Travel tech companies that are looking for incubation and/or capital infusion will be pleased to know that two industry players are offering opportunities for startups in 2018.
Flight Centre Travel Group, the parent company of Liberty Travel, GOGO Worldwide Vacations and other travel industry properties, has announced that it has teamed up with Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator, to offer what it's calling "developing promising new travel technologies."
“Together we hope to discover, support and scale promising travel technology startups,” says Graham “Skroo” Turner, CEO of Flight Centre Travel Group. “We are engaging across verticals such as air, hotels, cruise, tours and product distribution. We are also interested in promising in-destination services and technologies.”
This move is touted among an industry-wide trend in travel companies that are looking to improve their technological offerings for their customers.
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Other similar moves in the industry include the offerings from World Travel Holdings’ CruiseOne, Cruises Inc. and Dream Vacations, whose new service (called "Vacation Superhero") invites customers to post testimonials on social media.
Another, more notable, move is by Virtuoso Incubator, an offering that has been available since 2015, and that provides "refining tools to boost advisor productivity and client service" to startup travel tech companies. Currently, it is seeking travel tech companies and other startups to join its 2018 Incubator, for which interested companies can apply.
"Virtuoso Incubator introduces them to products they otherwise might not know are available. We are providing a huge stepping stone for travel technology companies, as well as generating interest from entrepreneurs wishing to invest in the industry,” says David Kolner, senior vice president of global member partnerships at Virtuoso.