Backyard Travel

What Backyard Travel does

Backyard Travel, operating under the EXO Travel brand, is a B2B destination management company (DMC) that provides tailormade, luxury, adventure, MICE, and group travel services to travel agents and tour operators across Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1993 with a Vietnam origin and now headquartered in Singapore, the company operates destination offices in 13 countries spanning Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, and North and Northeast Africa, and crafts nearly 1,000 tours across the portfolio.

The company runs a proprietary two-platform technology stack: Agent Hub, a B2B partner portal that lets travel agents log in to view pricing, access itineraries, and manage bookings; and EXO Create, an itinerary customization tool for building tailormade trips. These platforms sit on top of on-the-ground operational teams in each destination and underpin a partner-led distribution model in which agents and tour operators resell EXO's services to end travelers.

Backyard Travel/EXO earns revenue through transaction-based pricing on bookings made by travel partner agencies, with rates accessible only via the Agent Hub. The company holds B Corp and GSTC certifications, positioning itself within the sustainable-tailored-travel segment, and pursues organic geographic expansion (most recently Korea, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Egypt) rather than inorganic growth. Ownership is private and founder-led with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or public listing.

Name

Backyard Travel

Legal name

EXO Travel

Website

https://backyardtravel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Backyard Travel, operating as EXO Travel, is a B2B destination management company providing tailormade, luxury, adventure, MICE, and group tours across 13 countries in Asia and the Middle East, serving travel agents and tour operators via its Agent Hub partner portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tour Operator Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Adventure & Outdoor Local Operators (Trekking/Safari/Diving) (THAKAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Adventure & Expedition Experiences (Custom Hikes, Safaris, Backcountry) (THAJALAG), Jungle/Rainforest Expedition & Survival Tour Operators (THAAADAI)

Keywords

• B2B tour operator
• Tailormade travel
• Destination management
• Travel partner platform
• Inbound tourism services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangkok

HQ country

Thailand

HQ region

Asia

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. B2B Tour Operations: Provides tailormade travel services to travel agents and tour operators who resell to end travelers. Partners book tours and itineraries for their clients, with EXO handling ground operations across Asia and Middle East destinations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Backyard Travel is a B2B tour operator that provides tailormade, luxury, adventure, MICE, and group travel services to travel agents and tour operators across 13 destinations in Asia and the Middle East. Partners access pricing, itineraries, and bookings through a dedicated Agent Hub portal, while the company handles all ground operations, guides, transfers, and accommodations. Nearly 1,000 curated tours are offered, leveraging 30+ years of destination expertise.

Product overview

EXO Travel is a tailormade travel operator offering a unified platform of travel services across Asia and beyond. The portfolio includes five core service lines: Tailormade (customized itineraries), Luxury (premium experiences), Adventure (activity-focused travel), Events (MICE services), and Groups (party travel). Technology offerings comprise Agent Hub (partner portal for agents) and EXO Create (itinerary creation platform). The company operates across 13 destinations and offers nearly 1,000 tours, including day trips, multi-day itineraries, and multi-country packages. The product ecosystem is designed for travel partners and agencies seeking to book distinctive Asian travel experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EXO Create: Technology platform for travel planning and itinerary creation
• Agent Hub

Products and services

• Tailormade Travel Customized travel itineraries tailored to individual client preferences and specifications, leveraging local expertise across 13 destinations in Asia and the Middle East. Designed for travel partners reselling to end travelers.
• Luxury Travel (LUXE)
• Adventure Travel
• Events (MICE)
• Group Travel
• Agent Hub Partner Portal
• EXO Create Itinerary Platform

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TUI Group: Largest integrated tourism conglomerate worldwide with tour-operator and destination-services arms that overlap EXO's Asia and Middle East offering at a vastly larger scale.
• Abercrombie & Kent: Global luxury tour operator with deep Asia presence; competes with EXO in luxury tailormade segment but operates at broader worldwide scale and is part of a larger hospitality group.

Direct peers

• Intrepid Travel: Small-group adventure and tailormade operator with extensive Asia itineraries, B Corp certified. Comparable in product mix (adventure, tailormade) and sustainability credentials.
• Wild Frontiers Adventure Travel: Adventure and off-the-beaten-path tour operator specializing in Asia and the Middle East with tailormade itineraries — directly comparable to EXO's Adventure and tailormade service lines.
• Khiri Travel: Southeast Asia DMC offering tailormade and group travel with on-the-ground teams in multiple regional destinations — directly competes with EXO in B2B ground services.
• Diethelm Travel: Long-established Asia-focused DMC and tailormade operator with similar heritage and ground-services depth across Southeast Asia, structurally comparable to EXO's DMC positioning.
• Audley Travel: UK-based tailormade Asia and worldwide tour operator serving end clients through country specialists. Highly comparable to EXO's tailormade, agent-supported model across Asia destinations.
• Wendy Wu Tours: Asia-specialist escorted and tailormade tour operator serving Western travel-agent partners; overlaps EXO in Asia destination coverage and partner-led B2B distribution.

Emerging players

• TourRadar: OTA marketplace aggregating multi-destination tour operators including Asia-focused operators. Represents a potential distribution channel for EXO but also a competing customer-acquisition surface.
• Travel Curious: Tailormade tour operator with local-expert model across multiple destinations including parts of Asia; overlaps with EXO's authentic-local-experience value proposition at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/exotravel
• Facebookfacebook.com/ExoTravelGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/exotravel
• Instagraminstagram.com/exotravelgroup
• Xx.com/Backyard_Travel

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Backyard Travel