A digital twin for hotels, artificial intelligence solutions and sustainable car rental, award-winning projects at the Touristech Startup Fest 2023.
A dozen startups have been recognised at the Touristech Startup Fest 2023, the global entrepreneurship competition hosted every year by TIS – Tourism Innovation Summit. The event, which has positioned itself as the key event for the tourism and technology entrepreneurial ecosystem, has received more than 4,000 applications from startups from countries such as Spain, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
During the Touristech Startup Fest, 40 startups were selected as finalists to make their traditional elevator pitch to captivate companies and investors from different segments of the tourism industry: Distribution Channels, Destinations, Hospitality, Mobility & Travel, Activities & Leisure and MICE. This year, a dozen startups won awards in different categories.
One of them was iUrban, which received the Andalucía LAB Award for Ciceron, a tourism platform with artificial intelligence that uses ChatGPT to personalise the tourist experience and works as if it were a 24/7 tourist office in more than 94 languages.
For its part, Hotelverse won the CaixaBank Award for a project that revolutionises the model for booking rooms and hotel services prior to the stay: a digital twin of the hotel that allows guests to have a complete experience and control of their booking: from flying over the hotel, exploring its facilities, personalising a specific room to the maximum and booking it.
Another winner was the startup BuscoExtra, which was recognised with La Fábrica de Sevilla Award for providing hoteliers with a technological solution that allows them to hire a worker in 2 hours including all the procedures for registering and signing the contract anywhere in Spain.
The Telefónica Award also went to the Hospitality sector rewarding Aphy, a robotic process automation tool in the sector, which facilitates the integration of systems and operational optimisation of hotels with a fully managed service.
For its part, the PCT CARTUJA Award has distinguished DNA – Digital Nomads Association Portugal, an association created in 2022 to promote Portugal to attract digital nomads, through the creation of hubs, events, communities and promotion of destinations with ideal conditions for remote work.
The startup Ruuts.travel won the WTTC Award. It is the first Eastern European RV rental marketplace with a focus on sustainability – the first Eastern European RV rental marketplace with a focus on sustainability that responds to the growing trend of motorhome and the desire of users to travel more responsibly.
Moreover, Curated Planet, “the Uber of travel”, won the NEBEXT Award for free participation in TIS2024. The startup provides a centralised communication and location platform for tour operators, sharing information to facilitate tour operations and automating the distribution of welcome messages, disclaimers, travel documents, tips, surveys, feedback collection and cross-selling.
Finally, La Salle Technova has distinguished the initiatives of three different startups. Among them is Passporter, a technological tool that accompanies tourists in all phases of the journey, creating a community that plans, shares and inspires with their experiences and travel itineraries. It also awarded Turbosuite, for an initiative that combines data analysis, artificial intelligence and the experience of experts to facilitate the revenue management of accommodations and maximise their profitability. The third winner was Visionary aHospitality for the creation of Sigho, an intelligent system made up of different solutions for complete hotel management: from customer relations to event management, point of sale, accounting, ordering, etc.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
