What’s Trendy in Travel Tech

Recently, Adobe Digital Insights reported that 41% of business and 60% of leisure travel arrangements are booked online. Thus, the global traveling industry faces multiple challenges and requires professionals of the sector to meet customer’s needs not only in person but also on the web. Remaining in line with the evolving new technology in travel and tourism becomes crucial.

Internet travel companies have captured the attention of venture capitalists. Global travel and tourism is one of the most valuable industries, worth some $7 trillion, reports say. The online travel market, in particular, is expected to grow to $817 billion by 2020. VCs are hunting for tech-enabled startups. In addition, there are a lot of established travel business that are looking to acquire technology startups for a much-needed innovation. Many of these larger companies have become active acquirers, increasing VC’s interest in the space. For example SAP Concur acquired the formerly VC-backed travel-booking startup Hipmunk in 2016 and travel planning company TripIt for $120 million, among others.

According to TechCrunch in the last five years, travel companies have raised more than $1 billion in venture capital funding. That includes short-term rental startups, travel and tourism apps, marketplaces for “experiences” and other travel or hospitality tech platforms.

Recently TripActions and travel activities platform Klook became part of the “unicorn” club with large venture rounds that valued the businesse at more than $1 billion. Luggage maker Away raised $50 million at a $400 million valuation, TourRadar nabbed $50 million and TravelPerk brought in $44 million. Additionally, smaller startups in the space like Rocketrip, Freebirds, IfOnly, KKDay, Duffel and RedDoorz all closed modest funding rounds.

So, what would be in the eyes of the investors this year? Below is the list of the most progressive technologies in the field of eTravel services in 2019.

· Personalization — the biggest priority among the modern travel industry trends

· Robots — helpful machines in the sphere of tourism and hospitality

· Online booking — the service experiencing constant growth

· Mobile Applications — the digital trend easiest to implement

· Voice technology a digital novelty disrupting the travel and hospitality sector

· Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence — the top 2019 digital trends in the travel industry

· Augmented and Virtual Reality — mainstream consumer technologies of the present

· The Internet of Things — smart objects able to interact

· Digital Payment

· Web & App Travel Aggregators

· User-Generated Content (UGC)

Given the limitless amount of information available on the Internet today, travelers are sometimes overwhelmed by it. User-generated content namely blog posts, social media shares, etc., is one way to turn this information into actionable insights.

Moreover, UGC is a powerful tool to give potential customers an authentic look at a travel agent’s offerings. Besides contributing as an inspiration for wanderlust and increasing trust, user-generated content is an influential way to get in front of new target audiences.

And here is DYNAX Invest’s watch list for 2019:

THE COMPASS is a project we are actively involved with and excited about its growth potential. The platform enables people from tourism and hospitality industry to benefit from simply recommending qualified places to travelers. With the holding located in the United Arab Emirates first test ground Baku in Azerbaijan was launched in the beginning of 2018 followed by the first major city Vienna in Austria to finally start their success story.

Triip is a Singapore based startup that provides the first-to-market blockchain solution for sustainable travel, while aiming to shake up the USD 7 trillion travel market industry. Triip technology solution is addressing the biggest problem in the current travel economy, dominated by inefficient and giant intermediaries, while providing incentive-driven and decentralized system. As of the beginning of 2019, Triip has over 100 million users and is rapidly growing. Triip has raised close to 1 million USD in a seed round led by Gobi Partners and is currently raising a pre-series A round.

Timeshifter is a Danish app that promises to cure jet lag. Ideal for frequent travelers, it advises you to take certain actions at specific times to adjust your body clock as you cross different time zones.

AirBuy caters to airlines, online travel agents, and airports, providing a solution that optimizes duty-free purchases and revenues. Launched in 2017, the Massachusetts-based startup solves these issues by using the passenger’s data and connecting data between the travel agent, airline, and airport to create a personalized shopping experience based on the traveler’s itinerary and profile.

HeyCars is a global ride-booking app that focuses on airport transfers. It was launched in 2016 by Yuexing Travel Group, a Guangzhou-based travel service firm that operates in over 50 countries and has partnered with ticketing apps, travel management companies