Travel startup Qiito, working quietly behind the scenes, now ready for Primetime

The travel and tourism industry is one of the world’s largest, so it’s inevitable that many startups want to be a part of it. In Singapore, many travel startups have gotten quite a bit of attention too.

But not for one particular company, which had been quietly working the ground for the past few months. Now, however, it seems poised for Primetime.

The Singapore-based startup is ranked 63rd in the country on Alexa – closely behind Agoda and ahead of eBay and Tripadvisor. Its global Alexa ranking of around 20,000 places it in the region of Hipmunk, a highly-touted Silicon Valley travel site.

In additon, it has a partnership with the Taiwan tourism board, secured a seed funding of S$2.2M (US$1.75M) from Lunar Asia Investment, and hired a 15-strong team.

I’m talking about Qiito (pronounced key-tow). What started as a simple product review for me soon grew into an in-depth interview. For those curious about the company, here are some insights from the company’s  founder and CEO, Pei-Han Chuang.

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10 startups to pitch ideas at Web in Travel Bootcamp

Ten selected travel startups from Singapore, China, Australia, and the US will pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges at the Web in Travel Bootcamp’s Start-Up Gallery on 17th October.

The winner, the ‘Grooviest Start-Up’, will be announced two days later at the main Web in Travel Conference.  The panel includes investors and business leaders from Southeast Asia, China, US, and Europe. Read more