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From cities to parks, brands can turn any place into an attractive destination. For places that want to attract tourists, investors, and increase the sense of belonging, quality of life and pride of the local population, having a strong place brand can be a game changer.We partnered up with Where to put together a crisp report about place branding and its potential for the travel industry. FutureTravel subscribers have early access to the report before anyone else, so here is your copy of the report, .
And now let’s head to our weekly rundown on the top travel innovation, trends and startups.
- There has been some significant movement on startups focusing on camping and campers since the pandemic started in 2020, specially in Europe. Reflecting this trend, the Swedish-based Acamp raised funds a couple of weeks ago, and now has just acquired Ställpatser, a popular camping community app. The acquisition will make it easier for campers to find and book campsites as well as connecting with hosts and other campers.
- Volocopter has been a strong player when it comes to urban air mobility and bringing electric air taxis to the skies of key cities around the world, such as Singapore, Rome and Paris. The German startup has just announced a new investment round of US$170 million, which will be used to assist with the certification process and to start achieving commercial launch in first cities. I am looking forward to see it happening!
- Travelzoo has just acquired the Spanish business unit of Secret Escapes. This deal adds 1.5 million subscribers to their travel and leisure deals service, strengthening their brand and business in Spain.
- It’s always good to see travel startup founders on stage. This year’s EU-Startups Summit will count on some big names when it comes to innovators in the travel industry: Jochen Engert (Flixbus), Avi Meir (Travelperk), and Naren Shaam (Omio) will be sharing insights about their journey founding and leading their business. Exciting! By the way, the application phase for their big Pitch Competition will end next week. So founders: you’re still on time to submit your applications – but you better hurry 🙂
- Seamless guest payments – this is what Mews will now add to their fintech offers to hotels with the acquisition of Bizzon. The team has been working on tech solutions that aim to help hospitality businesses connect and modernize the guest experience.
- On the International Women’s Day wave: I really enjoyed going through this piece from from Condé Nast Traveller. It brings some great insights into what feminism in travel should look like.