Exoticca, a Spanish tour packages startup platform, secures €60M in Series D funding, advancing its innovative travel solutions
Travel agents have historically been responsible for organizing a variety of accommodations, flights, activities, transfers, transportation methods, and companions for international trips.
Travelers have limited alternatives due to the absence of real-time pricing for these intricate offerings. Exoticca, a Spanish startup, has successfully addressed this challenge by raising a €60 million Series D round, which Quadrille Capital headed.
Although the market for multi-day tour packages is enormous, it is one of the last sectors of the travel industry to be digitalized.
Exoticca’s platform facilitates the connection of flights, hotels, meals, transfers, transportation, and local businesses.
The company asserts that this simplifies the process of booking these more intricate packages and reduces costs by up to 30%.
Exoticca also asserts that its sales have increased over twofold annually since 2015. The company operates in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, and Colombia through a network of online and offline partners, including those in the travel and non-travel sectors.
“The package tour was invented by Thomas Cook two centuries ago and has remained unchanged since then,” stated Pere Vallès, CEO of Exoticca. “We are introducing a more digital model that enables us to sell these products online, is more adaptable, and has significant cost and price advantages.”
Tourlane, a planning and booking platform that assists travelers in researching and purchasing multi-day excursions online, is a competitor of Exotticca to a certain extent. To date, Tourlane has raised $101 million.
Nevertheless, Vallès stated that Exotica does not regard them as competitors. They operate under a distinct model that is more akin to a marketplace. They do not provide real-time pricing.
Vallès stated that his organization prioritizes “value for money.” “This results in a customer base that is predominantly middle- and upper-middle-class.”
He also stated that 75% of Exottica’s business is conducted in the United States and Canada, meaning “Americans and Canadians are traveling to the 70 destinations that we offer” from the company’s headquarters in Barcelona.
He stated that the goal is to expand into Latin America, the Middle East, India, and China.
Alejandra Duran Gil, Partner at Quadrille Capital, stated, “Exoticca’s exceptional execution and its robust financial foundation are the driving forces behind our investment thesis.”
New investors, such as All Iron and ICF, and existing investors 14W, Mangrove, Bonsai, Sabadell, and Aldea, also participated in this round.
