Wego.com

Wego, a travel metasearch engine and online travel marketplace, was founded in Singapore in 2005 by Ross Veitch and Craig Hewett.^[4] The company is dual-headquartered in Singapore and Dubai, reflecting its strong focus on the Middle East region.^[5][6]

Wego's platform enables users to search and compare flights, hotels, and other travel deals across hundreds of airlines, hotels, and online travel agencies, presenting results in local languages and currencies. It operates dozens of country-specific websites and mobile apps in over 20 languages worldwide, with a particularly large user base in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. ^[7]

In early 2024, Wego was reported as the most downloaded flight booking app in MENA, reflecting year-over-year growth of over 44%.^[8]

The company remains privately held, with major investors including Tiger Global Management, Crescent Point Group, Square Peg Capital, Middle East Venture Partners, and MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Center) Group.^[9][10]

Founding and Rebranding

Wego was established as Bezurk in Singapore in 2005 by co-founders Ross Veitch and Craig Hewett.^[11] The travel search startup initially targeted the Asia-Pacific market, offering real-time comparison of travel options.

In May 2008, the company underwent a rebranding from "Bezurk.com" to Wego.com as it prepared for broader expansion. The original name, while quirky, was deemed hard for consumers to remember and spell, especially for non-English speakers.^[12] The rebrand to "Wego" – a name evoking the idea of travel ("we go") – coincided with a revamped website and new features to improve the user experience.^[13]

Following the rebranding, Martin Symes (then CEO of Bezurk) continued to lead the company, and Ross Veitch – originally Chief Product Officer – would later assume the CEO role in 2012.^[14]

Funding Rounds

Wego's growth was fueled by multiple rounds of venture funding. The company raised a Series A round in 2008 of about US$4.5 million from News Digital Media, the investment arm of News Corp.^[15]

This was followed by a Series B round in late 2010 led by Tiger Global Management, which invested approximately US$13 million in the company.^[16]

In June 2013, Wego closed a Series C financing of US$17 million, led by Crescent Point Group with participation from Tiger Global and others.^[17]

A Series D round in October 2015 brought in an additional US$11 million from existing backers, including Tiger Global and Crescent Point.^[18]

Another round of funding came with Wego’s Series E in mid-2017, when MBC Group (the Middle Eastern media company) invested US$12 million.^[19] This 2017 investment round also included backing from Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) in exchange for equity.^[20]

In total, Wego had raised roughly US$57.5 million in equity funding by 2017, helping to finance its international expansion.^[21]

Expansion and Growth

After establishing itself in Southeast Asia, Wego began expanding its geographic presence and operations in the early 2010s. In 2012, the company entered the Middle Eastern market, which would soon become one of its core regions.^[22] By 2013, Wego had opened regional offices in Bangalore (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), and Dubai (UAE) to support its growth in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Gulf region.^[23] The move into the Middle East proved especially successful: Wego's platform saw rapid user adoption in Gulf countries, and by 2017 the company had facilitated around US$1 billion in annual gross travel bookings, with roughly half of that coming from its MENA operations.^[24]

By 2017, Wego's Middle East websites were attracting about 10 million monthly visits and partnering with over 700 airlines, hotels, and travel agents in the region.^[25] The company also invested in product improvements and localization to drive growth. In 2016–2018, Wego shifted toward a mobile-first strategy and introduced Arabic-language services and region-specific features to cater to MENA users.^[26]

By the early 2020s, Wego had established itself as a prominent travel marketplace in MENA while continuing to serve users across Asia-Pacific. In 2021, the company reported over 9 million app downloads in that year alone, underscoring its user growth in core markets.^[27] Through 2023-2024, Wego was the most downloaded travel app for flight search and booking in the Middle East. In February 2023, Wego achieved a year-over-year growth of over 157.7% and 143,002 downloads in that month alone.^[28] The app maintained its top position in May 2024, recording a 44% year-over-year growth and 305,775 downloads in May alone.^[29]

Awards and Recognition

In 2019, the World Economic Forum, in partnership with Bahrain’s Economic Development Board, selected Wego as one of the "100 Arab start-ups shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution."^[30] This selection positioned Wego among companies recognized for their innovation in the Arab world.

In March 2024, Wego's campaign "Don't Let Your Winter Break Become a Nightmare," created by M&C Saatchi Dubai, received multiple honors at the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity, including a Gold in the Production (Casting) category and a Bronze for TV/Cinema Film.^[31] That same year, Wego was also honored within the travel industry; it won the "Best Online Travel Marketplace" (KSA) award at the Arabian Travel Awards 2024, reflecting the brand's prominence in Saudi Arabia's online travel sector.^[32] Wego was also recognized as the "Middle East’s Best Flight Comparison Website 2024" at the World Travel Tech Awards, highlighting its excellence in travel technology.^[33]

In May 2025, Wego was honored with the "Golden App of the Year" award for Best Booking Application in the Region at the Arabian Travel Awards, presented by prominent media Al Rehla.^[34] Additionally, in the same month, Wego received two SMARTIES MENA awards from the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA): a Silver for AI-Powered Audience Engagement and a Bronze for Innovative Use of AI in Advertising.^[35]

Product Launches and Acquisitions

Over the years, Wego has broadened its offerings beyond metasearch to include new products and strategic acquisitions. In March 2021, Wego launched ShopCash, a shopping deals and cashback rewards app aimed at MENA consumers.^[36]

In October 2023, Wego completed another strategic acquisition – that of Travelstop (now rebranded to WegoPro), a Singapore-based platform for business travel and expense management. The deal allows WegoPro to leverage Wego's regional network and customer base, while Wego can offer an integrated business travel solution to its clients.^[37]

Wego has pursued distribution partnerships with device manufacturers and technology platforms. It has agreements with smartphone makers such as Samsung to have the Wego app pre-installed on certain devices in key markets.^[38] Likewise, Wego partnered with Huawei in 2020 to integrate into Petal Search, Huawei's search engine and app discovery platform on its phones.^[39]

In April 2025, Wego announced a strategic partnership with Accor, one of the world's largest hospitality groups. This deal will integrate Accor's entire portfolio of 5,000+ hotels (across 45 brands) into the Wego metasearch platform.^[40]

Wego has also partnered with various National Tourism Boards (NTBs) worldwide, collaborating to provide users with insights into diverse global destinations through curated content, localized campaigns, and direct access to official destination offerings.^{[41][42][43][44]}