The FutureTravel Summit 2024, held on November twenty eighth in Barcelona, was a spectacular gathering of innovation within the journey and hospitality sector. With over 400 attendees, 20+ audio system, and a dynamic lineup of actions, the occasion as soon as once more lived as much as its popularity because the premiere stage for exploring the most recent traits and innovation within the journey sector.
Startups, innovators, traders, and executives got here collectively to debate the way forward for journey and highlight the brightest minds driving change within the trade.
On the coronary heart of this 12 months’s summit was the FutureTravel Pitch Competitors, a showcase of 8 groundbreaking startups chosen to current their visions for remodeling the journey trade. After consideration by the judging panel, Belli, a next-generation air cargo software program for airways, was introduced because the winner.
Discovering the world’s hottest journey startup
The pitch competitors supplies startups with a chance to showcase their revolutionary options in entrance of an engaged viewers and influential judges. This 12 months’s finalists represented a variety of sectors inside journey, from sustainability and hospitality to logistics and automation. The competitors exemplified the summit’s core mission: to highlight these actively shaping the trade’s future.
Whereas Belli received out, the opposite finalists additionally deserve recognition for his or her creativity and fervour. The FutureTravel Summit is proud to offer a platform for these startups to share their concepts and join with the individuals who may help flip their visions into actuality.
- Boatscribe: Based in 2023, Boatscribe is a yacht rental comparability platform based mostly in Ukraine and Greece. The platform permits vacationers to match and select verified yacht constitution provides from a number of web sites in actual time, saving money and time. Boatscribe supplies clear descriptions, availability, and ultimate costs with out hidden charges, directing clients to the official constitution firm web sites for reserving.
- GetYourVisa: Based mostly in Germany and the Philippines, GetYourVisa simplifies world visa functions powered by AI for a stress-free visa expertise. The app simplifies the method by avoiding complicated authorities web sites, automating doc extraction, pre-filling types, and pre-verifying functions to spice up approval charges. It additionally saves visa info for future use and generates important journey paperwork.
- Palms In: Established in London, Palms In is a cost resolution that seamlessly splits transactions throughout a number of playing cards and a number of folks, overcoming credit score limits. Excellent for long-haul flights, dear tickets, and group holidays, it reduces cost declines, enhances reserving and improves the client expertise.
- Holiwise: A London-based undertaking based in 2024, Holiwise streamlines group journeys utilizing AI and machine studying. It provides customized itineraries based mostly in your price range and preferences, with customized suggestions and real-time collaboration instruments. Teams can discover locations, flights, lodging and actions, all with reserving particulars in a single place.
- Inspirational Adventures: Settled within the UK since 2021, Inspirational Adventures enhances journey for each vacationers and tour operators. It’s an all-in-one market, optimised for all gadgets, that helps vacationers plan and uncover adventures whereas boosting tour operator conversions with safe, reviewed choices. Vacationers can comply with guides and construct their bucket lists confidently.
- SwiftON: From Spain, SwiftON is an revolutionary and good IoT system designed to encourage water conservation by selling shorter showers in accommodations and different vacationer lodging. Utilizing AI and machine studying, SwiftON provides good options, like gamified challenges to optimize water use and delivers real-time knowledge to resort managers by means of dashboards.
- TRAPI: Arrange in 2024 within the UK, TRAPI simplifies tech complexities by providing a related journey ecosystem that enhances consumer experiences. TRAPI is an AI-powered market that permits journey sellers to combine with travel-related APIs in beneath an hour, at a fraction of the associated fee, enhancing the consumer expertise for his or her clients.
The jury and the prize
The FutureTravel Summit 2024 Pitch Competitors additionally introduced collectively a outstanding panel of judges, every representing years of expertise in fostering innovation and scaling startups within the journey and hospitality sectors. These consultants evaluated the pitches with a concentrate on innovation, market potential, and trade affect.
Meet the judges:
The winner of the FutureTravel Pitch Competitors didn’t simply obtain recognition; they have been awarded a sturdy prize bundle designed to speed up their development and success. Valued at €330,000, the bundle consists of:
- Google Cloud Credit: As much as $350,000 in Google Cloud credit, together with 1 12 months of free Google Workspace for brand new signups within the Startup Program, fast-tracked assist from a devoted Startup Success Supervisor at Google, technical assist, and co-marketing.
- Simpleshow Enterprise License: €9.9k in credit for an explainer video maker account of simpleshow. This enterprise license corresponds to 1 12 months and consists of as much as 5 customers, and it comprises all customization options and entry to all of the property on the platform.
- EU-Startups Summit 2025 Sales space: €2k price Exhibition Sales space on the EU-Startups Summit 2025 together with 3 occasion tickets.
- SEMrush Guru Plan: €2.2k in 1 12 months Guru Plan for SEMrush which supplies you entry to their search engine optimization and on-line visibility administration SaaS platform.
- Media Publicity: A point out within the FutureTravel E-newsletter and devoted options on EU-Startups.com, amplifying the winner’s visibility throughout key trade audiences.
This complete prize bundle ensures that Belli, the 2024 winner, has the instruments, connections, and visibility wanted to scale their affect and solidify their place as a pacesetter in air cargo innovation.
Concerning the winner
Headquartered in Singapore and Spain, Belli is on a mission to revolutionise the air cargo trade. Designed to digitise and automate airways’ air cargo operations, Belli’s software program provides a seamless various to conventional guide workflows and outdated programs like spreadsheets.
By optimising cargo administration processes, Belli allows airways to extend income, enhance effectivity, and concentrate on strategic development.
Jeff Pan, Co-founder and CEO, is a seasoned chief with a notable observe document. Previously the Chief Product Officer for AirAsia Cargo, he has additionally labored on aviation logistics platforms for SpaceX, consulted for airways with McKinsey & Firm, and constructed API connectivity for Reserving.com. Jeff’s entrepreneurial spirit is obvious in his historical past of founding and promoting three startups.
Eric Waters Falk, Co-founder and COO, combines technical and trade experience. A former business airline pilot with SAS and Iberia, Eric holds a grasp’s diploma in pc science. He beforehand based an airline software program startup centered on analytics, scaling it to 30 clients throughout six years earlier than promoting it to a serious plane producer.
With this management group, Belli is nicely positioned to deal with the inefficiencies in air cargo administration and drive the sector ahead.
The affect of the FutureTravel Summit
The FutureTravel Summit continues to solidify its place as a must-attend occasion for anybody inquisitive about the way forward for journey. This 12 months’s version not solely showcased the most recent traits but in addition fostered significant conversations in regards to the challenges and alternatives forward. Attendees left with recent insights, new connections, and a deeper appreciation for the innovators shaping the journey panorama.
Along with the pitch competitors, the summit featured partaking panel discussions, thought-provoking keynote speeches, and ample networking alternatives. Subjects ranged from sustainable tourism and the function of AI in journey to methods for adapting to post-pandemic shifts in client behaviour.
As soon as once more, congratulations to Belli, the winner of this 12 months’s pitch competitors, and thanks to all of the contributors and attendees who made the summit a convincing success.
Right here’s to shaping the way forward for journey, one innovation at a time.
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