Japanese Travel Firm H.I.S., MakeMyTrip Invest $10 Mn In Online Holiday Deals Platform GoFro

GoFro, an online holiday deals marketplace, has raised $10 Mn Series B funding led by H.I.S. Co. Ltd, along with participation from the existing investor, MakeMyTrip. H.I.S. is a Japan-based travel company with 230 overseas branches in 141 cities across 66 countries, in addition to 233 retail outlets in Japan.

Talking about his investment in GoFro, Akira Hirabayashi, Vice Chairman, H.I.S. Co. Ltd said, “The team has created an amazing technology product and we believe it holds the potential to become the next travel-tech revolution. GoFro platform is globally scalable and we look forward to taking this revolution to the Japanese market.”

Delhi-based Bona Vita Technologies runs the online travel planning and booking marketplace – GoFro. It was founded in 2015 by former Snapdeal CTO Amitabh Misra. The startup currently has customised and fixed packages for more than 70 destinations across the globe. It connects travellers with suppliers and destination experts for holiday packages

GoFro offers packages from all the leading online and offline travel companies including MakeMyTrip, Yatra, TUI, etc on a single platform. GoFro also offers online assisted booking to travellers. The startup differentiates itself from other platforms like MakeMyTrip, Yatra, etc. stating that its USP lies in allowing users to customise and manage their itinerary.

Commenting on the funding, Amitabh Misra, founder and CEO, GoFro said, “We have received great consumer traction in just a year of operations. We now look forward to H.I.S.’s global reach and experience helping us enhance our global supply network and provide great holiday packages at competitive prices to our customers.”

With the recent round of funding, the online holiday deals marketplace will look to strengthen its technology platform, supply and agent network. Apart from this the partnership with Japan-based HIS will allow the startup to expand into international markets.

Deep Kalra, founder, Group Chairman and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip said, “We are very bullish about the possibilities in the holiday travel space. Through its superior technology, GoFro has the potential to bring hundreds of branded products under one umbrella to organise this fragmented market.”

Kalra’s online travel portal MakeMyTrip (MMYT) is currently grappling with rising losses. The company reported net losses of over $52.1 Mn in the first-quarter ending on June 30, 2017. This marked a near-72% jump from $30.3 Mn losses in the same quarter last year. It also reported a 135% increase in net revenue to around $141.2 Mn in Q1, 2017, despite soaring losses due to increased expenses. Overall revenue has grown by around 55% to $192.1 Mn, compared to the same quarter last year.

The recent fund infusion from Japanese player H.I.S. will allow GoFro to expand its reach in Japan as well. Other players in the travel segment that provide online holiday deals apart from MakeMyTrip and GoFro include ixigo, TravelTriangle, Clear Trip, HolidayIQ, Wandertrails, Expedia, Hotels.com and Booking.com.

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