Klook looks to U.S. users as Asia travel demand shifts

Klook is seeking more growth from U.S. and other Western travelers as the Asia-Pacific region remains the core of its business, according to Fortune. The push matters because the Hong Kong-founded platform is trying to widen its user base while preparing for public-market scrutiny.

Fortune reported that about 80% of Klook’s customers are now in Asia-Pacific, but cofounder and CEO Ethan Lin said users outside Asia are becoming a larger part of the business. Klook’s gross transaction volume from non-Asian users has increased 13.4% over the past three years, according to the report.

Lin told Fortune that the U.S. is among Klook’s largest markets, helped by American interest in Asia-Pacific destinations where the company has a broad supply of activities and tours. He said Asia is the top outbound destination for Klook users on the U.S. West Coast.

Klook was founded after Lin and Eric Gnock Fah traveled in Nepal and found it difficult to discover and book activities, Fortune reported. Lin and Fah had both worked as investment analysts in Hong Kong, with Lin focused on hospitality and real estate and Fah on consumer retail.

Lin told Fortune that planning activities such as canyoning, rafting and paragliding was slowed by weak payment options, language barriers and limited information. After a flight that left shortly before theirs crashed on the route from Pokhara to Kathmandu, Lin later wrote on LinkedIn that the incident pushed the pair to leave investment banking and start building the company.

The founders brought in Chinese software engineer Bernie Xiong as chief technology officer and third cofounder, according to Fortune. Klook launched its first mobile app in mid-2015 and reached unicorn status in 2018, helped by travelers Lin describes as foreign independent travelers, or people who build their own trips rather than join fixed-route tours.

IPO plans remain unresolved

Klook filed in November for a New York Stock Exchange listing and aimed to raise $300 million to $500 million, Fortune reported. The company later delayed the planned offering to early 2026, citing weak market debuts by companies including Navan.

Fortune reported that Klook has not announced a new listing timetable, and that both Lin and the company declined to comment on the possible IPO. A November filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed Klook lost $141.5 million on $407.4 million in revenue during the first nine months of 2025.

The company remains a small player in the global market for travel experiences, with less than 1% share, according to Fortune. It competes with larger platforms including Viator, GetYourGuide and Booking.com.

Younger travelers drive the strategy

Lin told Fortune that Klook is focused on millennials and Gen Z travelers, who he said tend to prefer better-value day activities and group tours over high-priced private tours. American Express’s 2026 global travel trends report found that more than 80% of millennials and Gen Z travelers prioritize distinctive, authentic experiences over well-known tourist attractions.

Klook’s own Travel Pulse survey found that social media is central to trip planning, especially for younger travelers, Fortune reported. Nearly 60% of travelers use social platforms to find lesser-known destinations, while 79% of millennial and Gen Z respondents cited TikTok, Instagram and other visual-first platforms as their main source of travel ideas.

To use that behavior, Klook launched a creator program in 2023 and has signed up more than 30,000 “Kreators” across 88 markets, according to Fortune. The company also began holding a creator travel summit called Kreatorverse in 2024.

Asia travel keeps expanding

Visa reported that outbound travelers from Asia-Pacific rose 32% from 2023 to 2024 and grew another 25% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. Dimitrios Buhalis, a tourism professor at Bournemouth University, told Fortune that many Asian consumers have placed more value on travel since the COVID pandemic.

Klook data cited by Fortune shows travel demand spreading beyond major Asian hubs. In Japan, the platform recorded year-over-year growth for Hiroshima, Towada and Omachi, while bookings for Jeju and Busan in South Korea rose more than 50% in the first half of 2026.

Klook is also developing artificial intelligence tools for customers and merchants, Fortune reported. The company is building an AI shopping agent for travelers and a merchant co-pilot, both planned for release in the third quarter of this year.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.