Millennial-Focused Travel Startup Raises $10M Series B

Brisbane-based youth travel experience startup Travello has raised $10m in a Series B round.

The round was led by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) with additional investment coming from Paspalis Innovation Investment Fund.

The cash injection will be used to cement its position as the leading travel and travel experiences brand for millennials and prepare for pent-up travel post-pandemic. Since reopening after lockdowns and border closures, the business has seen 7x growth thanks to domestic travel amid signs that inbound international travelers are starting to return. Pre-covid domestic travel only accounted for 5-10% of Travello’s sales.

Co-founder and CEO Ryan Hanly said they are currently growing 25% per month and seeing more than 1000% growth in bookings.

“One of our biggest competitors is the brochure wall in the lobby or a hotel, so Travello’s first digital piece uniquely positions us to capture the growth potential this market offers,” he said. declared.

“Many youth travel brands, including the iconic STA and Student Flights, have not survived covid, so the lack of competition presents a unique opportunity for Travello to capture market share.

“We acquired Backpacker Deals last year and it was a great move, so this funding will allow us to consider similar acquisitions while accelerating our growth and expansion into new regions and categories, such as outgoing circuits of several days.”

Hanly said the “travel experiencer” vertical is the biggest opportunity in the market.

“The industry is still very young, 10-15 years behind in flights and accommodation in all aspects,” she said.

“It’s a really immature market and that’s what presents such a great opportunity. For context, around 75% of flights and accommodation are booked online, but only 25% of tours and activities. This is a very exciting growth opportunity.

The youth travel market accounted for around a quarter of visitor arrivals in 2019, but contributed 40% of total tourism spending, with experiences a priority.