 Freedom to move | |
Type of site | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 1999; 27 years ago (1999) |
| Headquarters | , |
| CEO | Stephan Ekbergh |
| Key people | Stephan Ekbergh (CEO) |
| Industry | Travel Internet |
| Services | Flight bookings, accommodation bookings, car hires. |
| Employees | 200+ |
| URL | travelstart |
Travelstart is an African online travelbooking website, offering flights, hotel bookings, car rental, vacation packages and other travel services through an online booking engine[1]
It operates inSouth Africa,Botswana,Kenya,Namibia,Nigeria,Tanzania andZimbabwe.[2]
The website uses global distribution systems such asAmadeus IT Group and Travelfusion for flights, and CarTrawler for online car hire bookings. Most revenue is generated fromPay per click (PPC) advertising, as well as an extensiveaffiliate network.[3] All Travelstart websites useThawte to secureonline payments.[4]
The website was founded in Sweden in 1999 by Stephan Ekbergh. Before launching Travelstart, Ekbergh founded Sweden's first online travel agency, Mr Jet (1995).[5] In 2010, Travelstart Nordic was sold toEuropean Travel Interactive AB(eTRAVELi)[6] and the company headquarters was moved toCape Town,South Africa.[7][8] Travelstart operates in South Africa since 2006,[9] and emerging markets throughout Africa.[10] In 2012, Travelstart Nigeria was launched.[11] and later Travelstart Egypt, which was located inMaadi district ofGreater Cairo.
In December 2019, Travelstart acquired competitorJumia Travel fromJumia.[12] Under the purchase agreement, Travelstart took control of Jumia Travel's online book websites.[13]
