Barely a month has passed in 2022 and we already have another new unicorn in the national startup ecosystem to commend: Travelperk. The announcement of a 101€ million investment raised its valuation past the 1€ billion mark and provided a ray of hope to the travel tech startup sector. 

The conclusions drawn from FITUR, the International Tourism Fair held annually in Madrid, suggest 2022 is seen almost unanimously in the tourism sector as a major turning point and, as far as Valencia is concerned, an even greater opportunity given its status as the European Capital of Smart Tourism for this year. 

What does this nomination mean for the city, its citizens and its corporate network? Our team at Startup Valencia gained valuable insight into the informative meeting hosted by the Levante-EMV newspaper, in which different key figures from the sector laid out the main foundations of smart tourism: sustainability, digitalisation, excitement. 

Julio Monreal, Director of Institutional Relations at Levante-EMV, moderated a roundtable discussion between Emiliano García (Councillor for Tourism and Internationalisation), Antoni Bernabé (Director of Visit Valencia), Enrique Bigne (Professor of Marketing and Market Research at the UV), Ana Merelo (Valencia Premium), Carlos Boga (president of the Valencia Convention Bureau and director of the Hotel Las Arenas) and María José Viñals (professor at the UPV), whose contributions are in tune with the solutions of the Valencian travel tech startups.

 

Sustainability. Digitalisation. Experience 

We all become tourists at some point throughout the year (and if possible, more than once!). Whether it’s a weekend experience, a short getaway or a long holiday, as soon as we see the chance we pack our suitcases and change destination. 

The traveller’s customer journey begins with their search for a destination, hence the importance of being well-positioned for the different buyer personas (business tourism, holiday tourism, cultural tourism…). Next is the ‘wow effect’ of the trip itself: the user experience. Finally, it ends upon their return with word of mouth and the recommendation of the experience to their network of contacts. 

traveltech startups

 

Throughout this journey, experts agree that there will be three key factors in all decision-making: 

1) Sustainability: Event organisers are already interested in the sustainability plans for buildings, the carbon footprint their activity will leave behind, the issues related to the accessibility or mobility of the city and its metropolitan area, etc. when choosing between one place or another for their event. Even ‘ordinary’ tourists from countries with a high level of environmental consciousness are aware of these factors when choosing a destination, according to those attending the talk at Club Diario Levante. 

The World Tourism Organisation itself, a body of the United Nations, highlights the opportunity for developing countries to benefit particularly from sustainable tourism. 

  • ClimateTrade is one of the startups that help companies in the smart tourism sector to reduce their carbon footprint: the tech company connects corporations that need to offset their carbon emissions with a large number of environmental projects. 

2) Digitalisation: Technology must facilitate certain processes that tourists carry out throughout their customer journey, improving the experience without breaking the essence of travel. For example, immersive reality (VR/AR) can help us ‘set foot’ in our destination before even arriving. Also, certain planning procedures can be simplified via a specialised marketplace. This involves unifying everything related to online bookings, admissions and digital tickets, transport, payments… And, of course, the collection of big data for its analysis and treatment, resulting in better decision-making. 

AR Vision, Play&go experience and Ydigital are just some of the innovative Valencian companies that offer solutions aimed at digitising the tourism sector, among other sectors:

  • AR Vision offers fully custom-made Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality solutions, creating a unique and unforgettable user experience.
  • Play&go experience is a company that creates gamified digital experiences that connect the physical and digital worlds.
  • Ydigital generates experiences for customers and visitors of its establishments, towns and regions, through digitalisation and technology. It is committed to rural, efficient, high-quality, and mass tourism.

3) Experience: The secret ingredient of all these recipes is the ability to excite, since tourism is a form of satisfaction, of pleasure, a way of making people happy. Achieving the so-called ‘wow effect’ in the experience will multiply its return, either through word of mouth (virilisation), second and third visits (recurrence) or even the settling of travellers in the visited destination for a longer period of time (adoption). 

These are some of the Valencian startups in the travel tech sector with experience-oriented solutions:

  • GuruWalk is an international community of free tours that connects travellers with guides all around the world. Its goal is for everyone to be able to enjoy this type of tour anywhere in the world.
  • Boatjump has created an online boat rental portal that allows any boat enthusiast to be able to rent them in a simple way and at the best possible price.
  • Honimunn is an online travel agency specialising in honeymoons. Merging all the advantages of online travel agencies with the personalisation and service of physical agencies, Honimunn is the travel agency for the digital generation.
  • Howlanders is a tour booking portal specialising in Latin America. They work with local operators and offer nature and adventure tours that can be easily booked by the user.
  • GrowPro Experience creates unique study and work experiences in international destinations such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Spain. It advises students looking to live abroad while enhancing their education and opening up new horizons. 

This new prospect emerging as one of the driving forces of the Valencian economy must be made a reality as soon as possible, leveraging the growth generated by Covid-19.

As entrepreneurs, we have the mission to incorporate these elements into our solutions. As citizens, we must understand the opportunity presented to us by being an attractive destination based on these values. 

Tourism, from now on, will either take the smart route, or not.

 

 

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