Promising travel startups from Korea can develop in Singapore with the help of the Korea Tourism Startup Center.
The Korean Tourism Organisation (KTO) has officially launched the Korea Tourism Startup Center (KTSC) travel tech accelerator in Singapore. KTSC will connect startups with regional industry players and reputable VC firms by offering various programmes for travel startups that are keen to expand in South East Asia.
KTSC’s formation is a big step following the MOU signed between the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and KTO in November 2021. The tourism industry has been gathering momentum since the launch of the Vaccinated Travel Framework on 1 April 2022. A report by STB stated that tourism receipts in the first quarter of 2022 reached SGD1.3 billion (USD930,000), a 213 per cent year-on-year increase over the same period last year.
The launch was marked by the KTSC Tourism Boot Camp, which spanned four days from 30 August to 2 September. The demo day and opening ceremony on 31 August saw 13 Korean startups showcase their business and solutions, and how they can work towards being part of the invigorated travel industry in SEA.
Kim Young Hee, Director of KTO Singapore said, “The boot camp and the opening ceremony in Singapore marks KTSC’s first foray into the travel industry in the new normal. The partnership will put Korea and Singapore in good stead to be gateways for the travel industry in our region.”
Through the boot camp, the 13 Korean travel startups attended masterclasses to help them grow their businesses. They were introduced to the different public, and private organisations that are integral to the region’s ecosystem, and had meetings with a select group of venture capital firms to discuss their next steps.
Jang Min Jun, Deputy Director of KTO Singapore, who is in charge of KTSC said, “KTSC is excited to be supporting Korean Travel Tech startups throughout the accelerator programme. We believe that the first batch of 13 travel startups can make an impact on the travel industry in SEA in time to come.”
Following the boot camp, Korean startups will attend Travel Tech Asia and SWITCH 2022. Five of the 13 Korean startups have already set up their entities in Singapore, with more to follow. Discussions between KTSC and local experts are underway to expand the teams and services of Korean startups in Singapore.
Some of the notable startups include:
- Globaleur – A fully integrated suite of travel solutions. Globaleur provides a suite of AI-driven travel solutions that can integrate with various travel use cases.
- H2O Hospitality – Provides digital management solutions and services tailored to the customer’s situation for digital transformation of accommodation facilities.
- NUUA – Provides data analysis, marketing and AI services for air flight ticket backends.
Interested parties can get in touch with KTSC at ktosg.startups@gmail.com.
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