The annual wildebeest migration, seen on a safari in Tanzania.
What we do
At Zicasso, we excel at helping you get your vacation planned. Not just any vacation, but exceptional vacations filled with inspiring and life-enriching experiences.
How it works
- 1
Get matched to top travel specialists
Tell us about your ideal trip and the kind of experiences you'd like to include. We'll match you with up to two reputable, pre-qualified travel specialists who are the best fit for your trip. - 2
Get your trip planned
Our travel specialist partners will arrange an initial phone consultation or exchange emails with you to better understand your specific interests and vacation preferences. They will compete for your business using their expertise and insights to craft unique itinerary and activity proposals. - 3
Book your custom trip
You select the travel specialist who impresses you the most. After your itinerary is refined to perfection, book it with the travel specialist, who will then confirm all services and coordinate all logistics - including 24X7 support throughout your trip. - 4
Share feedback with fellow travelers
After your trip we'll invite you to write a review, so you can help other travelers with your candid feedback. Only travelers who have purchased a trip through Zicasso are eligible to share their travel reviews.
Zicasso founders Yuchun Ku (COO) and Brian Tan
Our Story
As founder and CEO, Brian leads the company with a laser focus on excellence.
He's recognized as a leader and visionary in the industry, often quoted in top travel publications and regularly speaking at shows like The New York Times Travel Show.
Brian's never-ending curiosity to learn and understand our world has taken him to more than 45 countries - from climbing the Great Wall of China to diving the Great Barrier Reef. He has a particular passion for African safaris and wilderness conservation.
Brian received his MBA and MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, as well as a BS in Electrical Engineering from Brown University.
Founder and COO Yuchun leads our team in client relations, analytics, and finance.
Yuchun's travels to over 50 countries have taken her to all corners of the planet, from the Andes to Zanzibar. Her passion for travel particularly centers around her interests in food, history, culture, and especially wildlife. She's always ready to return to Africa for another safari!
Yuchun holds an MBA from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley, and an MS in Engineering from National Taiwan University.
As our CPO (Chief Play Officer), Rico ensures that the Zicasso team maintains high productivity by taking regular walks and playing endless games of fetch.
He also provides senior management with daily coaching on how to maintain boundless energy and enthusiasm.
Rico didn't graduate from any reputable training schools (and frankly, didn't see the point given his career aspirations to become a CPO.)
Our Team
The team at Zicasso, whether two- or four-legged, creates happiness for our clients. From the moment users click to visit Zicasso.com to the matching of top travel specialists to ensuring exceptional experiences on the trips, we're here to make a difference. Click here to meet the team behind Zicasso.
Meet the team ›
How we select the best travel specialists
Our commitment is that each travel specialist in Zicasso's network is among the finest travel agents and tour operators - experts whom we consider the top 10%, or perhaps even the top 1%, in the industry.
To ensure quality, we've spent thousands of hours pre-qualifying and selecting our travel specialist partners. During this process:
- 1We personally interview each potential new partner in detail. To determine their expertise and service levels, an initial interview typically lasts two hours.
- 2We require that travel specialists have traveled extensively within the countries and destinations they sell, and continue to travel there every year.
- 3We review examples of their customized travel itineraries in depth.
- 4We continuously monitor their industry references, professional reputations, client testimonials, etc.
Our Commitment to Quality
By the time a new travel specialist joins the Zicasso network, we've usually spent at least four hours vetting their capabilities and credentials, setting quality expectations, and coaching their staff. To achieve consistent excellence, we have found that there are absolutely no short cuts in this process!
But we don't stop at this initial vetting. We also monitor quality based upon honest reviews from our trusted travelers. All Zicasso travelers are invited to write reviews when they return from their trips, and each travel specialist must maintain a minimum 4.25 star average rating out of a maximum of 5 stars. Every review comes from a real traveler who has purchased a trip through Zicasso.
Our values and community
Zicasso's community is one in which discerning travelers seek the best in quality, authenticity and value, and travel companies strive to deliver the same. The best travel specialists receive the recognition they deserve and consequently get more business. Travelers and travel specialists come to Zicasso to help each other experience the very best in travel - from both their perspectives.
In order to promote and reward excellence in travel, our community is guided by the following core values:
We believe in open and honest communications - and no hidden agendas.
We believe that everyone will "do the right thing" and act with integrity and fairness
We respect each other's time and effort
We treat others the way we want to be treated
We are always here to help each other experience the best in travel
In the spirit of these values, Zicasso also pledges that:
We always operate with the highest integrity
We never spam
We never share our users' names and contact information with any third parties
We take your privacy protection extremely seriously
How we make money
We charge a fee to our sellers or travel specialist partners. However, no travel specialist can pay their way to becoming part of Zicasso - our vetting process independently reviews whether they are good enough to join. Our buyers (the travelers) do not pay to use our service.
This is the same way in which eBay, Amazon and other online marketplaces make money. Because Zicasso's travel specialist partners know that they are competing for your business, they strive to deliver the best vacation experiences and service for your travel dollars.
What's with the name?
The Zicasso name evolved from our desire to personalize each trip with experiences that are unique, authentic, and a million miles from mass tourism. This is a feat that we believe computers won't be able to deliver for generations to come - an art that's best left to true travel specialists. Like the great artist Picasso whom we admire, "Zicasso" represents our relentless search for the unique and the original - out of zillions of possibilities.
