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Apart from the weekly content curation, during this past weeks we have been also working on our first Premium Report. I’m proud of how far our team went to bring an overview of the hottest travel startups around the world in 2021. The report will profile startups with the most promising business models which have endured (or started) through the pandemic. You can expect to find innovative solutions emerging from different countries and different areas. The premium report will be available starting on August 19th.
And for now, here is your weekly roundup of the top travel innovation, trends and startups news:
- Barcelona-based startup Exoticca closed a round of €25.2 million. The startup offers package tours combining manually-curated products with an intensive use of technology. the money will be used to accelerate growth.
- Frankfurt Airport just launched 1,200 square meters of interactive tech experiences for visitors to get to know more about the history of the airport itself as well as to get a glimpse of the complex system that happens behind the scene. Amazing to see an initiative like this, using state-of-the-art technology to bring people closer to aviation and everything that happens behind the scene in a major international airport.
- The US has seen a high level occupancy rate on hotels this past week. I mean, the highest since October 2019. I’ll take it as a good sign for what’s ahead of us.
- Feels like a déjà vu to mention a big investment just ahead of an IPO. But well… seems like Microsoft is now at advanced talks to invest in Oyoat a $9 billion valuation… just ahead of its IPO! I guess the deal might also include that Oyo will count on Microsoft’s cloud system then, right?
- Combined tickets: flight + train. This is what EasyJet and Deutsche Bahn started selling just last week. But other airlines are also looking into alternatives and options. Can we already agree that traveling by train is sexy again?
- DHL Express ordered 12 battery-operated aircrafts, and it’s aiming to launch the world’s first fully electric air courier fleet in 2024. Also: the zero-emission aeroplane can be charged as operations (loading and unloading) happen, which allows the company to stick to their tight “express” schedules.
- The leading airline in Brazil, Azul, is buying 220 jet aircrafts from the German startup Lilium. This means a $1 billion deal and a powerful network of electric aircrafts that take off and land vertically (eVTOL) all around the country in 2025. It’s a bold move for a country with such a big territory.
- Two growing travel brands are merging. TravelLocal and trip.me will continue to focus on tailor-made private itineraries as they announce a new investment round of almost €3 million.This is it for this week.