India-based startup WeAreHolidays has captured new investment from Matrix Partners India.
Existing investors - Blume Ventures and GSF Superangel Investors - also participated in the round.
Again, terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, Matrix has acquired "a significant minority stake" in the company.
WeAreHolidays will use this new capital to accelerate the growth, further invest in technology, and build analytics expertise.
In June 2013, the company raised an undisclosed first round from Mumbai Angels with participation from Blume Venture Capital, Sachin Bhatia (co-founder, MakeMyTrip) and GSF Superangels.
WeAreHolidays helps travellers by recommending a customized travel itinerary (both domestic and international) for a fee. This cost to the traveller depends on the region of travel and length of stay.
Also, the company helps travellers booking their itinerary, again for a fixed fee depending on the region of travel, length of stay and number of travellers.
Co–founder and CEO of WeAreHolidays, Deepak Wadhwa, says:
“Indians travelling overseas for leisure alone is a $5 to $7 Billion market and is growing at 40% annually. 10% of this comprises complex customized holidays, a segment which is growing much faster than other segments as travellers seek more personalization and control over their holidays.
"We believe there is a huge opportunity to leverage technology to re-define the experience of leisure travellers in an industry which has traditionally been very slow at adopting technology & new business models.
"Across the world we’ve seen how marketplaces have brought more choice & power to the consumer and we believe holidays are no different."
VP of Matrix India, Tarun Davda, says:
"India has become the fastest growing outbound travel market, aided by an increase in the number of affordable international travel options, higher disposable income and a penchant for bespoke experiences.
"The number of Indians travelling overseas is set to rise from 17 million to around 50 million by 2020, making it the second largest outbound travel market globally, next only to China."
Competitors to WeAreHolidays in India include TravelTriangle (raised $1.7 million recently), TripHobo (raised Series A recently), PickYourTrail (watch for TLabs soon), TripFactory, and other OTAs that provide holiday packages.
Founded in 2011 by Deepak Wadhwa, Harkirat Singh (both former product managers at MakeMyTrip) and Mohit Piplani, the company has served over 22,000 customers till date.
Matrix Partners India's other travel industry investments include India-based taxi hailing service Olacabs (invested in Series B round), and India-based hotel booking service Stayzilla (invested in Series A round).