On October 27th, the third edition of the FutureTravel Summit was celebrated in the vibrant city of Barcelona. A day filled with interaction, inspiration, and discovery. The Summit united diverse voices and viewpoints from various corners of the travel sector, delving into what lies ahead for the travel industry’s future and the factors influencing this ever-evolving field.
We enjoyed enlightening keynote presentations, dynamic panel conversations, and lively networking sessions brimming with enthusiasm and excitement. One particularly memorable aspect of the day was the Pitch Competition. The competition, which brought some of the hottest early-stage travel tech startups from across the globe to the stage in Barcelona, was a captivating affair, bringing a lot of excitement, energy and memorable moments.
Finding the world’s hottest travel startup
After receiving 240 applications to take part in the hotly-anticipated pitch competition, the list was narrowed down to 10 finalists. Every candidate startup underwent a thorough evaluation, with their pitch decks closely examined, leading to the handpicking of the 10 startups. One notable observation was that among these startups, the majority had founding teams characterized by diversity, highlighting the inclusive and open future of the travel industry.
From the selected finalists 7 stepped onto the stage to present their ideas within a 3-minute timeframe, facing an expert jury and our audience.
The Jury and Prize
The jury included Marta Pinho (Amadeus Ventures), Victor Cuxart (Nauta Capital), Simon Schiller (Ennea Capital Partners), and Ludger Kuebel-Sorger (ROCH Ventures). In addition, we had many more VC firms, business angels and startup accelerators among our attendees.
The winning startup team of the FutureTravel Pitch Competition received a prize package with a value of around €55K in credits, which included €36K of Scaleway cloud credits, €9.9K in credits for an explainer video maker account of simpleshow, 1 year Guru Plan for SEMrush worth €2.2K, €2K of Miro credits to be spent on every plan, exhibition table at the EU-Startups Summit 2024, including 3 event tickets (total package value: €2K), a 5-week Fundraising Masterclass worth €1.2K by Ennea Capital Partners, 6 months free of NotionPlus & Unlimited AI and 3 event tickets to participate in the next edition of the FutureTravel Summit.
The Winner of the FutureTravel Summit Pitch Competition is…
Taking home the pitch competition crown and cheque was Namastay, a startup on a mission to solve online bookings and payments for hotels.
Built in Paris, Namastay was founded in 2021 to bring more digital solutions to the travel industry, through an optimized booking and payment solution directly integrated into hotels’ websites. Namastay provides a seamless, engaging and fast booking experience (with Apple Pay and Google Pay), through their “one-click to your room” cloud technology.
Made possible by Sponsors
The FutureTravel Summit was only possible with the support of our amazing sponsors:
IAAPA is the premier trade association representing the diverse and ever-changing attractions industry members from more than 100 countries. From amusement parks and resorts to museums and cruise lines, operators and vendors, IAAPA brings together professionals from various sectors to provide meaningful experiences for their guests worldwide. Additionally, IAAPA hosts global events and conferences that spread successful ideas and practices, as well as provide valuable tools that make businesses smarter, safer, and more profitable while delivering exceptional guest experiences.
Airwallex is a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spending management to embedded finance. With its proprietary infrastructure, Airwallex takes the friction out of global payments and financial operations, empowering businesses of all sizes to unlock new opportunities and grow beyond borders. Proudly founded in Melbourne, Airwallex supports over 100,000 businesses globally and is trusted by brands such as Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more.
Amadeus brigdges the gap between travellers and their desired journeys through various platforms including travel agents, search engines, tour operators, airlines, airports, hotels, cars, and railways. With over three decades of collaboration with the travel sector, they have honed their technology to perfection. Amadeus’s deep insights into travel behaviour, paired with their expertise in creating intricate, reliable, and vital systems, meet the diverse needs of their clientele. Annually, they facilitate connections for over 1.6 billion individuals with local travel services across more than 190 nations. Embodying a global perspective while maintaining a local touch, Amadeus is a unified entity present wherever their clientele requires. Their mission is to sculpt the travel landscape of the future, driven by a fervent desire to innovate and enhance travel experiences through superior technology.
Saffron x astara partnered to present the City Brand Barometer 2023, an annual study that evaluates global city brands through their promise, experience, and delivery. One of the world’s leading mobility companies, astara offers tailor-made, sustainable mobility solutions across multiple industries, backed by data intelligence. Saffron is an independent global consultancy dedicated to making brand memorable. Featuring bespoke, data-driven research from astara Intelligence, the company’s advisory division, Saffron’s City Brand Barometer will now investigate how mobility affects the experience and memorability of global city brands.
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- Source: https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/10/namastay-the-winner-of-the-futuretravel-summit-2023-pitch-competition/
