDEC currently works with Tourplus by connecting Malaysian tour guides to the platform, with Tourplus in charge of educating them how to use it,” explained Rickson.
Rickson also explained exactly why he thought his company was successful in getting RM500,000—a relatively sizeable sum for a pre-seed round.
“I think the right business model and having traction is important in getting funding,” he said. “But aside from those, I think we also impressed by having passion for our business and a never-say-die attitude.”
- To know more about Tourplus, check out their website or Facebook page.
Feature Image Credit: Tourplus
