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It’s time for our weekly roundup of the top travel stories:
- The pursuit of happiness beyond profit. Attractions have traditionally centered around creating happiness, but their role extends far beyond profitability today. In partnership with IAAPA, we have crafted a report that explores the various aspects of amusement park attractions—including how they can create meaningful experiences and influence our sense of identity.The report provides essential insights that will help you grow customer loyalty, cultivate thriving local communities, and secure the industry’s future success. You can download our report for free by clicking here. For those of you who want a more in-depth look at these topics, make sure to take a look at upcoming IAAPA EXPO Europe in Vienna this month.
- A vote of confidence from current investors. Out of Reykjavik, Travelshift has secured $10 million in funding. The OTA uses AI to provide tailored and seamless travel experiences, focusing on European leisure trip planning. The startup will use the funds to accelerate its growth, develop new AI applications in travel and further its vision of transforming how people experience travel.
- Easier flow for business trips. Online travel marketplace Wego has acquired Travelstop, a platform that simplifies business travel and expense management. For Wego, which serves the Middle East and North Africa, the acquisition offers entry into the corporate travel and expense management sectors. Travelstop, which aims to streamline corporate travel planning, will operate independently. This deal gives Wego access to the corporate travel market, which accounts for 30% of the travel industry in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
- No more AirTags for luggage tracking. Virgin Australia passengers can now track their checked luggage on most domestic flights by using the Virgin Australia app. This follows the airline’s $400 million investment in digital innovation and customer experience, including in-seat power and in-flight Wi-Fi. The new baggage-tracking tool will let passengers keep tabs on their luggage and reduce concerns about losing it – the notifications will provide peace of mind throughout its journey.
- Growing popularity of flight subscriptions. The Barcelona-based traveltech Caravelo has raised €3.5 million in funding. This investment will help the startup meet the increasing demand for its subscription solutions in travel. The startup currently collaborates with over 20 airlines (including Alaska Airlines, Volaris, and Wizz Air). Over the last three years, Caravelo’s revenue has consistently grown by more than 100% each year. The funding follows their recent successes, including introducing flight subscriptions in Latin America and Europe. We are really excited to have Iñaki Uriz, the CEO of Caravelo, joining us at the FutureTravel Summit next month.
- Japanese hospitality tech company Tripla, has bought BookandLink, a company that helps hotels distribute their services, for $6.8 million. This purchase supports Tripla’s goal of making hotels more profitable and improving the experience for guests by combining their technology with BookandLink’s channel management and guest engagement tools. By integrating BookandLink’s services with Tripla’s booking engine, customer management system, and payment tools, Tripla aims to expand in Asia and generate more income in their markets.