The travel technology company co-founded by Azerbaijani entrepreneur Garib Mehdiyev has acquired New Zealand-based Tourwriter, adding more than two decades of bespoke travel software expertise to its growing platform.
WeTravel has acquired Tourwriter, a New Zealand-based software company serving luxury and tailor-made tour operators, as it accelerates its push to build an AI-powered operating system for the multi-day travel industry.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded by Johannes Koeppel, Azerbaijani entrepreneur Garib Mehdiyev and Zaky Prabowo, WeTravel has evolved from a booking and payments platform into a broader technology infrastructure provider for travel businesses. Mehdiyev currently serves as the company’s Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer.
The acquisition comes less than a year after WeTravel raised $92 million in Series C funding, capital the company said would support the development of its AI-enabled operating system for multi-day travel businesses.
Adding Two Decades of Travel Technology
Tourwriter has spent more than 20 years building software for luxury and tailor-made tour operators and destination management companies, or DMCs.
Its platform brings together many of the back-office functions required to operate complex travel businesses, including digital itinerary creation, supplier management, pricing and quotations, margin and commission calculations, invoicing, accounting integrations, supplier communications and analytics.
According to WeTravel, Tourwriter customers have sold more than $1 billion worth of trips over the past two years, while businesses across 35 countries currently use the platform.
The acquisition will allow WeTravel to combine Tourwriter’s expertise in bespoke travel operations with its own payments infrastructure and growing AI capabilities.
The broader objective is to automate administrative work that remains highly manual across the travel industry and give operators a more unified environment for managing their businesses.
Tourwriter to Continue Operating Independently
For existing Tourwriter customers, the immediate impact of the acquisition is expected to be limited.
Tourwriter will continue operating as an independent platform, with its existing product, support services and team remaining in place. Its founder, Glenn Campbell, will continue to lead the business, while its nearly 30-person team will remain distributed across New Zealand, London and other locations.
WeTravel plans to invest further in the platform while introducing optional payment functionality and AI-powered tools designed to help operators reduce costs and automate more of their workflows.
The deal also comes as demand for personalised and luxury travel experiences continues to expand. WeTravel’s 2026 Annual Trends Report found that 56% of operators reported increased interest in custom luxury bookings during 2025.
Among established custom and luxury travel organisers using WeTravel, bookings increased 16% year-over-year during the first half of 2026, while booking value climbed 31%.
The acquisition strengthens WeTravel’s position beyond payments and booking infrastructure, moving the company closer to its ambition of becoming the technology layer through which multi-day travel businesses manage everything from itinerary creation and supplier relationships to payments and financial operations.
WeTravel now serves more than 10,000 travel operators, with a global presence that includes the Netherlands, the United States, Australia and Azerbaijan. The company also maintains an engineering presence in Baku, reflecting its longstanding connection to Azerbaijan through co-founder and CTO Garib Mehdiyev.
Source: tech.az
