Record turnover in 2020 in the travel sector: Utopia? No, GuruWalk has made it possible
Tourism, one of the most important economic sectors in the world, will close this year with losses of 3 billion dollars due to the pandemic, as confirmed by Bulut Bagci, the director of the World Tourism Forum Institute.
The losses in Spain, where the sector accounts for almost 15 percent of GDP, will be more than 100 billion euros. Travel restrictions, border closures and confinements due to COVID-19 have led to an unprecedented drop in the number of tourists.
Despite this general framework, there are companies that have been able to adapt and ride out the wave, or rather the tsunami, of the pandemic that has hit tourism particularly hard worldwide. One of them is GuruWalk, the free tour platform that has achieved record turnover in this 'annus horribilis' for tourism. This Valencian startup is the creator of the largest free tour platform in the world.
CEO Juan Castillo tells us that these figures are the result of a great long-term strategy based on globalisation, digitalisation and, especially, a highly optimised SEO strategy.
Although the results for GuruWalk have been positive, the company has also suffered from the crisis caused by the coronavirus. According to the World Tourism Organization, in June alone, tourist arrivals had fallen by 93% over the previous year. "Despite the low number of people who have travelled this year we have made a record turnover, under normal circumstances the estimated results for the month of August alone would have been close to half a million euros," estimates Juan Castillo.
This is why GuruWalk continues to believe in the viability of the business. "We found a blue ocean with the free tours, it is a model that provides an added value to the user, since it offers a real experience from local people. In addition, we are growing in a sustainable way by contributing to the development of local economies," says Juan Castillo.
Today, the platform to revolutionise the free tour market is present in 110 countries, offering tours in 580 cities. With the diversification of their portfolio they have managed to survive the effects of the pandemic, as when Europe was suffering its hardest wave other parts of the world such as Latin America and the United States were coming out of it and vice versa.
GuruWalk's offer is very extensive, both in cities where their "gurus", as the guides are called, offer their free tours, and in the subject matter of the tours, which can be historical and cultural, but also gastronomic, artistic and even inspired by illustrious characters or television series. This great variety facilitates and motivates people to "travel" without leaving their city.
As if this were not enough, in times of pandemics they also have the support of science; thus, national and international scientific studies and prestigious voices such as the Spanish virologist Margarita del Val, confirm that the open air, where free tours are held, is the safest place to avoid the transmission of the virus.
Currently, the free tour startup is looking for a new round of funding after receiving one million euros last year from a fund of Harvard alumni and SeedRocket accelerator mentors among others. "GuruWalk is here to stay thanks to an innovative and disruptive model," concludes CEO Juan Castillo.
