During the COVID-19 pandemic, many travel-related companies faced significant challenges, with some even struggling to stay afloat. However, there are also companies that have seized the pandemic as an opportunity and aspire to globalize.

"Waug," a domestic travel activity platform that became the first to achieve 3 million cumulative app downloads last year, continues to make remarkable progress, recently surpassing 4 million downloads despite the challenging environment.

Furthermore, the company is taking a step forward as a unicorn company by knocking on the doors of leading domestic global accelerator organizations to expand its overseas business.

As of June last year, the cumulative number of app downloads on both Google Play and iOS exceeded 3 million.

Notably, Waug has garnered attention for its user base, with over 70% of its users belonging to the trend-setting MZ generation, aged 24 to 35.

Founded in 2016, created a new wave in the travel activity market by achieving 1 million app downloads in about a year after its launch.

Waug, which provides easy mobile access to various activities needed for independent travel, from tours of travel destinations around the world to transportation passes such as entrance tickets to travel attractions and train tickets, is growing rapidly, recording an average annual sales of 360% from 2016 to 2019.

One distinctive feature is Waug's integration of Google's "Thing To Do" attraction data with its own travel product data.

This collaboration enables users to purchase entrance tickets directly from the Google search page when looking for travel attractions. Waug's potential for global expansion was recognized, leading to successful fundraising efforts, securing a cumulative investment of 40 billion KRW.

Waug is currently focused on driving digital transformation across the entire travel activity industry, both domestically and internationally.

They offer the convenience of purchasing entrance tickets directly through the app, eliminating the need for currency exchange. By using digital QR codes, travelers can have contactless entry, contributing to Waug's annual growth.

Waug is also preparing for global expansion.

As one, it was selected for the ‘2023 Tourism Global Challenge Y&Bridge’ hosted by global accelerator Y&Archer earlier this year.

They received various types of support, including IR consulting to strengthen investment capabilities, prototype product and service testing and data evaluation, market verification testing, showcases by inviting overseas organizations, and discovering overseas local partners.

Waug CEO Woo-yoon Seon said, “Every year, the rate of foreign payments is increasing more than 10 times.”

“We are dreaming of becoming a global platform used by various international travelers from Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.”