Travel agent Trip.Me merges with British competitor

The Berlin-based company merges with TravelLocal from Bristol. Together they are one of the largest online marketplaces for personalized travel in English and German-speaking countries.

The two travel agents Trip.me from Berlin and the English start-up TravelLocal will be going their separate ways in the future. Both announced their merger and the closing of a financing round. "Given the expected post-pandemic demand boom, the management teams and investors see enormous potential in the merger, combined with a significant increase in market share," they said in a joint statement. Together, they say, they will be one of the largest online marketplaces for personalised travel in the English- and German-speaking world.

The new company is getting €2.9 million in funding from Active Partners, a London-based VC, and London-based private equity firm Gresham House Ventures. This is to help the company recover and grow faster from the pandemic. The total of all investments raised so far is €15.2 million.

Both companies offer more than 100 travel destinations. Customers come mainly from Germany, Great Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia. People willing to travel are brought together with local experts via the platform, who support them in their travel planning. "The combination of TravelLocal and Trip.Me is a powerful combination with international growth potential that significantly expands our travel offering," says Trip.Me co-founder Matthias Woppmann. "Currently, we are seeing the first signs of recovery and look forward to accelerating the return of the travel industry."

Trip.Me was founded in 2013 and says it is now the largest platform for tailor-made travel in the DACH region. TravelLocal was founded in 2016. Both companies will keep their names for the time being due to name recognition. Existing jobs will not be affected by the merger, the companies said.