TABIPPO

What TABIPPO does

TABIPPO (legal name 株式会社TABIPPO, or TABIPPO Inc.) is a privately held, founder-controlled Japanese travel media and education company headquartered in Tokyo, founded in 2010 by Naoya Shimizu and formally incorporated in April 2014. The company operates TABIPPO.NET, a WordPress-based travel web media platform publishing approximately 100 articles per month for a monthly readership of about 2 million, with editorial coverage spanning global destinations (Europe, Asia, North America, Oceania, etc.) and lifestyle themes including career, sustainability, and travel philosophy. The target audience is Japanese millennials and Gen Z (roughly 20-30 year olds), with content categories extending beyond traditional tourism to lifestyle, wellbeing, freelancing, and local regeneration topics.

Around its media core, TABIPPO has assembled a multi-product portfolio: POOLO, an online education platform offering POOLO LIFE (life design) and POOLO JOB (travel creator) courses; PAS-POL, a publishing brand producing travel books distributed through major Japanese bookstore chains; BackpackFESTA, Japan's largest-scale youth travel event held in multiple cities; and content series such as TABIPPO CARAVAN. Revenue mechanics are diversified across native/media advertising, sponsored content and custom marketing services sold to tourism boards and travel brands, book sales through retail distribution, POOLO course tuition, and event ticketing/sponsorship. Distribution is digital-first (tabippo.net, YouTube, Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, LINE Official Account) supplemented by physical retail (PAS-POL in bookstores) and on-the-ground student chapters at Japanese universities.

Operationally, TABIPPO remains a small, bootstrapped business with 11-50 employees and no disclosed institutional funding. The company entered a notable business alliance with KLC Inc. (株式会社KLC) in August 2022, targeting resolution of real estate and migration challenges through the utilization of idle leisure land, indicating an intent to extend beyond media into destination development and regional revitalization.

Name

TABIPPO

Legal name

株式会社TABIPPO

Website

https://tabippo.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TABIPPO is a Japanese travel media and education company operating the TABIPPO.NET web platform (approximately 2 million monthly readers), complemented by POOLO online courses, PAS-POL travel books, and BackpackFESTA events, primarily serving Japanese millennials and Gen Z travelers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Media

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (54183)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Travel Deal, Loyalty & Subscription Platforms (BPAMAIAM)

Keywords

• Travel media content
• Travel education programs
• Travel marketing services
• Online travel publishing
• Youth travel community

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

TABIPPO operates TABIPPO.NET, a comprehensive Japanese travel web media platform that publishes approximately 100 travel articles monthly and reaches roughly 2 million readers per month. The company also runs POOLO, an online travel education program (POOLO LIFE and POOLO JOB courses), publishes travel books under the PAS-POL brand, and organizes BackpackFESTA, Japan's largest youth travel event. Supplementary corporate marketing services are offered to tourism boards, destination marketing organizations, and travel brands for content partnerships and campaigns targeting younger audiences.

Product overview

TABIPPO operates a multi-product travel media and education ecosystem. The core product is TABIPPO.NET, a web media platform with approximately 2 million monthly readers, complemented by POOLO, a travel education platform offering life design and travel creator courses. The portfolio includes BackpackFESTA (a major travel event brand), PAS-POL publishing (travel books including the '365日' series), and TABIPPO Dream. The company also offers marketing services to businesses and organizes events connecting travel communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• POOLO: Travel and life design school/education program for young people interested in travel careers
• PAS-POL
• BackpackFESTA
• TABIPPO CARAVAN

Products and services

• TABIPPO.NET Travel Web Media The flagship travel web media platform of TABIPPO, publishing approximately 100 travel articles monthly covering destinations in Japan and worldwide, organized by area and purpose (solo travel, working holidays, world heritage, food, sustainability, etc.). It targets Japanese millennials and Gen Z aged 20-30 and reaches roughly 2 million readers per month.
• POOLO Online Education Platform Online travel school and education platform offering POOLO LIFE lifestyle design courses and POOLO JOB travel creator courses for young people interested in building travel-related careers and skills.
• PAS-POL Travel Books Travel book publishing brand producing photo books and travel guides, including the '365 Days' series featuring world heritage sites and regional destinations, sold through major Japanese bookstore chains nationwide.
• BackpackFESTA Youth Travel Event Japan's largest youth travel event brand, featuring travel contests, festivals, and experiential events held in multiple cities nationwide to engage the young traveler community.
• TABIPPO Dream Sub-brand focused on dream and aspiration-themed travel content and programs targeting young people exploring life and travel goals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Monthly readership of 2 million visitors
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Travel + Leisure: Travel + Leisure is an established multi-platform travel media brand combining editorial, video, and branded marketing solutions — comparable in the publishing-plus-tourism-marketing structure to TABIPPO's media and partnerships model.
• Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor is the dominant global travel content and review platform, combining editorial, community, and B2B marketing solutions — overlapping with TABIPPO's travel content and tourism marketing services but operating globally at much greater scale.

Direct peers

• SmarterTravel: SmarterTravel operates a portfolio of niche travel media sites with editorial content, deals, and audience monetization — directly comparable to TABIPPO's content-led, youth-targeted travel publishing business.
• AFAR Media: AFAR is an experiential travel media brand targeting millennial and Gen X travelers with editorial content, custom marketing solutions for tourism boards, and events — closely aligned with TABIPPO's content-plus-marketing-plus-events model aimed at younger audiences.
• Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel content and guidebook publisher with deep editorial authority across global destinations — directly comparable to TABIPPO's editorial content platform and PAS-POL travel book publishing business.
• Travelzoo: Travelzoo is a long-running digital travel media and deals publisher with a large newsletter audience and editorial content covering global destinations — comparable to TABIPPO's travel content publishing and audience-driven marketing model.
• Atlas Obscura: Atlas Obscura operates a digital-first travel media platform and experiences marketplace covering unique destinations worldwide, with a strong community and editorial depth; comparable to TABIPPO's content-driven, inspiration-led travel platform approach.

Regional players

• LIVE JAPAN: LIVE JAPAN is a Japan-focused travel information platform operated as a JV involving JTB, providing destination content and tips primarily for inbound tourists — comparable to TABIPPO as a Japan-centric travel media platform, though oriented toward foreign visitors.
• MagicalTrip: MagicalTrip is a Japan-focused tours and travel experiences marketplace catering to international visitors; comparable to TABIPPO's Japan travel content-plus-experience portfolio, though more booking-oriented and inbound-tourist focused.
• Voyagin: Voyagin was an Asia-focused travel experiences marketplace (now part of Klook) connecting travelers to local tours and activities; comparable to TABIPPO's Asia-region experiential travel content and community-led approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TABIPPO
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TABIPPO/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/around.the.world.tabippo
• Instagraminstagram.com/tabippo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tabippo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TABIPPO