.png)
Singapore, 17 October, 2013 – Singapore based travel site www.bemyguest.com.sg has announced today the successful investment of SGD$500,000 in angel funding for the popular site, which specialises in niche travel experiences around Asia.
Launched in beta in October 2012, now the largest aggregator of tours and activities in Asia with 10,000 contracted tours and activities, BeMyGuest was inspired by a business trip undertaken by Founder, Chief Host and travel industry veteran, Clement Wong, while in Africa.
“I wanted to explore Kenya further off the beaten track,” he explained. “I soon realised that my effort to connect with true local life was not so easy with much of the money I paid going to intermediaries which doesn’t help to elevate tourism responsibly in local communities.”
Following many years in the travel industry, Wong decided to fill the gap left open by many online travel agencies and created BeMyGuest. The site directly links local travel experiences offered by local communities providing travellers with authentic cultural perspectives and encounters.
Tours and activities are the final frontier in travel distribution. Most tours and activity providers lack the resources to invest in modern distribution technology, and BeMyGuest fills this gap by providing a free, fully customisable content management system which not only digitalises and distributes this content via BeMyGuest’s website, but also to the entire travel ecosystem.
“By digitalizing and standardizing local travel content from suppliers across emerging markets we provide a marketplace for products otherwise unattainable for travellers who seek a unique and immersive experience, while supporting local businesses,” Wong continued.
Wong’s extensive travel industry history extends over a decade with travel giants PhoCusWright, TravelPort GDS and Euromonitor International, providing market research and strategies to the top travel companies globally.
The successful investment has led to the boosting of the senior executive team with a new partner and Chief Marketing Officer, Blanca Menchaca, previously global head of online marketing at travel metasearch site Wego.com. Menchaca’s digital travel industry experience covered key emerging travel markets including Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Australia. She was instrumental in helping Wego scale from start-up to its current pre - IPO Series C round.
“I’m thrilled to join Clement as a partner and build BeMyGuest’s presence and portfolio as Chief Marketing Officer,” Menchaca commented. “The site is truly unique offering experiences most travellers dream of but are hard pushed to find. At BeMyGuest you can fly in a fighter jet with an ex-Luftwaffe German Air Force pilot, go hot air ballooning over the most exotic of locations, take henna painting classes, kayaking tours, radiation survival courses and K-pop classes to name but a few.”
BeMyGuest was the only travel start-up finalist at the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation Awards 2013 and is the only Singaporean travel start-up semi-finalist for the prestigious Web In Travel Start-Up of the Year 2013.
“Travellers today more frequently seek authenticity and interactive travel experiences which is what we’re able to deliver,” added Wong. “I’m so happy to also be able to provide a platform for local suppliers and increase their presence online while supporting their own communities.”
.jpg)
