That’s it. Our first in-person FutureTravel Summit has wrapped up. And what an amazing event it was. We enjoyed inspiring keynotes, great conversations at the panels, and an exciting pitch competition featuring startups from across the world. Bringing different voices and perspectives from across the travel industry, the networking sessions were full of energy and lots of important connections made.
The main goal of this year’s FutureTravel Summit was to bring together the players who are driving the travel sector forward, concerned about the future of the industry and willing to go the extra mile to stay on top of the latest innovations in the sector. The idea was to mix, make people listen to each other, talk to each other. Panels with participants from different sectors, a diverse audience and an energizing networking break.
The “petit comitè” atmosphere of this year’s event did not keep people from actively engaging with the speakers and panelists of the event – more like the opposite. The intimate atmosphere made it possible for the audience to take an active part in the sessions that were happening on stage, and we really loved having such an engaged audience and Q&A sessions. At the same time, the networking breaks were full of life, people were very eager to get to know each other and there was such a buzz of energy.
Highlighting future industry leaders
Aside from highlighting innovations and trends pushing the travel industry forward, we also got to feature the up and coming innovators and thinkers of the sector. One of the highlights of the event was our Pitch Competition, where 10 finalists shared about their businesses in front of the audience and the jury. We received 200 applications this year and the competition was fierce!
This year’s winner was NeoKe, who took home a prize package worth €56k which includes a spot in the Scaleway Growth Program valued at €36k, $10k in Freshworks credits for their product suite, and €9,9k in credits for an explainer video maker premium account of Simpleshow.
Built in Germany, NeoKe is on a mission to solve the problem of manual ID verification processes at airports, hotels, and car rentals by transitioning to digital IDs. It’s a digital world and NeoKe wants to bring this into travel, bringing the sector up to standard and removing friction for travelers. Founded in 2022, the startup connects booking platforms and travel services directly to the digital ID of a traveler for easier trip planning and booking.
Thank you to our sponsors
The FutureTravel Summit was only possible with the support of our amazing sponsors:
Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower: The space that hosted this year’s event, Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower is part of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, a leading American multinational hospitality company that has been managing and franchising luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacation properties since 1957. As of today, Hyatt’s portfolio includes more than 1,150 hotel and all-inclusive properties in 70 countries across six continents. The hotel, designed by the prestigious British architect Richard Rogers, has a futuristic silhouette, and offers different possibilities from small to large meetings, as well as for pleasure, making it ideal for guests who wants to enjoy a luxurious treatment with personalized services that anticipates their every need.
TravelPerk: Born in Barcelona, TravelPerk is the next-generation business travel platform pioneering the future of business travel and empowering people to get together in real life. The all-in-one platform gives travellers the freedom they want whilst providing companies with the control they need – saving time, money, and hassle for everyone. TravelPerk is a traveltech unicorn and has the world’s largest travel inventory alongside powerful management features, 24/7 customer support, state-of-the-art technology and consumer-grade design, all of which are enabling companies worldwide to get the most out of their travel.
LUGGit: How often did you wonder what to do with your luggage before check-in or after check-out? LUGGit solves this for you by providing a luggage pickup, storage and delivery service. Through the mobile app or the website, you can request a Keeper (driver) to collect your luggage where you are, store it for as long as you need and deliver it back to the place and time of your choice. LUGGit has been operating in 5 European cities (Lisbon, Porto, Vienna, Prague and Barcelona), and in 2020, it was considered the 2nd Most Innovative Solution in the World by the World Tourism Organization.
Passero: Offering a visual, collaborative itinerary planner for millennial and Gen Z travellers who obsessively chase new experiences, Passero is one of the industry’s new gamechangers. Using Passero,ou can organize all your ideas in one place, make decisions faster using our custom-designed surveys, and create a shareable itinerary within minutes. Passero is launching a new community-driven marketplace where travellers can exchange ideas and stories with other like-minded travellers and receive personalized offers from relevant providers while they actively plan. Passero makes planning fun for travellers and conversion marketing affordable for travel service providers.
We are looking forward to keeping the conversation going online, and to see you at next year’s FutureTravel Summit!
Check out this amazing gallery we’ve put together of the event – if you were there maybe you can spot yourself?
