Dublin travel tech start-up TripAdmit secures €500K seed funding

  • Photo: TravelAdmit founders John Maguire and Andrew Kelly

    Irish travel tech start-up TripAdmit has raised €500K in seed funding so far, from both international and Irish investors, including the backing of Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start-Up unit (HPSU).

    TripAdmit enables tour and activity providers to sell online via their own website and distribute their activities via local and international distribution partners such as airlines, online travel agents, hotels and more. 

    In turn, distribution partners can earn significant ancillary revenue from over 50,000 experiences in more than 100 countries globally.

    CEO and co-founder John Maguire said: “TripAdmit is the solution for tours and activity providers and distributors who want to sell online, in a market worth in excess of €150bn. 

    “Our cutting- edge technology connects tour operators with tourists who have become accustomed to planning and securing their travel needs online. 

    “These are exciting times for TripAdmit, we are thrilled to receive the backing of Enterprise Ireland who recognise the high potential of our business. Securing such a significant amount of investment in the middle of a pandemic has been challenging, but the response from our investors has been amazing.  

    “This announcement is testament to the team here who have developed our powerful booking software and the potential of this business when tours and activities re-open around the world.”

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    The investment will be used for product enhancement, marketing and helping tour and activity businesses appeal to local tourists while preparing for the return of international tourists with a robust digital offering.

    Niall McEvoy, HPSU ICT Department Manager, Enterprise Ireland added: “Although Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the travel tech sector, TripAdmit have developed a strong solution that facilitates traditional tours and activity operators to transition their booking and reservations to a digital offering. 

    “During 2020, the company made excellent progress against key milestones, and having now successfully raised this seed round, it will facilitate accelerated technical and commercial roll out in 2021.”

    TripAdmit, which is based in Dublin, was founded in 2018 by John Maguire, who has worked in travel and leisure for nearly 25 years, and Andrew Kelly, a full stack technology developer.

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    John said the idea for the start-up came to him when he suddenly realised that the tours and activities sector had not yet fully embraced digital transformation.

    “Coming from the travel and ticketing industry, I was surprised by how offline the sector was,” he said.

    “The airline industry, the hotel industry and car hire have all moved online but 80% of tours and activities and were still being booked offline.”

    About the author

    Niamh is a Sync NI writer with a previous background of working in FinTech and financial crime. She has a special interest in sports and emerging technologies. To connect with Niamh, feel free to send her an email or connect on Twitter.

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