Tomodo raises $35 million in a pre-seed investment round to develop its tourism products
The Emirati business travel platform “Tumodo” has raised approximately $35 million in a pre-seed funding round, with participation from angel investors interested in the Middle East and North Africa region.
This funding round aims to strengthen Tumodo’s presence in the UAE market, support the development of additional products, and explore new partnership opportunities in the regional market.
The company plans to expand its platform to 25 more countries worldwide by 2026, seeking to achieve an adoption rate of around 100%, according to the statement released on Thursday.
Tumodo’s application facilitates transparent expense management for companies without hidden fees, making it easy for hundreds of employees to book flights and hotels within two minutes.
Stan Kley, the Commercial Director at Tumodo, stated that the company’s approach reduces business travel costs for clients by an average of 35%.
The platform is working on developing an artificial intelligence-powered feature to streamline trip organization, which can be integrated into companies’ human resources systems to facilitate internal operations management.
Tumodo has gained the trust of over 100 companies in the Middle East and North Africa region, collaborating with more than 400 airlines worldwide and providing customers with over 2 million accommodation options.
Regarding the business travel market, global spending reached about $933 billion in 2022, representing 65% of business travel spending before the COVID-19 pandemic, which amounted to $1.4 trillion, according to the Global Business Travel Association.
However, it is expected that the region will return to pre-pandemic business travel spending levels by 2024. The business travel market in the Middle East and North Africa is witnessing a rapid recovery, reaching 86% of its 2019 levels in 2022.
On average, the growth of the business travel market exceeded the leisure travel market growth by 1-10% in the period 2021-2022, according to research conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
In December, the Gulf Cooperation Council approved the Unified Gulf Tourist Visa to facilitate travel across member countries with a single visa, enhancing the region as an easily accessible tourist destination.
