KKday raises $75M Series C to grow new tour and activity product

Taipei-based travel experiences platform KKday has raised a $75 million Series C, led by Cool Japan Fund and National Development Fund with participation from existing investors including Monk’s Hill Ventures and MindWorks Capital.

Founded in 2014, KKday will use the new capital to grow its new booking management platform for tour and activity providers, Rezio, that launched as a pilot in March in Taiwan and Japan. 

“In our relentless pursuit to provide the best and seamless experience for any traveler, COVID-19 has pushed us to innovate,” says Chen Ming-ming, founder and CEO of KKday.

“Rezio, we believe, will offer long-term value to travel operators, activity providers and most importantly, their end users – travelers. We are also excited to continue expanding into new markets and to innovate new products and services with a traveler-focused mindset.”

The company says Rezio reduces operational costs and increases efficiencies for experience providers. The platform provides a suite of services that operators can access from a mobile device, including an online store, inventory management across different booking channels, custom vouchers and integration with local payment services.

KKday says Rezio has served over 150,000 customers so far, and now it will add more functions and roll out to providers across Asia. The company says it has seen a surge in demand for experiences from domestic travelers since May in markets such as Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. 

“We expect traveler demand to bounce back quickly when leisure travel opens up again,” says Kuo-YiLim, co-founder and managing partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures.

“The human desire to travel, experience and connect is fundamental. We have high conviction in KKday’s leadership team and believe the company is primed to seize the immense opportunity ahead of us.”

KKday says it has more than five million users and offers 30,000 unique experiences in 92 countries. It has 10 offices across Asia and plans to use the funding to also expand its team and operations in Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia.