El Camino Trip closes $1.1m. The pre-seed funding travel industry will be the first experience market for women.

Washington DC – The way of travel (El Camino), the award-winning, contemporary travel brand empowering women to travel boldly, announced $1.1 million in pre-seed funding. Slawson and Company with participation Travel venture. Other participating investors include angel investors Joe ZadehFormer VP of Experiences at Airbnb; Kinjil MathurCMO of Squarespace and Rafat Alifounder and CEO Shift. Funding, raising millions since launch, will accelerate the construction of El Camino’s technology, brand awareness in the $360B industry of travel and experiences, and its mission to be the first premium marketplace for women travelers that connects directly to unique experiences.

Led by an industry veteran, Catalina MayorgaAnd Justin Bridges, El Camino originally started out as a traditional small-group travel company, but over the years they’ve lost sight of the growing pains of women travelers who prioritize safety and value unique immersive experiences but lose credibility when it comes to booking. El Camino’s revenue grew 172% from 2021 to 2022, while Google grew 312% in the US over the past 12 months, indicating that women are paying more for quality care.

In a world full of fashion, beauty and health brands that cater to women’s needs and priorities – the journey has yet to continue. Female travelers have been neglected by industry giants even though they are the fastest growing segment. They deserve more. We have always focused on delivering the first high-quality and trusted experiential marketplace that protects the customer’s mind and makes it easy to book completely unique travel experiences that they cannot find on their own. Most importantly, they don’t have to sacrifice the quality of their travel experience because of their gender. El Camino CEO and Co-Founder Catalina Mayorga shares.

Current El Camino Marketplace offerings include small group trips to destinations such as Morocco, Guatemala, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Egypt, Bolivia, Greece and more, with an average booking price of $3,400. By starting with small group tours, they were able to strategically address many of women’s pain points in one purchase, fill a gap in the market for high-quality multi-day tours, and develop a framework that can be implemented with tour operators for new destinations. for rapid growth.

Women travelers who can’t join a trip, but want inspiration and support, can turn to El Camino Clubhouse for an annual membership of $99 and access to unparalleled travel tips, curated travel guides, a curated forum of the world’s best destination experts, and a community of like-minded travelers.

Austin ClementsCo-Founder of Slawson & Co. and El Camino Investors Shares; “What amazes us about El Camino is that they are providing great travel experiences that cater to the needs and preferences of half the world’s population – women. Their success in building an incredible brand that stands out in a crowded space and years of experience working with their customers and travel partners make them well positioned to modernize the sector and drive massive growth. We believe they are poised to compete head-to-head in terms of volume and quality of experience with the biggest names in travel.

Funding will primarily be used to accelerate technology development based on their marketplace, which will significantly increase efficiency and reduce costs for El Camino and its operating partners. In addition, the company can expand the company’s products due to the increasing demand for small group trips.