Touristlink.com, has raised an undisclosed amount from Kenya-based accelerator 88mph (88mph.ac) and a group of unnamed private angel investors.

(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - October 6th, 2013 - Touristlink.com, a social travel network that helps travelers get connected with each other and with local travel providers has raised an initial seed round from African based accelerator 88mph.ac and a group of private investors. The investment will be used to continue development of the website and to establish a presence in the African market with the goal of marketing these products in India. The Safari market is traditionally very fragmented with travelers booking through a host of individual travel agencies. The Touristlink team believes they can disrupt how safaris are currently marketed by aggregating offerings from different tour agencies in a social marketplace where potential customers can see reviews and interact directly with the providers.

Touristlink has increased sales from $25,000 in January to $96,000 in June of 2013 by working with just a handful of primarily Indian based tour operators. To date, tour operators have listed over 950 tours and activities on the website. The Touristlink team hand picks the best of these and then works hand in hand with the provider to help them manage the marketing and online fulfillment side of the business.

In the past several years a host of startups have looked to capture the opportunity in the p2p tours and activities market without substantial success. Marketplaces are traditionally tough to get started as founders need to build traction both with buyers and sellers. Touristlink believes its early success can be attributed by engaging members socially and giving them a reason to visit the site beyond just interacting with sellers on the marketplace. To do this Touristlink goes beyond the typical travelers Facebook network by suggesting connections with the people they don’t already know.  One of the most interesting aspects of travel is the new people you meet and the friends you make, but meeting like minded people can be a challenge. Site founder David Urmann commented “Most people are happy with Facebook as their only social network and don’t need another option but travel is the one situation where you have people looking to broaden their networks and meet new people.”

88mph.ac a Kenyan based accelerator modeled after Y Combinator looks for teams who can take their startups and scale them in the African market. The program alternates between Nairobi and Cape Town. To date, the accelerator has spent over $1.5 million dollars investing and supporting startups in Africa. The 90 day program provides each of its startups with up to $100,000 and provides mentoring, access to networks, technical infrastructure and working space, for a small equity stake.

Touristlink.com was launched in November of 2011 by Holiday Deals Private Limited. The company is based in Nagpur, India. Touristlink can be found in both Spanish (es.touristlink.com) and Portuguese (Touristlink.com.br). 

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