travel agency startups

30 Top Travel Startups to Watch in 2024

• Top Startups to Watch

Last Updated: May 10, 2024 By TRUiC Team

The travel industry was hard hit by the pandemic, with travel startups facing sharp declines in demand at pivotal stages of their business. The companies that are thriving today are those that have quickly adapted to meet the ever-evolving needs of travelers.

From work retreats to staycations, innovation is the name of the game. These top travel startups are promoting tourism by making it more convenient, more eco-friendly, and simply more fun. There are plenty of opportunities for any entrepreneur, particularly as the public gets their second wind to get back out there and start exploring.

Recommended: Learn how to launch your own company by reading our comprehensive guide on how to start a startup .

Best Travel Startups to Follow

Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the top travel startups of 2024 that startup lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.

Disclaimer: With so many exciting travel companies launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.

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• Location: San Francisco, California
• Founder(s): Francis Davidson, Lucas Pellan, Martin Picard
• Founded In: 2014
• Funding: Post IPO-Equity, $839.6 Million
• Investors Include: Principal Global Investors, BlackRock, Moore Capital

Sonder taps into a growing demand for unique places to stay. The company has a number of luxury properties in popular destinations around the world. What makes the company even more special is that the staff has adapted services based on how people travel today. Travelers can check-in, request towels, and get recommendations on what to do — all from their phones.

2. TravelPerk

• Location: Barcelona, Spain
• Founder(s): Avi Meir, Javier Suarez, and Ron Levin
• Founded In: 2015
• Funding: Series D, $530.3 Million
• Investors Include:  SoftBank Vision Fund, Greyhound Capital, General Catalyst

TravelPerk is a travel platform that helps business travelers manage their travel and expenses as well as book business trips with ease. The platform suits businesses of all sizes and streamlines the process of finding, booking, and planning business travel.

• Location: Singapore
• Founder(s): Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir
• Founded In: 2019
• Funding: Series A, $67.3 Million
• Investors Include: Plug and Play , GO Ventures, Rakuten Capital

Airalo is providing a more flexible phone alternative no matter what country you’re in. Their eSIM store is the first of its kind, offering affordable, local rates for eSIM compatible phones, tablets, or PC computers. Customers never have to worry about carrying several SIM cards, changing their phone number, or losing communication capabilities with Airalo eSIM cards.

4. Tripsider

• Founder(s): Olga Bortnikova, Ivan Bortnikov
• Founded In: 2018
• Funding: Seed, $1 Million
• Investors Include:  Liqvest, Mission Gate, Starta

Next on our list of top travel startups is Tripsider , an app that matches people with the right trip based on everything from their interests to their budget. The company compares the algorithm to that of a dating app, taking into account values, past experiences, and goals to match people with a travel expert via text or phone call. Experts have resources to help travelers officially confirm their bookings, removing one more thing for vacationers to worry about.

5. BabyQuip

• Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Founder(s): Fran Maier
• Founded In: 2016
• Funding: Seed, $10.7 Million
• Investors Include: Moai Capital, How Women Invest, SBI Investment

BabyQuip is a travel startup with a new take on the gig economy – providing a platform for baby gear rentals for traveling families. BabyQuip delivers all the necessary gear to wherever a family needs it – the airport, a hotel, or even the grandparents’ house. The company will tailor the equipment to each client’s needs, whether it’s a full-size crib, car seat, stroller, or anything else.

6. The Hotels Network

• Founder(s): Juanjo Rodriguez, Laura Martinez Celada, Marc Rollan Serrano
• Funding: Series B, $15.2 million
• Investors Include: Seaya Ventures, Elaia, 4Founders Capital, NFX

The Hotels Network is a platform that serves as a method of growth for hotels using technology to attract and convert online visitors to paying customers by creating a unique, personalized, and predictive user experience. Hotels can use the platform to compare reviews, pricing, analytics in order to create more impactful marketing campaigns.

• Location: London, United Kingdom
• Founder(s): Steve Domin, Tom Bates, Vincent Pastor
• Founded In: 2017
• Funding: Series B, $56.2 Million
• Investors Include: Index Ventures , Benchmark , Kima Ventures, Blossom Capital, et al.

Duffel is an online platform for travelers to find, book, and manage flights from a myriad of airlines. Working in tandem with airlines to provide a better customer experience, Duffel provides travelers with real-time pricing and availability to make booking a trip easier than ever.

• Location: Madrid, Spain
• Founder(s): Dennis Vilovic, Leonard Cremer
• Funding:  Series B, $11 Million
• Investors Include:  All Iron Ventures, Durable Capital Partners, Madrona Venture Group

Troop is a travel technology company that utilizes data to help corporations plan in-person meetings. Leveraging the power of science and technology, Troop makes planning in-person meetings for their Fortune 500 companies sustainable, safe, and secure.

9. roadsurfer

• Location: Munich, Germany
• Founder(s): Christoph Niemann, Markus Dickhardt, Susanne Dickhardt
• Funding: Series Unknown, $28.9 Million
• Investors Include : Lawrence Leuschner, Heartcore Capital, 10x Group, et al.

roadsurfer rents RV campers to outdoor lovers in Europe and America. The company stands for freedom and offers a number of perks to its customers, including unlimited mileage, a free second driver, road assistance, and flexible rebooking options. For anyone who dreams of getting away from it all and experiencing van life for a few months, this company is connecting people to the vehicles they need to hit the road.

10. Pickyourtrail

• Location: Chennai, India
• Founder(s): Hari Ganapathy, Srinath Shankar
• Funding: Venture, $3 Million
• Investors Include: Kumar Vembu, Vinay Ahuja, Girish Mathrubootham, Kunal Shah

Pickyourtrail is India’s largest online holiday booking platform for DIY travelers. People come here to customize their vacations by building unique itineraries from the ground up. The platform takes into account people’s interests, timelines, and budgets before crafting travel that will mesh with the individual’s tastes. The company also works with a number of tourism boards in popular locations, such as Iceland, Japan, and New Zealand, to create more streamlined experiences for all customers.

• Founder(s): Johannes Siebers, Michael Siebers, Rasmus Porsgaard
• Funding: Series E, $199.8 Million
• Investors Include: Venture Stars, Prime Ventures, EQT Ventures, et al.

Holidu is a website where vacationers can book accommodations at the lowest price. It was started by the founders after trying to find a place to stay in Portugal, only to find that many of the same properties were listed on different sites at different prices. Their platform makes it possible to search and book rental properties without having to worry if there was a better deal out there.

12. Whimstay

• Founder(s): Alexander Alioto, Ben Jamshahi, Kamesh Jasani, Noel Russell
• Funding: Seed, $10 Million
• Investors Include:  Talent Resource Ventures 

Whimstay is designed for last-minute travelers who want great deals. The app and website helps property owners and hosts match their unsold nights with travelers, so everyone can benefit from the search engine. The company is built on the premise that many of our favorite travel moments are entirely unplanned, and the platform boasts up to 60% savings off the original costs of rental properties.

13. Scenset

• Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Founder(s): Eli Bressert, Tamar van de Paal
• Funding: Seed, $5 Million
• Investors Include:  Cavalry Ventures, Project A Ventures

Next on our list of the best travel companies is Scenset . Most people take just under 3 weeks to book a trip, and while some people may love piecing it all together, most just want to just get it over with. Scenset personalizes your vacations with end-to-end planning with the help of travel curators. The team is there so travelers don’t have to skip from site to site, and these experts often deliver experiences that travelers would never have without their interference.

14. Boom Supersonic

• Location: Englewood, Colorado
• Founder(s): Blake Scholl, Joe Wilding, Joshua Krall
• Funding:  Series Unknown, $700 Million
• Investors Include:  Momentum Ventures, Prime Movers Lab, Caruso Ventures

Boom Supersonic is attempting to cut down on travel time by as much as half with supersonic jets. Travelers have the option of going from Tokyo to Seattle in as little as 4.5 hours (compared to 8.5 hours in a standard passenger plane). The company offers more than 500 transoceanic routes, allowing more people to test their boundaries and explore the world.

• Location:  Paris, France
• Founder(s): Aziza Chaouachi, Mario Moinet, Yassine Ben Romdhane
• Funding: Convertible Note, $22 Million
• Investors Include: Prime Ventures

Leavy allows people to live anywhere they’d like, if only for 24 hours or less. Though it was founded before the pandemic, the company is tapping into the idea of travel and affordability. The platform pairs customers with people willing to share their homes and pays cash to anyone who will open the door. While accommodation amenities vary, the barebones feature of Leavy is opening the door to people who might not have been able to afford travel otherwise.

• Location: Bucharest, Romania
• Founder(s): Alexandru Govoreanu
• Funding: Seed, $1.8 Million
• Investors Include: Early Game Ventures, Sparking Capital

Questo is a gaming app for travelers designed to help them explore cities and towns in an unusual way. So if an individual in London wanted to hunt down Jack the Ripper, they’re whisked away on an exciting quest, gathering clues in real time while learning about history at the same time. Games range depending on destination, so you can uncover the Midici conspiracy in Florence or discover the ghosts of Glasgow.

• Location: Berlin, Germany
• Founder(s): Naren Shaam
• Founded In: 2013
• Funding: Series E, $476 Million
• Investors Include: Lazard Asset Management, Stack Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, et al.

Omio is a transportation app that gives travelers an easy way to travel long distances. It’s not designed for getting around a city but rather suggests nearby airports and train routes that would make it possible to cover serious ground at the drop of a hat. It helps travelers visualize the best routes to take based on everything from speed to price. Travelers can also access tickets on their phones for trains and planes, adding an extra layer of convenience.

18. Surf Air Mobility

• Location: Hawthorne, California
• Founder(s): Cory Cozzens, David Eyerly, Liam Fayed, Reed Farnsworth, Scott Craig Porter, Sudhin Shahani, Wade Eyerly
• Founded In: 2012
• Funding: Debt Financing, $563.7 Million
• Investors Include: IVP, Troy Capital, Sway Ventures, et al.

Surf Air Mobility is an environmentally friendly company that’s introducing the world to zero-emission flying with the help of electric vehicles. With more than 910 million tons of carbon on the line, the company is starting with existing aircraft. The staff replaces the standard engine with an electric version as a means to decarbonize the travel industry.

19. SafetyWing

• Location: Silicon Valley (Palo Alto, California)
• Founder(s): Hans Nyvold Kjellby, Lona Alia, Sarah Beyahte Sandnes, Sondre Rasch
• Funding: Series B, $47.1 Million
• Investors Include: Creandum, Alma Mundi Ventures, Kinnevik, et al. 

SafetyWing describes its products as insurance for nomads, by nomads. The company makes it possible for people outside their home country to get the medical help they need, including treatments needed for COVID-19, should they become ill or injured while abroad. People can even purchase insurance while they’re in a foreign country.

20. Wanderlog

• Founder(s): Harry Yu, Peter Xu
• Funding: Seed, $1.7 Million
• Investors Include: Y Combinator , Abstract Ventures, General Catalyst

Wanderlog is a free travel app that makes it possible for travelers to build and map their vacations. Designed for trips of all kinds, including the open road, it’s a way for people to keep all of their details organized so they know where they are, what they’re doing, and where they’re going at all times. Drive times, reviews, and reservations can all be tracked in one handy place, making it less likely that something will go wrong along the way.

• Founder(s): Oskar Bruening, Ruzwana Bashir
• Funding: Series C, $119.9 Million
• Investors Include : Eric Schmidt, 12 BF Global Ventures, Cathay Innovation, et al.

Peek helps tourism businesses book more people by offering handy software to take payments, market their services, and manage reviews. So far, the company has powered more than $1 billion in experiences (e.g., paddleboards, pottery classes, rafting, etc.). Their customers love the easy-to-use platform that makes it possible to both generate and track business.

• Location: New York, New York
• Founder(s): Anthony Menna, Greg Ramey, Mike Petrakis
• Funding:  Series A, $17 Million
• Investors Include:  Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Corazon Capital, Alumni Ventures

Batch  is designed specifically for bachelor or bachelorette parties. It helps the core planner track the details of the trip, so everyone can have a smooth experience. Trying to coordinate anything on a group trip like this can be an exercise in futility, but the app accounts for any number of scenarios, making it possible for people to have more fun before, during, and after the trip.

23. Sēkr

• Location: San Diego, California
• Founder(s): Breanne Acio, Jessica Shisler
• Founded In: 2020
• Funding: Seed, $3.1 million
• Investors Include: Crescent Ridge Partners Ventures, Storyteller Overland, Backstage Capital, et al

Sēkr is a mobile platform for outdoor lovers, making it easier, safer, and more communal to plan a trip and dig into the Great Outdoors. The company has more than 50,000 campsites included in its platform, making it the nation’s largest database of free campsites and local events. People can use it to learn more about what they can really expect at each site, and to connect to virtual friends with similar interests.

24. Point.me

• Founder(s): Adam Morvitz, Tiffany Funk
• Funding: Series A, $12 Million
• Investors Include:  Thayer Ventures, RiverPark Ventures, Plug and Play

Next up on our list of top travel startups is Point.me . With so many different types of airline miles and points out there, it can be difficult for travelers to keep track of all their rewards. As a result, they often end up losing out on their benefits, or cashing them in for a fraction of what they’re worth. Point.me scours the internet to find the absolute best deals for travelers who want to get the most from each and every point.

25. AvantStay

• Location:  Los Angeles, California
• Founder(s): Reuben Doetsch, Sean Breuner
• Funding: Private Equity, $686 Million
• Investors Include: Saluda Grade, Bullpen Capital, Capital One Ventures

AvantStay is a booking platform with unique properties that can be used for personal or commercial use alike. These are luxury rentals that feature unique amenities, including stunning interior design for groups. Excellent for family and company retreats or just a fun weekend trip between friends, AvantStay makes it possible for travelers to hammer down accommodation details and organize additional excursions as well (e.g., spa treatments, wine tastings, etc.).

26. Spotnana

• Founder(s): Sarosh Waghmar, Shikhar Agarwal
• Funding: Series B, $116 Million
• Investors Include:  ICONIQ Growth, Durable Capital Partners, Blank Ventures

Spotnana designs software to connect partners, suppliers, and providers, all in service of improving the booking experience for travelers. The idea is to unbundle travel, making it possible for travelers in the future to get anything they need without the hassle. The core values are freedom and trust, reintroducing choice to the traveler so they feel comfortable making any and all of their arrangements online.

27. Life House

• Founder(s): Rami Zeidan, Yury Yakubchyk
• Funding: Series C, $230 Million
• Investors Include: Tiger Global Management, Sound Ventures, Global Founders Capital

Life House is a vertically integrated operating system built for boutique hotels. It specifically supports three functions: hotel technology for operators, hotel management for owners, and hotel branding and positioning. With Life House's powerful software, boutique hotels gain a suite of tools that can help streamline processes and increase their profitability.

28. Kindred

• Founder(s): Tasneem Amina, Justine Palefsky
• Founded In: 2021
• Funding: Series A, $22.8 Million
• Investors Include: Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners

Kindred is a home-swap platform that connects travelers with other members to trade spaces or travel with credits they can earn by using the platform. With Kindred, hosts receive complimentary hosting essentials like towels, sheets, and lockboxes as well as free professional cleaning before and after guest stays. 

29. Hotelverse

• Location: Mallorca, Spain
• Founder(s): Rafael Bover, Fermin Carmona
• Funding: Seed, $3.92 Million
• Investors Include: Sabadell Venture Capital, Plug and Play

Hotelverse leverages technology to create an innovative booking experience for travelers. On the platform, users can explore hotel facilities, customize their room, do a flyover of their hotel, and book a room — all virtually using a realistic, 3D model. 

• Location: Vancouver, Canada  
• Founder(s): Connor J. Wilson 
• Founded In: 2020 
• Funding: Angel Investment, CA$1.1 Million

Pilot is a travel planning platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Using its free app, travelers can plan and collaborate with friends on trips by creating itineraries, planning routes, importing travel documents, and obtaining travel visas — all on one platform. Plus, the app works both online and offline thereby ensuring travelers can access important travel information at any time. 

Recommended:  Check out our full list of the  top startups to watch in 2024 !

What are travel startups?

Travel startups today are largely companies that lean on innovation to get noticed in a saturated landscape. Because we’re more reliant than ever on our devices, many of the companies on this list have tech that will drive tourism across the globe.

Whether by reducing carbon emissions, offering health insurance by phone, or making it easier to split costs, travel startups are tackling the small and big issues that stop travelers from fully committing to a trip.

What does the future of the travel industry look like?

The future of the tourism industry will be controlled by everything from global emissions to public health. However, based on the most popular startups today, one of the major trends is based on how people book their travel and how the details are managed. Travel is likely to become more customizable, more affordable, and less damaging to the environment.

What are some travel startup ideas?

Travel startup ideas are often born from personal experiences that people have with their own bookings. So maybe you have a difficult time scheduling a trip on a regular weekend. This leads to an idea that helps vacationers travel without having to take vacation time from work.

Or maybe you take your inspiration from global headlines. If gas prices rise drastically in your area, you can start an app that helps people take a staycation they’ll never forget.

How do you start a travel startup?

Beginning a travel startup will mean sketching out a business model with details about how you’ll monetize your idea and how much capital you’ll need to get started. You’ll need to know what kind of staff you’ll need, how much you can pay them, and what kind of collaboration will be needed to hit your milestones. From there, you’ll likely need to approach investors and secure funding.

About the Author

The TRUiC Team

TRUiC’s team of researchers, writers, and editors dedicate hours to ensure startupsavant.com’s articles are actionable and accessible for both startup founders and startup enthusiasts. From launching a startup to growing your venture, you can trust that our information is an up-to-date and reliable source.

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79 Of The Best Travel Agency Startups To Watch Out For In 2021

This article showcases Startup Pill’s top picks for the best Travel Agency startups. These startups are taking a variety of approaches to innovating inside of the Travel Agency industry and around the world. They are all exceptional startups well worth a follow.

We tried to pick companies across the size spectrum from cutting edge startups to established brands.

We selected these startups for exceptional performance in one of these categories:

• Innovative ideas
• Innovative route to market
• Innovative product
• Exceptional growth
• Exceptional growth strategy
• Societal impact

Join our community: The Startup Pill Facebook group is designed to be a friendly and international space where startup founders, investors and consultants can share resources, progress and tips. Click here to join.

Top Travel Agency Startups

Data sourced from Crunchbase and SemRush .

Crunchbase | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Linkedin

Rotamundos aims to hyper connect the accommodations and local experiences landscape for backpackers, nature, and adventure tourists.

Bridgify is a travel tech company that delivers hotels and OTA’s a white label product.

baboo is a user-friendly platform that connects travellers directly to local experts based in the destination of choice. Through this platform, travellers can personally discuss their needs, preferences and expectations with a local travel operator in order to create and book tailor-made trips.

Powered by advanced Artificial Intelligence, an algorithm links the traveller directly with the most suitable native travel operator, based on its experience & ratings.. .

SkyZeg Inc.

SkyZEG is your business improvement partner in Travel, Technology and Supply chain. We have shaped best practices in helping organizations around the world embed excellence, build competence and capability for sustainable growth.

TravelZeg reveals every destination from a truly local perspective — and with a level of style and service beyond the reach of any other travel company. We’re DigitalZeg Virtual – The digital marketing agency based in the heart of the City of New Delhi, India.

Our aim is to make use of multiple channels to ensure that you reach your potential customers before your competitors do. Phocus Travel is a passionate, vibrant company that specialises in tailor-made holidays and private tours for discerning travellers seeking authentic experiences around the world..

Nomad Stays

Finding an affordable, connected place to stay for a few weeks or months whilst you travel the world and build a career as a digital nomad is hard. Most accommodation markets only cater for short stays of a few days or semi-permanent renters for a year or more.

Self-catering, broadband-connected, extended stays are hard to find and even harder to book. Yet at the same time the accommodation industry globally has low occupancy rates, particularly in regional areas.

Nomad Stays niche travel platform solves this. Nomad Stays provides a one-stop listing and instant booking service for properties around the world that are considered ‘digital nomad friendly’.

Digital nomads, remote workers and location independents can now find and book their next stay easily and affordably.. .

Porter is a personalised travel companion that recommends your best matched hotels. We save our members from the time and stress that comes with booking hotels.

Now they can rediscover the joy in travelling!. .

AdventureLocals

AdventureLocals is an online travel agency that specializes in adventure travel trips to locations around the world. We partner with local tour operators in unique locations and then resell the trips to travelers seeking amazing adventures.

We only partner with local tour operators after we have personally vetted the trips which allows for a portfolio of adventures that we know and trust.. .

Seamless train travel in Europe

Feeling the urge to explore a new destination or get an adrenaline rush with the wildest adventure? Tourolo Private Limited provides end to end tour packages in India for individuals, groups, students, and families. We offer the best custom travel itineraries, hassle-free traveling, and top-grade accommodation without burning a hole in your pocket.

We are excited to start a trip with you, learn about you and make beautiful moments for you.. .

Making accommodations affordable an hour at a time.

HolidayFox is a platform to discover and book family staycations. From a fun filled day out with the kids through to a whole holiday, HolidayFox has it all.

Get suggestions, find, build and book your perfect package all in one place. .

Online Travel Booking website – specializing in things to do worldwide

Triwey is a conscious travel platform that allows clients to find and compare worldwide sustainable hotel prices provided by leading reservation systems. Triwey provides aggregated information and the cheapest prices working together with some of the leading online reservation systems such as Agoda, Trip.com, Zenhotels, and Snaptravel.

We allow users to book and stay in sustainable accommodations thanks to our partnerships with global eco-label organizations, from the United States to Asia. Every time a booking is made on one of our partner’s websites we plant trees and donate to charitable causes at no extra costs for the clients.

We reforest locations all over the world, such as Africa, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Spain, and a lot more and we support causes about education, poverty, healthcare, water projects, and ocean cleaning, directly from the most important and growing worldwide charitable organizations. The mission at Triwey is simple: allow the traveler to stay in worldwide green hotels at the cheapest prices knowing to be proud of supporting the planet and people who are in need at no extra costs!.

Myrentboat.com is a booking and rental system for boats, catamarans, mega yacht including crew, skipper and insurance. Rental through myrentboat.com is very easy, maximum convenient and transparent process with online booking as like booking com.

Our company was founded in 2019 by two principals which have excellent experience in sailing, yacht rental business and marketing . We have great experience with the online booking business model and international operations in Europe, USA, Russia and Asia.

The Company’s technology and service infrastructure were developed in-house and is scalable for global growth. The top visitor-rate of Myrentboat.com is over 5,000 visitors per month and above 100 the charter request per month (report dated 25th June 2020).

Our forecast is 150,000 visitors and 5,000 the charter request in nearest year The Company also attracted over 5,000 Instagram/Facebook visitors. In 2019, our company secured financial support from current principals in order to develop our site.

During the past year, it has made considerable progress and is ready for first investment round. Customers can currently choose from more than 25000 ships worldwide online and more than 500 destinations in 47 countries across the globe – all in 7 languages with the best prices on the market, and customer service seven days a week in the local language.

Myrentboat.com has the not largest own catalogue of boats on the market, but we are still working under its increasing. All the boats are directly contracted with the charter and insurance companies.

BusinessHotels

BusinessHotels.com is an online hotel reservation platform offering hotels for business and business trips.

Elevate Travel

Elevate is more than just a global travel brand. We are a quality mark for luxury travel.

We bring property owners more occupancy, visibility, and revenue through our proprietary software. We empower guests to book luxury stays in confidence..

Rentalport.com

Rentalport is an online car rental platform that covers: 70+ car rental companies in 6 countries (SK, CZ, RO, BG, SI, HU) more than 17 000+ vehicles for hire 200+ car rental branches across Europe What can we do for you? We will help you to find the best car rental deals as we cooperate closely with well-known car rental companies. We will save your time since you do not need to waste it on searching for the best car rental deals on various websites.

We will save your money because you can always choose the best car rental offer that is currently available. Your convenience is also enhanced by online payment, which you can make through the Stripe payment interface directly on our site.

Since we want to eliminate unpleasant surprises, we have started an evaluation program, thanks to which you know who you are buying from. Once your car rental is over, you have the opportunity to share your rating or review with other customers.

In addition, we have a perfect customer service.. .

Flysio is a new travel technology company. Flysio’s travel booking platform connects blockchain with the travel industry allowing customers to use their favorite cryptocurrency to make travel bookings in more than 200 countries.

Flysio Token (FLY) is a native currency of the Flysio travel booking platform.. .

Apps, AI, Corporate Travel, Bleisure,

Private Jet Booking Platform

Mytrip.ng – Bus Booking in Nigeria

Mytrip Nigeria is #1 Interstate Bus Booking app in Nigeria

Happy Go Trips

We organize customized tours in such a way that you get to feel the essence of the place and not just the superficial charms.

The wilderness is calling to have a look through WILD LENSE because all good things are natural and free. Go insane and fall in love with Indian Wildlife & Nature as the incredible animals of India awaits you to the most adventurous and thrilling roller coaster ride of THE INDIAN WILDLIFE SAFARI.

Get to stay in the places closest to nature and experience hospitality that India is famous for! Exotic locations, rustic feel, tranquility and local delicacies will surely leave you wanting more. So it’s better to be wild than boring especially when you have an easy peasy booking facility and utmost reliable wild safari partners.

Add more punch to your expedition and choose from the most comfy clothing lines designed especially for excursions along with stylish voyage bags, organizers, cameras, lenses & unique collections of gears & accessories that will give you a trip of lifetime. Our tour guides and safari experts are laden with some enchanting forest facts and real life encounter stories of the jungle.

So forget about any dull moment! Let the positive energy of nature flow through you allowing you to calm your thoughts and energize your spirits! Join us in this mission of ‘Conservation with Tourism’ because life is a daring adventure or NOTHING!!. .

Black Book App

Black Book is a global lifestyle all-in-one SaaS platform for business professionals and personal leisure seekers. Uber-esqe in feel, switch between your business and personal profiles to book a flight, hotel or restaurant.

Regardless of what profile you are interacting in, Black Book remembers your personal preferences such as loyalty program memberships. We are building one of the world’s most powerful recommendation and transaction machines, and the first to target multiple verticals in the premium corporate and leisure segments.

Say goodbye to multiple app’s to manage your business expenses and reporting, and booking travel. Black Book includes expense management for businesses and their employees.

With automated expense reconciliation, automated monthly reporting, calendar synching, spending controls, unlimited approval hierarchies, Black Book is designed for one employee or thousands. Take advantage of the “perks” you receive on “business” trips and use them on “personal” trips.

Black Book remembers everything so you don’t have to. If you want a non-smoking floor, prefer a latte over an espresso – Black Book knows.

Clever logic will tell you when you need to book an Uber to get to the airport on time so you don’t miss your flight. It will even predict the likelihood of your flight being delayed or cancelled due to weather.

Travel Xamp

Travel Xamp is an online travel platform which is committed for bringing our clients the best in value and quality travel experience. We are passionate about travel and sharing the world’s wonders on the leisure travel side, and providing enthusiastic travelers the best experiences to facilitate their journey needs.

We believe in “Travel with less plan and more freedom“.. .

Triptomize is a digital platform where you can book custom itineraries from anyone or anything you see online. Imagine a Pinterest for travelers to instantly book, share, and collaborate travel plans.

We built Triptomize to solve two core problems: 1) Simplify the social aspect of travel planning 2) Find a way to let everyone turn their travel experiences into passive income. .

HalalTravels.com

HalalTravels.com is an online travel agency offering Muslim-friendly holidays and addressing all the travel needs under the same roof. You may search and book best halal resorts, hotels, villas, tours, activities, airport transfers, and restaurants at competitive prices.

Explore what we offer and book with confidence.. .

Tripelly is an online booking platform that offers 3 weekend local and sustainable trips per year with small and affordable installments.

GoingBo is a leading travel portal in India. We provide facilities to book Flight Tickets, Hotel Booking, Bus Tickets, Holiday & Honeymoon packages Online at cheap price.

Book your Honeymoon and Holiday packages for Domestic & International.. .

Pak Voyager

Pak Voyager is the top-notch company that offers Vacations Tours, Adventure Tours, Corporate Tours, and Family holiday tour with 100 + Pakistan Tour Packages. Travel Agency had highly qualified staff for tour operations, marketing team and for promoting the tour and travel culture in Pakistan.

A travel company can book a travel package for all occasions. Whether you want a weekend trip or a long trip, the travel company can book both.

You need not worry about expenses during the trip, the logistics. Every expense will be included in the package prepared by PakVoyager, the best tours and travel agency in Pakistan..

360 Virtual Video Tours

Next Generation Digital Marketing. High-Quality, Engaging, Multi-Purpose Content to Improve Your Online Presence.

AlbaJet Charter GmbH

AlbaJet is an online private jet booking platform. Instantly compare prices for over 5.000 jets worldwide.

TripLiner based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is one of the leading online travel companies. The company provides information, pricing, availability, and booking facility for domestic and international air travel, domestic and international hotel bookings, holiday packages, homestays and cruises.

As a leading platform of accommodation options, TripLiner provides real-time bookings for more than 200 hotels in Bangladesh and over 20,000 hotels around the world. Launched in August 2018, we have a reach inventory of domestic & International Airlines with the best flight deals, Popular hotels around the world with the lower prices guaranteed.

Moreover, You can choose your favorite activities or day tour plan from thousands of options.. .

Getlost is a travel agency that provides flight bookings and hotel booking as well as discounted fares, customizable trips and more.

ShareTeGo Ltd.

ShareTeGo Ltd is a Travel and transport agency.

Tripgation® is a global provider of world-class innovative & cost-effective travel solutions to corporate. Tripgation® Private Limited is an independently owned, travel company with experienced & professions travel teams in India.

The name ‘Tripgation’ is derived from a combination of the word ‘Trip’ & “Navigation’. Tripgation® Inc.

is a pioneer in the field of Travel Management services for corporate & SME’s travellers. We are empowering skilled professionals, high net worth individuals and families to become global citizens and realize their dreams through our expertise and solutions.

As a Travel Management company with over experience in providing Travel & Visa management services for associations, corporations, SME’s and organisations.. .

Aladdin Travel Services LTD

Travel Services in Alpharetta, GA

Shuttle Central

A tech platform distributing B2B mobility solution integrating mobility companies into one Founded in May 2019 in Cancun, Mexico. Shuttle Central is the first Mexican startup that integrates Small and medium size transportation companies globally under the Shuttle Central brand, offering our B2B distribution, know how, operation protocols and technology to take their business to the next level By 2022 the global transportation market will reach $684 Billion and we want to be a key part on that spent, helping travelers find how to move from point A – B in a smarter way With over 80 partnerships with local mobility companies and more than 30 global companies already using our services we manage to happily served 30,000 rides in the last 8 months.

As we look into the near future, expanding our team is a must. But we must do so by focusing in these 3 areas: • Acquisition: our sourcing team is always looking for new local companies to partner up with and increase our ever-growing supply across LATAM to stand out as a big player.

We need to expand our team to US and Europe to increase our coverage • Distribution – our business development team has improved margins and supply inventory of more than 25 accounts (OTA’s, Travel Agencies, TTOO’s, wholesalers, etc.) across the globe, our direct partnerships with local companies and the understanding of how a marketplace and retail environment works is key to become a one stop shop for these companies’ mobility needs. Expanding our BDM’s to US and Europe Will help offering our services to other markets • Tech: we are hiring developers to work on the platform architecture and coding that will put us ahead of the game and solve important issues for several stakeholders Shuttle Central a worldwide mobility solution for everyone..

WOTRA TRAVEL

A 21st-century Business travel management tool. All-in-one business travel booking platform that gets job done.

BookAfricaTravel

BookAfricaTravel is an online platform to customize and book authentic tours, Activities, and Experience in Africa. Our tour guides and travel experts are spread across several African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Rwanda, Senegal, Kenya, Morocco, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Egypt, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Tanzania and more.

Experience Africa like never before with us while helping locals earn an honest living. Our mission is to connect the world to the best destination and experience in Africa while helping locals earn a sustainable income.

Africa is filled with amazing culture, history, food and more. Let our local tour guides and travel experts help you experience it.

#africatourism2025. .

Heaven Himalaya Treks and Expedition

Treks and Tour Operater in Nepal

TutterflyCRM

TutterflyCRM is a leading SAAS solution for travel companies. It is dedicated business software for all kinds of travel agencies and tour operators.

It offers a full suite of business tools which can be used to conduct smart business operations. Companies can streamline work processes, collaborate more effectively and deliver better output overall through TutterflyCRM.

This software makes selling things easy and making money a breeze. You can use this CRM to chart the dream success story for your business.

It combines the best features of the most well-thought-out CRMs and optimizes them through quality app display and designing. This makes it the complete travel CRM solution that your business needs to get things done..

Exploriana Travel

Exploriana Travel is a travel agency located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Farelovers.com

We are dedicated to making your trip perfect by offering an online portal to search and find the best options across flights, hotels, and car rentals for an affordable and convenient journey. Farelovers is designed to help people to explore, dream, and discover! To make your travel bookings simple and affordable, you can search and compare prices for flights, hotels, and car rentals in real-time.

You can easily select the cheapest, fastest, and comfortable option depending on your travel needs in a safe and secure booking system.. .

BYCAMPER.ES (CAMPER LIFE, SL)

Rental camper and motorhome company based in Madrid (Spain)

Bold Himalaya

Bold Himalaya is an adventure-based travel company that continuously providing first-class services. We offer different travel packages through eco-friendly tourism.

Explore the magnificent Himalayas natural diversity and cultural varieties from our local expertise. Our all guides and staffs are of local origin, we all are well trained and professional always concerned about our client’s happiness.

We focus on the high quality of service and satisfaction of our clients’ needs through friendly approaches, like family trust. We do customized itinerary as our customer time and budget plan.

So, we provide excellent service, prompt and personalize services. You are always welcome to explore the Himalayas with our local expertise and feel the difference.

We will fulfill your travel dream for lifetime memories until and never before. Thank you!.

Baku is Calling

Baku is Calling is offering professional tourism services in Azerbaijan. There is no need to leave your comfort zone, no need to visit conventional travel agencies multiple time and call them.

Just tell us the details of what you want to do, we will organize it for you with help of our experienced supplier base.. .

Happy Voyaging

Happy Voyaging is one of the leading travel company offering travel packages across South-East Asia.

Sunny Elephant Travel Agency in Phuket, Thailand

Sunny Elephant is providing tourism services for tourists in Phuket, Thailand. We have a legal license of the tourism authority of Thailand

Vacation deals for the most popular roadtrip destinations in Europe!

Stenner Travel Inc

Stenner Travel agency is a travel agency in Vancouver with all affordable travel packages. We have been in the travel and tourism sector for many years.

As one of the leading travel agencies Vancouver, We have a couple of travel packages for you. We are specialized in luxury travel, concierge travel and corporate travel.

With the years of experience in the travel industry and with the team of travel agents Vancouver, Stenner Travel has everything we need to deliver you excellent travel services. As a professional travel agency, we are happy to announce you that we are an active member of World’s one of the leading travel network, Virtuoso.

Virtuoso is a travel network which is also specialized in luxury travel. With our travel agents at Stenner Travel agency, you can now customize your travel with the best and the most affordable options.

Our staff have been trained to deliver you with the most convenient travel options. No matter you are travelling to North America, Europe or Asia, our travel agents Vancouver will guide you and add amazing discounts to your travel to make it more exciting and friendly for your wallet.

As a Vancouver travel agency that always delivers you the very best, we have been renowned by many of our clients for its affordability and highly professional service. Consider us as your companion while you travel.

aiTravelers

aiTravelers is an ai-fueled travel marketplace. The marketplace allows travelers to set their destination, dates, and budget and the suppliers accommodate unique pricing based on the traveler’s profile and how it compares with their distribution needs.

We provide travelers on-demand for leading suppliers while optimizing capacity and augmenting revenue volatility. Travelers no longer need to continually search and aggregate their trips and they can travel the way they desire..

Winwinly.com

Winwinly has the ambition to shake up current practices of purchasing airline tickets by encouraging consumers to rethink their way of traveling : anticipate, be more flexible and pay less. By leveraging the flexibility of Early bookers, we help airline companies better forecast demand and optimize the Passenger Load Factor.

The same airline companies can provide potential travelers with competitive prices by moving flexible passengers from high value to low value flight prior to departure. Our vision revolves around a win-win deal for airline companies and flexible travelers.

Winwinly is an innovative marketplace that allows flexible early bookers to travel cheaper.. .

Yakky Tours Private Limited

Yakki Tours, is a premium destination management company located in the beautiful Himalayan country of Nepal. We are specialist in exclusive tailor-made holidays in the Himalayan destinations Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet that is perfect for family, honeymooners, adventure junkies, wildlife adventures, trekkers, cultural, and natural enthusiasts.

We understand no two travelers are the same and we ensure that each of our trips suits travelers individuality and their style of travel. Furthermore, we know our destination very well and we have the experience to suggest the ideas, areas, and activities to enhance the travelers’ experience..

cheapofareus

“Cheapofareus” a trading name of AMSARO INC since 2015, is one of the quickest developing organization with a basic plan to move voyagers around the globe. Our consistent endeavor is to make travel search as seamless as possible through our world-class technology and best in-house travel experts.

With our keen and easy to understand booking gadget, voyagers are relied upon to appreciate a problem free travel booking. With an abundance of best in class innovation and an extraordinary group involving the best travel industry specialists, we offer a broad determination of flight arrangements to wherever on the planet.

With more than a huge number of aircraft, inn and vehicle rental accomplices around the world, voyagers can book all that they requirement for an ideal get-away involvement – inns to meet each financial limit, vehicle rental administrations for investigating each niche and corner of their preferred city. We join forces with a few prepared travel accomplices around the globe so we can offer you the best all things considered and make travel arranging peaceful for you.

This relationship with our accomplices gives us access to the most recent offers and arrangements for every single significant goal around the globe so we can weave a customized get-away arrangement to suit your pocket and feeling of taste.. .

Travelomonk

Travelomonk is an online travel agency registered and headquartered in Ontario, Canada. The company is well-known for providing unbeatable flight deals.

Through its one of the best flight comparison website. That can compare more than 2000 flight deals and can help you save up to 45% on flight tickets.

The major attraction of Travelomonk is its cashback program. Where any passenger can earn an assured cashback of up to $50 on booking domestic flight tickets and up to $700 Off on booking International flight tickets.

Our customer is working 24/7 and 365 days to assist you. You can reach us through Whatsapp, Text Messages, Or Even Through Website Chat Option.

Get Free Changes And Cancellations Assistance As Well.. .

Travsetgo.com

We Travset Group of Company (TRAVSETGO.COM) are an established and quality travel company for outbound and domestic Vacation planning certified by TAFI (Travel agent federation of India), ADTOI (Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India) and ISO-9001-2015. At TRAVSETGO we strive at every turn to redefine your notion of travel.

As avid travelers ourselves we recognize that each traveler is an individual with unique desires and preferences. To strengthen our position as the leading tourism company providing quality, creative, innovative, competitive and socially responsible services in the all region..

Find your perfect outdoor adventure, in two clicks. Kitesurfing & ski/snowboard travel now live.

Hiking, surfing, climbing and more coming soon. #letsrip.

A full stack offline to online (phygital) store. A 500 sq ft store, delivery app and a portal for customers to buy services.

youHoneymoon

youHoneymoon provides lifetime honeymoon experiences exclusively curated for Indian newlyweds. Pairing exceptional destinations with unique itineraries, we suggest packages for those who want to make lifetime memories of their honeymoon — without compromising comfort.

At youHoneymoon, we don’t do standardized honeymoon packages. We give you the freedom to create tailor-made honeymoon trip and memories to be cherished for the lifetime..

Coconut Trips Canaries

Coconut Trips Canaries offers the best trips, tours and activities on the island of Gran Canaria. Amazing boat trips, jeep safari…

Journeys360 Travel

Journeys 360 is a luxury travel agency that strives to provide the best travel service including Cruises, Safaris, Vacation packages, Hotels, and Business class flights. We focus on making your destination to be an experience.

We are a young company with a combined experience of more than 60 years in travel and tourism. We don’t just make plans, we help you experience the world and build memories that last a lifetime..

Noble Transfer

Noble Transfer – Top leading and most popular private airport transfer provider based in Switzerland and operated across Europe, including Austria, Germany, Spain & France, offering safe, comfortable and luxury Mercedes business Limousine, First class airport transfer with professional chauffeurs to clients with utmost affordability and satisfaction globally. With professional and multilingual chauffeurs who are well-trained & highly dedicated, we are ensuring the safe, stress-free and relaxed pick-up and drop-off facility throughout the way.

Just tell us your plans and we make a customized itinerary for your convenience with a wide range of luxury fleets. The Main Airports We Cover Across Europe Are: Switzerland – Zurich, Basel, Geneva.

Bern, St Gallen Altenrhein Germany – Stuttgart, Friedrichshafen, Munich, Cologne Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Memmingen, Belin Tegel, Berlin Schonefeld, Hamburg Austria -Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg Italy – Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino AIrport, Bergamo France – Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris- Orly Nice Cote D`Azur Airport, Lyon, Monaco, Toulouse, Nice Airport Netherlands – Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Spain – Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca Airport, Mallorca (Individual state), Barcelona, Girona, Madrid, Malaga Sweden – Stockholm Arlanda Belgium – Brussels Airport, Charleroi Airport Norway – Oslo Airport Ireland – Dublin Airport Israel – Ben Gurion Airport England – Manchester, Birmingham Scotland – Edinburgh, Glasgow Denmark – Copenhagen Airport Finland – Helsinki Airport Luxembourg – Luxembourg Airport If you are looking for luxury travel from/to airport to/from hotel, resort or popular tourist place in the city with utmost comfort and satisfaction, Noble Transfer is a one-stop solution for you. Just tell book our services and ready to experience the high-level quality and reputed journey in Switzerland..

Kilimanjaro Trek & Tanzania Safari Tour Provider.

lett travel

lett travel is a travel company.

RelyonTrip is a travel company that offers planning and consulting of micro tourism.

TweakTrip is an online platform for travelers to customize trips and hire private drivers for exclusive tours.

Wizfair vacation

Wizfair vacation is a sub brand of “Wizfair Pvt Ltd.” especially designed for vacations.

Visit Madison

Madison is often referred to as the ‘prettiest small town in the midwest’ and is a popular historic rivertown destination in Indiana.

ultim8 voyage pvt ltd

company provides all b2b and b2c services for tourism industry and its customer

Happy My Tour

Happy My Tour (HMT) is a leading Travel Plateform in worldwide travel planning and execution. We focus on personalized service.

Our expert team takes pride in their thoughtful approach to planning your holiday. We find out what you think might make it extra special, then sprinkle in our own special little touches ( even a surprise to enjoy while you’re away) to help create your dream holiday.

We take the time to listen to your needs, desires, and dreams and then come up with the perfect trip for you. We’re there to create an unforgettable experience for group tours and individual travelers.

Trikuta Tours

Trikuta Tours one of best tour and travel agency in Jammu and Kashmir, India

Rental mobil terlengkap di Indonesia dengan harga terjangkau, cek info selengkapnya di https://www.travabook.com

Fotballpakke.no

Fotballpakke selger komplette fotballreiser til hele Europa.

Vant in Pupa

Travel agency ‘Vant in Pupa’ was born out of the love for water sports and recreation.

Travel in Phuket Agency and Transfer

Travel in Phuket offers a wide choice of a tour on the island of Phuket, Krabi, Phangnga.

Hire Handicapped

Website Designing, Web application development, ecommerce development, chartered accounting services, tour & travel services

Online Travel

A Tour Operator Company specializing in Study Tour, Educational Tours, Research Tours and Field Trip providing all kinds of travel and tourism-related services to clients. Our tour modules are tailored to pupil curriculum and a destination’s main features.

In a pleasant and innovative atmosphere, we have developed this distinctive equilibrium of meeting instructional requirements while maintaining the nature of a leisurely journey.. .

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Related Travel Research

The state of travel startups 2022.

Free for Open Access Subscribers

Phocuswright has tracked the digital travel startup landscape for well over a decade, and innovation in the travel industry has flourished during this period. Though the pandemic has proven to be a challenging period for funding, a significant comeback has occurred – with record funding recorded in 2021. Still, questions remain about the stability of the upswing as inflation and market uncertainty grow. Analysis of travel startups covers those founded since 2012 and includes funding rounds raised by these companies through May 2022. Leveraging Phocuswright’s proprietary interactive database, this updated report provides a comprehensive assessment and outlook for travel startups in today’s dynamic environment. Specific topics covered include:

• Analysis by year, type, region and category
• Funding activity by stage
• Market trends driving investment
• Focus on key verticals

To explore the data behind this analysis, please check out  The State of Travel Startups Interactive Database .

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5 Top Travel Startups to Watch in 2022

Curious about startups that will impact the travel industry? Discover 5 hand-picked Travel Startups to Watch in 2022 in this report & learn what their solutions have in store for your business!

Thousands of new startups are founded every year – emerging companies with the potential to disrupt the travel industry. To give you a head-start on emerging technologies and startups that will impact the travel sector in 2022 , we analyzed a total of 506 global travel startups & scaleups. Meet 5 of the most promising startups to watch!

Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Travel Startups to Watch in 2022

Out of 506, the 5 travel startups to watch are chosen through the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform , covering over 2 093 000+ startups & scaleups globally. As the world’s largest resource for data on emerging companies, the SaaS platform enables you to scout relevant startups, emerging technologies & future industry trends quickly & exhaustively.

The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 5 travel startups you should watch in 2022 as well as the geo-distribution of the other 501 startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. We hand-picked the 5 highlighted travel startups based on our data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, the relevance of technology, and funding, among others.

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TripDoodler facilitates Sustainable Travel

Danish startup TripDoodler develops a platform that enables travelers to find verified sustainable travel options. The system is based on user ratings and eco-labels or sustainability certificates. Travelers rate their experiences based on 15 environmental, 12 social, and 6 economic parameters driving sustainability. Moreover, the platform also features a carbon emission calculator. This way, TripDoodler allows travelers to make informed decisions and reduce their carbon emissions.

Globetrotter VR enbales Virtual Tours

Globetrotter VR is a British startup that offers virtual tours using immersive technology. It conducts live tours that allow users to experience various destinations in 360-degree imagery along with virtual guides to answer any queries. It also offers on-demand tour packages wherein users pay a one-time fee and enjoy the tours according to their convenience. Additionally, it takes corporate bookings which include 90-minute virtual tours of a location of the company’s choice along with an interactive platform. Moreover, as the tours are accessible from computers, mobile phones, or tablets in the comfort of the users’ homes, it eliminates the carbon footprint of physical travel.

KinectAir provides Regional Air Mobility

US-based startup KinectAir enables regional air mobility. Its decentralized aviation application allows users to book small planes on demand at affordable rates. The aircraft owners advertise their planes on the network which would otherwise be idle. The startup maintains, certifies, and insures the planes, whereas, the owners receive revenue from passenger flights. Additionally, KinectAir uses 5 000 public airports, thus utilizing existing infrastructure and driving sustainability while enabling a sharing economy.

Ezus provides Travel Management

French startup Ezus builds travel management software. It enables travel agencies to centralize their suppliers’ information in catalogs. These databases allow them to keep a track of quantities, rates, availability, and status of each provider. With its library of customizable templates, they are able to generate automated documents like proposals, quotes, travel books, contracts, and vouchers, saving time on manual document creation. Moreover, the app streamlines quotations with dynamic pricing.

Trippers facilitates Group Travel Planning

Monaco-based Trippers provides a group travel planning app. It enables all the members to put their available dates, preferred destinations, weather, type of cuisine, and other criteria. Based on these inputs, Trippers finds the most suitable dates and destinations with efficient routes at the requested budget. It also offers hotel options that are bookable from the app. Hence, it enables coordination among the travelers and streamlines the travel planning process, saving their time and increasing convenience.

Discover All Emerging Travel Startups

The travel startups showcased in this report are only a small sample of all startups we identified through our data-driven startup scouting approach. Download our free Travel Innovation Report for a broad overview of the industry or get in touch for quick & exhaustive research on the latest technologies and emerging solutions that will impact your company in 2022!

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18 Companies & Startups Revitalizing Travel in 2024

You may also like: 

• Top Travel Industry Trends
• 20 Disruptive Transportation Startups
• 6 Important Hospitality Trends

The travel industry was one of the hardest hit industries during the pandemic.

In 2023, global tourism recovered, jumping back to  84% of pre-pandemic levels . Also, global travel and tourism revenue is expected to grow from $927.3 billion in 2024 to $1.1 billion by 2028. 

However, the industry as a whole isn't expected to recover  until 2027 .

Despite that, some travel startups are still growing exponentially.

Check out this list of companies that are looking to revitalize the travel industry in 2024 and beyond.

1. TravelPerk

5-year search growth : 172%

Search growth status : Exploding

Year founded : 2015

Location : Barcelona, Spain

Funding : $530M (Series D)

What they do : TravelPerk is a travel management platform designed to simplify business travel. It offers a centralized platform for booking, managing, and analyzing business travel, with features such as real-time booking, expense management, and travel policy enforcement.  The company aims to reduce the time and cost associated with business travel while providing a seamless and enjoyable experience for travelers.

In 2023, revenue grew 70% and gross profit 90% year over year as annual booking volumes reached $2 billion. The company also raised an additional $104 million in January 2024 at a valuation of $1.4 billion. 

2. SafetyWing

5-year search growth : 9,800%

Year founded : 2017

Location : Palo Alto, California

Funding : $47.1M (Series B)

What they do : SafetyWing is an insurtech company that focuses on digital nomads. Their flagship, "Nomad Insurance," is accepted across several different countries (ideal for travel). SafetyWing also offers a B2B "Remote Health" product that provides coverage for remote teams. In 2023, SafetyWing grew revenue to $20.3 million and served over 25,000 customers . 

5-year search growth : 99x+

Year founded : 2019

Location : Singapore, Singapore

Funding : $67.3M (Series B)

What they do : Airalo is an alternative to using multiple SIM cards while traveling. Specifically, the company offers over 190 affordable "eSIMs" that can be switched over with a few clicks. eSIMs aren't supported by all smartphones, but they are becoming an increasingly common feature in newer models. The SIM company recently raised $60 million in its most recent series B funding round. 

4. Roadsurfer

5-year search growth : 900%

Location : Munich, Germany

Funding : $33.9M (Series Unknown)

What they do: Roadsurfer rents customized camper vans in 13 European countries and, most recently, the United States. In addition to the core rental service, the startup offers a number of optional add-ons for each trip, like kitchen cutlery. Each plan also includes an insurance policy. Today, the company has 70 stations across Europe and North America .

5. YouLi (YouLive to Travel)

5-year search growth : 22%

Search growth status : Peaked

Year founded : 2016

Location : Melbourne, Australia

Funding : $200K (Angel)

What they do : YouLi is an all-in-one travel management software for organizing group trips and company retreats. The software includes a number templates for different types of travel itineraries. The software also has a member's area that travelers can use to manage and pay for their trips.

6. PickYourTrail

5-year search growth : 23%

Search growth status : Regular

Year founded : 2014

Location : Chennai, India

Funding : $3M (Series Unknown)

What they do : PickYourTrail is a platform for booking entire trips online (including flight, road transportation, and lodging). The startup reports that 46,000 people have used the service to date.

5-year search growth : 400%

Location : New York, NY

Funding : Undisclosed

What they do : Tracki is a travel tech startup that provides real-time GPS tracking solutions for individuals, families, and businesses. Their products range from portable GPS trackers to asset trackers and pet trackers, which can be easily monitored through their mobile app or web platform. The app has more than 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

8. Very Local Trip

5-year search growth : 300%

What they do :  Very Local Trip connects travelers with local tour guides. In other words, the startup is a focused version of Airbnb's "Experiences" feature. Currently, the startup offers experiences all over the world in Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. 

5-year search growth : 3,233%

Year founded : 2018

Location : Madrid, Spain

Funding : $200.6K (Seed)

What they do : Holafly is an eSIM startup that offers international data plans for travelers. The company partners with local providers in different countries and offers unlimited data plans for a fixed time period. Currently, the startup operates in 160+ countries with 1 million customers worldwide. 

5-year search growth : 6%

Location : New York, New York

Funding : $181M (Series D)

What they do :  Away is a DTC travel brand. Often called the “Warby Parker for suitcases,” the company keeps overhead costs low by selling direct-to-consumer. Away's product line includes travel luggage, sleep masks, travel pillows and blankets, and compression socks.

5-year search growth : 284%

Location : Denver, Colorado

What they do : GOTRAX is an electric scooter company that provides affordable and eco-friendly transportation solutions for urban dwellers. With a range of electric scooters for adults and kids, GOTRAX offers a convenient and cost-effective way to navigate through busy city streets.

12. Lodgify

5-year search growth : 217%

Year founded : 2012

Funding : $36.6M (Series B)

What they do : Lodgify develops software that helps property owners manage their vacation rental properties. The all-in-one website includes features to manage bookings, accept reservations, and synchronize across different platforms, including Airbnb, Vrbo, and Expedia.

13. Bobobox

5-year search growth : 325%

Location : Badung, Indonesia

Funding : $13M (Non-Equity Assistance)

What they do : Bobobox is a technology-based hospitality startup that provides affordable and accessible capsule hotels for travelers in Indonesia. The company utilizes an app-based platform that allows customers to book and manage their stays, as well as access various hotel amenities and services.

Bobobox aims to revolutionize the hospitality industry in Indonesia by offering affordable and convenient lodging options that cater to the needs of modern travelers. The app has generated more than 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. 

5-year search growth : 10%

Location : Bucharest, Romania

Funding : $1.8M (Seed)

What they do : Questo is a mobile app for iPhone and Android that gamifies city exploration. Users embark on "quests" to discover interesting spots and learn about local lore. Each quest is designed by a local "creator." The app currently offers quests in over 500 cities to more than 400,000 players. 

15. Bespoke

5-year search growth : 8,700%

Location : Tokyo, Japan

Funding : $2.5M (Series B)

What they do :  Bespoke  has developed an AI-powered chatbot designed for multilingual guest services. Their software provides hotel guests with answers to hotel-specific questions, local recommendations, and restaurant reservations. Bespoke was used by the Japanese government during COVID-19 to communicate critical health and safety updates to residents and travelers.

16. Tailos (Formerly Maidbot)

5-year search growth : 14%

Location : Austin, Texas

Funding : $50K (Series B)

What they do :  Tailos , formerly Maidbot, manufacturers a housekeeping robot (named Rosie) designed to clean hotels and commercial buildings. Rosie takes on "dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks", in order to reduce injuries to staff while increasing productivity and consistency.

17. TasteAtlas

5-year search growth : 1,400%

Location : Zagreb, Croatia

What they do : TasteAtlas is a food and travel startup that provides a comprehensive guide to traditional dishes, drinks, and ingredients from all over the world. The platform offers a database of authentic food recommendations and local restaurants to help travelers discover new cuisines and experiences. Additionally, TasteAtlas allows users to create their own food maps and share their culinary discoveries with others.

18. Roame Travel

Search growth status : Exploding 

Year founded : 2023

Location : San Francisco, California

Funding : $500K (Pre-Seed)

What they do : Roame is a free award travel search engine that finds available flights that qualify for credit card points and miles redemption. Currently, Roame provides search results for 16 airline loyalty programs and 200 airlines . Users can upgrade to a premium membership to access the SkyView feature, a search function that finds flights within a 90-day search window. 

That wraps up our list of travel startups growing despite the hardships of the pandemic.

The trend away from traditional hotels and towards short-term rental properties, RVs, and campsites accelerated this year as more people work remotely and seek a change of scenery.

There is also a notable shift towards AI and automation, as hotels seek to cut costs and increase efficiency.

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Top 20 travel startups to watch out for in 2024

1. travelperk.

• Headquarters : Barcelona, Spain
• Other office locations : Boston, Chicago, Miami, Berlin, Birmingham, Edinburgh, London
• Number of employees : 1,142 
• Funding : raised a total of $408.2M over 9 rounds

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2. timeshifter.

• Headquarters: New York, USA
• Other office locations: Southampton, NY, Water Mill, NY
• Number of employees: 861
• Funding: raised a total of $3.5M over 3 rounds

3. GetYourGuide

• Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
• Other office locations: Zurich, Sydney, Vienna, Paris, Hong Kong, Rome, Dubai, San Francisco, New York City, Cape Town, Barcelona, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo
• Number of employees: 928
• Funding: raised a total of $5.9 billion in venture funding by 2022
• Headquarters: Saudi Arabia
• Other office locations: N/A
• Number of employees: 16
• Funding: seed round closed in February 2023

5. Lighthouse (OTA Insight)

• Headquarters: London, UK
• Other office locations: Singapore, Denver, Belgium, Sao Paolo, Dallas
• Number of employees: 411
• Funding: $80 million Series B 

6. SafetyWing

• Headquarters: California, USA
• Number of employees: 145
• Funding: raised a total of $47M over 4 rounds

7. Coindrum

• Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland
• Number of employees: 10
• Funding: raised a total of $2.9M over 2 rounds

8. Luggage Hero

• Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark
• Number of employees: 30
• Funding: raised a total of $3.9M over 5 rounds

9. Blacklane

• Other office locations: New York, San Diego, Miami, Dubai, Paris, Brisbane
• Number of employees: 343
• Funding: raised a total of $103M over 10 rounds
• Headquarters: USA
• Other office locations: Singapore
• Number of employees: 300+
• Funding: raised a total of $67.3M over 3 rounds

11. Roadsurfer

• Headquarters: Bayern, Germany
• Other office locations: 70+ locations 
• Number of employees: 263
• Funding: $31.3M (Series Unknown)

12. PickYourTrail

• Headquarters: Chennai, India 
• Number of employees: 5
• Funding: $4.74M over 5 rounds from 12 investors

13. Tripsider

• Headquarters: San Francisco, California, USA
• Number of employees: 50
• Funding: $1M in seed
• Headquarters: Cedarhurst, New York, USA
• Number of employees: 100 
• Funding: Undisclosed

15. Tourisfair

• Headquarters: Saabrücken, Germany 
• Number of employees: 10 
• Funding: £500-800K
• Headquarters: Austin, Texas 
• Number of employees: 12
• Funding: $4.25M in seed funding in 2023
• Headquarters: London, UK 
• Funding: $236M in funding across 35 funding rounds

18. Katanox

• Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands 
• Other office locations: Manchester, Delaware, Seattle, New York 
• Number of employees: 25
• Funding: $5.7M raised by 2022

19. Greether

• Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland  
• Number of employees: 34
• Funding: $2.2M in seed funding (July 2023) 

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69 Best Travel Tech Startups to Watch in 2024

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16 Less-Known Travel and Tourism Startups Around the World

Explore the unconventional with these 16 unique travel startups globally. Discover new places, experiences, and innovative solutions reinventing the tourism industry. Start your journey here!

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Travelers are ready to get out and explore, according to a new report by the World Travel & Tourism Council . Venture capitalists recognize the opportunity – over the last ten years, they have fueled travel startups with $19 billion in funding.

We choose top disrupting travel and tourism startups to provide aspiring entrepreneurs with insights on what it takes to hit it big in the industry. Rather than including top-tier players like Tripadvisor 🌴, we aim to explore some lesser-known startup travel companies which are gaining market traction lately.

Check out our list of innovative tourism startups that make big waves now.

1. Touch Stay

Whether you have 5 properties or 500, Touch Stay digital guidebooks help you easily create and share property information to deliver the best guest experience. From practical accommodation information and inspirational content, to automated (and free!) SMS and email messaging, Touch Stay guidebooks give guests everything they need to know before, during and after their stay. Spend less time answering guest questions and focus on growing your short term rental business with Touch Stay.

Touch Stay was founded by Andy McNulty and Joe Jones – two serial travellers who kept on encountering the same issue over and over again: an absence of clear communication with their rental accommodation hosts.

2. Beyond Pricing

Beyond Pricing is a revenue management solution for short-term rental managers and owners to get, grow, and keep revenue, established by Ian McHenry and David Kelso in San Francisco in 2013.

The startup provides vacation rental owners with an automated AI-based pricing solution. The service analyzes market data in real-time and adjusts pricing recommendations to maximize revenue. Beyond Pricing claims their solution to increase revenue by up to 40%.

The company has raised $3.5 million in investments. They were funded by Plug and Play, Amicus Capital, Resolute Ventures, and Bullpen Capital, among the others.

• Beyond Pricing was included in Phocuswright’s 25 hottest startups list for 2019.
• The startup was covered by The Wall Street Journal, Time, CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Mashable.

3.  Coindrum

Coindrum is converting foreign coins into duty-free vouchers.

A self-service machines provider founded by Lukas Decker in Dublin.

The startup offers a neat solution for those travelers who find themselves left with pockets full of basically useless coins after leaving the currency zone. They are offered to deposit foreign change into one of the Coindrum machines placed inside the airport area. In exchange, a tourist gets a voucher to spend in a duty-free zone. This also benefits duty-free retailers by making the non-spenders spend.

Coindrum received $2 million in funding. Among their investors were co-founders of Ryanair and Hostelworld.

• Coindrum won the 2018 top travel startups award.
• Last year, the startup was selected for the Retailtech Hub program in Munich to provide their machines to Germany’s key retailers.

4. Crowdvision

CrowdVision  is a leading automated pedestrian analytics and insights company.

A UK-based early-stage company founded by Fiona Strens and Anders Johansson in 2011.

Crowdvision provides an automated real-time computer vision technology that analyzes crowds at the airport using video cameras and machine learning. The solution allows to prevent bottlenecks and achieve smooth passenger flow throughout the terminal.

• In 2018, Crowdvision received an investment of an undisclosed amount from Amadeus Ventures. Prior to this, the startup was backed by Oaktree Capital, Plug and Play Tech Center, Angel CoFund, and Beacon Capital.
• Among the airports using Crowdvision technology are London Heathrow, London City, Stansted and Jersey airports, as well as Tokyo’s Narita and Chicago O’Hare airports.

5. Culture Trip

Culture Trip is your trusted shortcut to booking travel that’s good and makes you feel good.

One of the hottest travel startups geared towards those who are looking to dive deep into the local culture. The company was founded in 2011 by Kris Naudts in London. In subsequent years, they expanded their presence to New York and Tel Aviv and established a network of over 300 local authors across the globe.

Culture Trip is a hybrid of a magazine and a travel platform that delivers exclusive local content, recommendations, and overviews on culture and art. They aim to inspire travelers to explore the world through local cultures and creativity.

In 2016, the startup secured $20 million in funding from PPF Group. A further investment of $80 million boosted the company’s growth in 2018.

• Forbes named Culture Trip as one of the fastest-growing startups.
• In 2018, they were awarded by Red Herring Top 100 Europe, British Media Awards, the Sunday Times Fast Track Disrupters to Watch awards.
• This year, Culture Trip was named among the hottest startup travel companies by the Europas Awards.

Doerz is a real-life experience with the city locals.

The company is in business since 2016. Doerz was launched by Tomi M. Virtanen in Turku, Finland.

The startup was born from the idea of exploring the foreign city from the inside – by doing stuff and going places with the locals. Doerz is a social platform where verified local experience providers offer to share their daily real-life activities. You can find yourself ice-fishing on a forest lake, cooking pea soup in a Finnish student dorm, composing a song with a local musician – the list goes on.

• Currently, their ambassadors’ network covers 14 cities in Finland, Estonia, Germany, France, and Italy.
• Doerz has raised €127.448 on Seedrs.
• The startup is in partnership with Finnair and Viking Line.

7.  Evaneos

Evaneos is the leading online marketplace for tailor-made tours. Plan your trip with the expertise of a local travel agent in the destination.

Evaneos is a French tours and travels startup founded in 2009 by Eric La Bonnardière and Yvan Wibaux.

The startup has created the world’s first online platform aimed to connect tourists directly with local travel agents. Evaneos platform provides access to 1,300 local agencies and features 8,000+ ready-made, customizable itineraries to 160 destinations. The startup serves over 30,000 tourists across the globe.

• Evaneos has raised about $109 million in funding. Among the investors are Serena Capital and Fonds Ambition Numérique.
• Their solution has received positive reviews by National Geographic, Daily Mail, Wanderlust, TechCrunch, The Guardian, and other media.

Itinari is helping travelers tread off the beaten track.

A Brussels-based trip startup aimed to help people around the world discover and share some lesser-known local attractions. Italy-born entrepreneur Nicolas Casula founded the company in 2017.

Itinari is a media platform featuring exclusive travel articles that reveal some hidden gems across the globe. The contributors’ network covers more than 40 European countries. Here you can also find articles on some niche local activities like horseback riding in Kazakhstan or Parisian pet cemetery exploration.

The startup has raised €830k in funding.

Hopper’s innovative technology helps travelers save up to 40% every time they travel.

Take Skyscanner startup idea, add some advanced predictive analytics, and you’ll get Hopper. This cheap flights startup was co-founded by former Expedia engineers Frederick Lalonde and Joost Ouwerkerk in Montreal, Canada.

Hopper is a mobile app designed to automate travel-related prises monitoring. Its AI-driven algorithm processes million of prices daily and predicts how prices will change up to a year in advance. The user then gets a suggestion on when they should book a trip or wait, and when there will be the best time to make a purchase.

The startup has raised over $184 million and is valued at $780 million. Among their investors are Citi Ventures, Brightspark, OMERS Ventures, and Accomplice.

• As of today, Hopper app has exceeded 40 million installs, becoming one of the fastest-growing travel booking startups .
• In 2019, the startup was featured in the world’s most innovative companies list by Fast Company for the second year in a row.
• Hopper is the 2018 People’s Voice Webby Award They also won the 2016 Google Play Award in the category of Standout Startup.

Grabr is a monetize your free luggage space.

A San Francisco-based startup is on the market since 2015. The project was launched by Russian-born spouses Artem Fedyaev and Daria Rebenok.

The startup idea was to create an “Uber for international shopping”. As a result, they have developed an international peer-to-peer courier service linking shoppers and travelers.

On Grabr, you can drop a link to the desired item from Amazon or any other online store and get a delivery offer from a traveler heading to your destination. As a tourist, you can pick delivery requests at your destination and earn some money for delivering their items.

• In total, Grabr has raised about $14 million. The company was backed by SignalFire, Founders Fund, and Foundation Capital.
• The startup was recognized by the EyeforTravel’s Startup Awards .

11. LuggageHero

Luggage Hero is a luggage-storage startup co-founded by Jannik Lawaetz and Kristian Loekkegaard in Copenhagen (2016).

LH business model is as simple as can be – book online, then drop your suitcase at the nearest LuggageHero partner store in your destination. Today, their network of luggage storage locations covers 45 cities across the US and Europe, with more cities joining in 2022.

• The startup has secured $1.45 million in its 2019 funding round. Their investors include Nordic Eye, Danish Growth Fund, and Innovation Fund Denmark.
• LuggageHero was covered by the New York Times, Forbes, Evening Standard, Lonely Planet.

Panzly is the first flight insurance for delays or cancellations with automatic and immediate payouts.

Panzly is a young Ukraine-born travel insurance startup headquartered in London. The project was created by Ukrainian developers Alex Gayduk and Anton Nesterenko in 2018.

Plane cancelation is never fun, but Panzly founders have decided to make it less stressful. They developed the first flight insurance app with an immediate claim-free payout to the passengers whose plane has been canceled. The service triggers compensation automatically in the event of a two-hour delay.

• Panzly was featured in the 2019 top innovative travel startups by British Airlines, and 2019 top most promising new travel startups by Insurance post.
• They also entered the top 5 Disrupt Launchpad & Awards at 2019 Travel Technology Europe (London).

Questo turns city exploration into a game.

A Romanian travel app startup was established by Alex Govoreanu in 2017 in Bucharest.

Questo is an app that makes real-world city exploration even more fun by mixing traveling and casual gaming. It enables tourists to discover new places while solving augmented puzzles, quests and completing story missions. You can choose either outdoor urban quests or indoor quests in the local castles, museums, etc.

The game is available in 40 cities across Europe.

The startup has secured a seed round of funding from investors, bringing its valuation to $1.5 million.

14. Routehappy

Routehappy finding the comfiest flight.

RH is a NY-based flight booking startup founded by Robert Albert in 2011.

There’s more to a good flight than an affordable price and a convenient schedule. Legroom and a reclining seat, Wi-Fi, snacks and drinks, outlet access, and other small things make a big impact on your comfort during a flight.

Routehappy holds an exhaustive dataset of plane types, seat layouts, and other assessments for flights over the world. You can choose the most comfortable option according to your preferences or based on the overall “happiness points”.

15. SeeVoov

SeeVoov is the first interactive video trip planning platform.

An Israeli travel planning startup co-founded by Asaf Toker and Yosi Golan in 2016.

The startup has raised $400,000 in funding from investors.

• In 2019, SeeVoov was among the top 10 travel technology startups for the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) startup competition.
• The company won the ITB China 2019 Tourism Innovation Startup award.
• Their partners include Samsung, SmartAir, Israir, Pruvo.

16. TravelPerk

TravelPerk is the next-generation business travel platform pioneering the future of business travel.

An award-winning corporate travel startup designed to handle all the business trip management issues. The company was founded in 2015 by three experienced entrepreneurs – Avi Meir, Ron Levin, and Javier Suarez. They are headquartered in Barcelona.

TravelPerk has delivered a free tool that enables users to book and manage travel fast, within the corporate policy, and under budget.

• TravelPerk has gained €65.3 million in funding. The startup is backed by investors from Slack, Trello, Twitter, and Spark Capital.
• Among their partners are Lufthansa, Uber, TransferWise, Farfetch, etc.

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You may have noticed geographic diversity in our best tourism startups list. These flourishing travel tech startups represent 12 countries across the world. It looks like blurring international boundaries is at the very core of the tourism startups scene.

If you’re looking to join the travel startups 🦄 unicorn club with your own project, you may consider going offshore and offloading a part of web or mobile development of your project to remote developers. Contact us with your business-related question and our expert team would be happy to provide you with professional assistance on hiring the best tech talent and setting up a remote team in Ukraine.

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Tags: adventure , booking , destinations , experiences , hospitality .

IT Entrepreneur

Hello. I’m Julian from Bali, Indonesia. I have a concept/idea for rural tourism in Indonesia. Pandemic covid19 makes many small-medium enterprises, especially in the tourism sector, get a big impact. I’m looking for a team that can help us to develop our platform. I have 365 members (tourism players), and many rural spots for tourism (diving, surfing, agriculture, culture experience, etc). Also, I want to join the travel startups unicorn club. Thanks!

Hi Julian, Are you thinking to implement this idea in India?

We are young Egyptians we going to start up a new tourism service online. I would like to know how and the way to transfer our business from just a start up company to bring investors to invest in ?

Hello, thanks for the interesting write up. I’m not sure how often you update this blog but we’ve just launched another interesting travel planning and booking platform, http://www.travelplanbooker.com . We’d appreciate all the feedback you can about our site but in general our aim was to simplify travel planning and removing the time consuming process of booking on Silo travel websites. We like to think our platform is user-friendly, adaptable and best of all it enables customers to book transportation, accommodation as well as rental cars and attractions, from a variety of suppliers, all in one place. Please check it out

Travel startups: Disruption from within?

Startups play an essential role in spearheading innovation that benefits consumers, businesses, and industries. But travel startups have been underfunded when compared to startups in other sectors. Looking back over the past 15 years, the travel and tourism industry received around 1 percent of funding for startups across all industries. 1 McKinsey analysis based on PitchBook Data, Inc.. This relatively low level of investment stands out in contrast to the industry’s size: Travel and tourism contributed to over 10 percent of global GDP in 2019. 2 “Travel & Tourism: Economic impact 2022,” World Travel & Tourism Council, June 14, 2022. These factors suggest that it’s a tough industry in which to raise money.

Despite these funding challenges, and unprecedented industry uncertainties, over $27 billion worth of investments were poured into travel companies from 2020 to 2022. In fact, in 2021, investment set a new record of just under $11 billion—indicating that investor appetite has not only returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, but even surpassed it.

About this research

Analysis is based on information obtained from the Phocuswright startup database. Funding was analyzed from 2005 to 2022 YTD (including November 2022), based on a sample of 3,865 startups. This included 6,395 funding rounds, accounting for $76 billion in funding (exhibit).

Given this context, a new report Travel startups: Disruption from within–or not? presents an overview of the travel startup environment, and how the funding landscape has evolved across geographies, and across the different types of travel startups. Analysis is based on information obtained from the Phocuswright startup database and draws on insights from industry executives (see sidebar, “About this research”).

The report examines the kinds of investors that are funding these startups—and the types of businesses they choose for investment. It also puts forward possible future scenarios that would have implications for travel companies and stakeholders in the startup space. This article presents some of the key findings.

Fewer travel startups are attracting funding, but when they do, they secure a substantial amount

Even though funding may be hard to come by, compared to other sectors, investors are interested in travel and tourism. Investment in travel startups has returned to pre-pandemic levels and has even surpassed record-breaking years in the past, such as 2015 and 2019. These peaks were achieved through significant acquisitions that may have consolidated the market. For instance the online travel agency Expedia acquired HomeAway for $3.9 billion in 2015. 3 “Expedia to acquire HomeAway, Inc.,” Expedia media statement, PR Newswire, November 4, 2015.

Furthermore, funding per round has increased over the past decade from an average of around $4 million in 2010 to $20 million in 2022, with the steepest increase seen during the pandemic (Exhibit 1). This indicates that fewer travel startups could be attracting funding, but when they do, they secure a substantial amount. In essence, the relatively small amount of funding that exists is shifting toward fewer startups.

Funding has shifted toward more mature startups

Q&a with johannes reck, ceo of getyourguide.

Johannes Reck is CEO of GetYourGuide, a Berlin-based online travel agency and online marketplace for tours, attractions, and excursions. The company’s website and app connects travelers with activity providers around the world, offering thousands of products in more than 20 languages, and 40 currencies. He shares his views on the investment landscape for travel startups:

What patterns have you noticed regarding investment in travel startups?

At a high level I would say that too little VC money flows into travel altogether, probably due to the market cap that has been realized, and that startups in the scaling phase still have to demonstrate profitability to attract funding. It’s also important not to generalize the way we think about startups—they range in size and maturity from two employees to major disruptors. Essentially, if innovation is not yet proven, then there is little or no money coming in, and this is especially true in Europe.

Are certain types of startups attracting more investor interest than others?

There are category leaders emerging in many areas, such as flights, accommodation, and experiences. I think investors have no appetite to pour money into a number three or four in any given category. And because of the global network effect in travel, it’s really difficult to design a new category. For instance, the chance that a new company could fundamentally disrupt an established concept such as Airbnb, or Booking.com, is limited because of the network effect that locks in global supply and demand—and that’s what makes category leaders so defensible.

Furthermore, there is a perception that as large firms are so big, they can do everything, and that may scare away a lot of investors from betting on a smaller innovative company. The presence of large incumbents may stifle innovation—but startups have a central role to play in this regard and can benefit the entire industry.

What role do you think travel companies could play in the startup landscape?

I think travel companies have to invest in innovation now, otherwise they could be worse positioned in a future crisis. Essentially, travel companies could look at how investing in startups could strengthen all areas of their value chain. They could also focus on the value that innovation will bring to the industry, instead of investing only with profit in mind.

That said, there may be room for travel companies to look at M&A. There is much less competition, compared to pre-COVID-19, and acquisition is now much more efficient. This means that companies could be in a position to grow—much faster and with less effort.

Across industries, later-stage funding (i.e., Series B, C, D) has made up the majority of startup investment (Exhibit 2). Between 2020 and 2022, more acquisitions (e.g., Getaroom.com and On Location Experiences) and public financing rounds (e.g., Sonder and Vacasa) took place than in previous years. This could be symptomatic of a trend: Investors may want to back category leaders that have reached scale (See sidebar, “Q&A with Johannes Reck, CEO of GetYourGuide”).

Hospitality startups remain the leading category for investment

Most recent funding has been channeled to hospitality startups, making up 49 percent of investment between 2015 and 2019, and 41 percent between 2020 and 2022. This is likely due to the rising popularity of short-term rentals. Startups providing services for short-term rentals, such as Airbnb or AvantStay, accounted for 55 percent of hospitality startup funding in 2021.

Business travel startups doubled their share of investment during the pandemic, and within this category, startups in the corporate segment, such as the expense-management software provider Divvy, secured 98 percent of funding between 2020 and 2022. The MICE segment received the remaining 2 percent, likely due to the decrease in events during the pandemic.

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In the same period, booking and transport startups lost some share of funding as investor priorities may have shifted during the crisis. In the booking category, online travel agency businesses secured 90 percent of funding.

Overall, the pre-trip category remains the least funded, having attracted 1 percent of total funding in the past seven years. Within this category, startups in insurance attracted 84 percent of funding in 2021 (Exhibit 3).

Travel companies account for a relatively small percentage of travel startup funding

Since 2015, five categories of investors have funded travel startups:

• Angel and private investors: These investors oversaw 138 rounds of capital raising totaling $3.6 billion between 2015 and 2021.
• Banks and the public sector: These institutions oversaw 125 funding rounds, totaling $6.4 billion. Much of this funding took place in 2021, likely due to pandemic-related bailouts and large rounds of debt funding.
• Venture capital (VC) and VC-orientated private equity (PE) firms: This group raised 2,090 rounds of funding, totaling $72 billion.
• Travel companies: These are frequently in-house incubators or joint ventures that provide potential businesses with direct support. Travel companies raised $7.8 billion in investment through 389 rounds.
• Non-travel companies: Despite not being in the tourism sector, these companies raised more money ($12.5 billion) in 264 rounds than their travel-industry counterparts.

Overall, VCs have been the leading investor category, and spent nine times more than travel companies in 2021. Since 2015, travel companies accounted for a relatively small percentage of startup funding, and this has decreased in recent years, dropping from 18 percent in 2020 to 5 percent in 2021.

Between 2015 and 2019, VCs and PEs invested at least twice as much per funding round compared to travel companies. Average funding size was roughly $37 million for VCs and PEs, compared to $17 million for travel companies. This leveled out between 2020 and 2022 where both groups invested approximately $30 million on average per funding round.

In 2021, banks greatly increased their investment share and matched VC investments, likely driven by increases in debt funding (Exhibit 4).

The travel industry could benefit from supporting startups

To date, travel companies have played a very small role in investing in the industry. As startups generally spearhead innovation, travel companies could take up opportunities to support startups—and reap the benefits. Furthermore, by not supporting, or finding ways to engage other players in the industry, travel companies may be missing an opportunity to shape the next generation of travel businesses. And as the investment landscape becomes tougher, travel companies are well placed to ensure that the innovation pipeline continues to flourish, even if VCs and larger players withdraw.

Travel companies could become more involved in investing in the industry and bring their expertise to bear on innovation and the sorts of capabilities and technologies that may be needed. And they stand to gain from leveraging startup capabilities in-house. Research into collaboration between corporates and startups in other industries shows that both parties stand to benefit. Startups can benefit from corporate funding, resources, and customer access, while corporates may need the innovation that startups offer to stay ahead of competitors and disruption, and also to access new technology. 4 “Collaborations between corporates and startups,” McKinsey, May 2020.

Three possible future scenarios could materialize in light of the trends in travel startup funding.

• Incumbent-driven consolidation: In this scenario, sustained emphasis on short-term profitability due to inflation and increasing cost of capital would make it difficult for travel startups to attract funding and gain ground in the industry. Funding rounds would be smaller due to early exits, closures, bankruptcies, or consolidation by established and scaled technology-driven firms. Established players would focus more on developing products and services that can be scaled globally and less on optimizing backend processes where rapid scale-up is potentially more challenging, such as manual check-in processes in hotels. This situation would lead to less innovation across the industry. In the long run, reduced innovation due to less startup diversity may require more in-house innovation for optimizing backend processes and technology.
• Emergence of multiple niche startups: Early-stage startups would see sustained and potentially increased funding, while funding for startups in the later stages would plummet. This could lead to an exit wave across later-stage startups due to bankruptcies. At the same time, a wave of new, more diversified, startups could emerge that aim to tackle a variety of niche problems in the industry, such as core technology elements. The result could be an even broader but more fragmented ecosystem of new industry players, leading to higher levels of innovation throughout the industry. Travel companies could acquire distressed startups, at lower valuations, which would boost in-house innovation and allow incumbents to provide new offerings.
• Travel startups golden 20s: In this scenario, travel startups across all growth stages and categories would see continuous increases in funding and growth. There would also be an increase in larger investments aimed at developing technology and core industry processes such as AI-enabled fulfillment, and disruption management. Innovation could flourish across the industry. In this fast-growing landscape, competition for funding would intensify and investors’ expectations around performance could increase. At the same time, collaboration would become more complex due to the diversified landscape of partners and suppliers. Established businesses would need to build in-house innovation capabilities organically or acquire them. Differentiation would become more difficult and several leading incumbents may be replaced by new challengers in the market.

However the future pans out, support for startups can boost innovation and strengthen the travel and tourism value chain, for all participants.

Giuseppe Genovese is a consultant in McKinsey’s Dallas office, Evgeni Kochman is an associate partner in the Frankfurt office, Vik Krishnan is a partner in the San Francisco office, and Nina Wittkamp is a partner in the Munich office.

The authors wish to thank Karel Dörner, Markus Berger-de León, Patrick Naef, and Christian Dominka, for their contributions to this report.

The authors also wish to thank Hollis Thomases, a senior research analyst at Phocuswright, Chetan Kapoor, a research analyst Asia Pacific at Phocuswright, and Johannes Reck, CEO of GetYourGuide.

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Travel Companies Push for Smoother Payments: Startup Funding Roundup

Justin Dawes , Skift

June 7th, 2024 at 9:59 AM EDT

Consumers are pushing payments for travel into the digital age as they demand smoother options.

Justin Dawes

Travel payments is the theme for this week’s startup funding roundup. 

Three of the startups featured this week are focused on simplifying various types of payments for the travel industry.

The most notable is Nium, which makes it easier for travel companies to exchange money between currencies. The travel industry historically has been behind in making the payments experience as smooth as possible. But there’s been a focus in recent years on catching up.

Amadeus has heard from travelers that easy payments are a top expectation for the industry in the next 10 years. 

Five travel tech startups announced over $88 million in fundraises over the last two weeks.

Nium: $50 Million

Nium , a business-to-business fintech platform that handles cross-border payments, has raised $50 million in a series E funding. 

The round values the company at $1.4 billion, Nium said. The company has now raised $338 million, according to Crunchbase. 

The latest round was led by an unnamed “sovereign wealth fund” in Southeast Asia, with support from Bond, NewView Capital, and Tribe Capital.

Businesses can use the Nium platform to more easily send and receive money between countries and currencies. For the travel industry — like in the case of a payment from a travel agency to an airline, for example — it means lower fees and quicker payouts. Nium also works with expense management platforms to improve the cross-border reimbursement process. 

San Francisco-based Nium holds regulatory licenses and authorizations for more than 40 countries, including recent approvals in Japan and New Zealand. 

The company said its revenue grew 50% in 2023 from the prior year. 

The funding will go toward global network expansion, product innovation, hiring, and acquiring other companies.

Nium has made several notable hires this year, including former Bank of America exec Alexandra Johnson as chief payments officer, former PayPal exec Rissy Ruddy as chief human resources officer, and former Revolut exec Anton Pasiechnikov as vice president of Finance

Torpago: $10 Million

Torpago , a corporate expense management platform, has raised $10 million in series B funding.

Priority Tech Ventures and EJF Ventures co-led the round, with support from BankTech Ventures and others.

San Francisco-based Torpago issues virtual and plastic corporate credit cards to business clients and offers a software platform for managing them. The platform includes capabilities for implementing guardrails and getting real-time spend alerts. The user app allows non-card expenses and reimbursements, and more.

Torpago is focusing on expanding its white-label product for regional and community banks, which allows them to offer branded corporate credit cards and expense management services to business clients. 

The company previously raised a $6 million series A round in 2023. 

“In addition to providing capital and introducing Torpago to our ecosystem partners, we look forward to engineering an operating plan that accelerates Torpago’s path to profitability,” said Thomas Priore, chairman and CEO of Priority Technology Holdings, in a statement. 

Swiipr: $7.7 Million

Swiipr , which specializes in payments for the airline industry, has raised $7.7 million (£6 million) in series A funding. 

Octopus Ventures led the round, with support from TX Ventures and Solano Partners.

The Swiipr platform enables airlines to digitize payments to passengers as compensation for delayed flights or other disruptions. Airline clients are able to issue virtual and physical pre-paid compensation cards for various reasons and uses. Airlines can also deploy money to staff and crew during trips and delays. 

The London-based startup says its platform can increase cost efficiency by up to 60% because it reduces the need for traditional payment methods like paper vouchers, bank transfers, or issuing cash at airports. 

The platform is fully compliant with the latest passenger rights regulations, the startup said. 

“Legacy compensation systems are unfit for purpose,” said Tara Spielhagen, co-founder and CEO of Swiipr, in a statement. “Not only do they cost an airline billions of dollars every year but they also exacerbate disruption and stress. It doesn’t need to be this way in a digital age, and we are proud to have developed a new solution that solves so many pain points. 

Swiipr has 26 airline clients, including British Airways, Play, Air India, Latam, and Norse. 

The funding will go toward improving the product and adding more international business.  

OneOrder: $16 Million

OneOrder , a supplier and wholesale distributor for hotels and restaurants, has raised a series A round of $16 million that includes equity and debt.

Delivery Hero Ventures led the round, with support from Norrsken22, Nclude, and A15.

Hotels can order various culinary and janitorial supplies through the OneOrder platform, as well as track and manage orders and submit payments.

Egypt-based OneOrder said it stores the various supplies in warehouses, allowing hotels and restaurants to use the company as a one-stop-shop rather than ordering from multiple suppliers. 

The company has more than 150 suppliers and more than 1,370 clients, including The St. Regis Cairo, Fairmont Nile City Hotel, and the The Nile Ritz-Carlton Cairo.

The company plans to expand into the Middle East later this year. The funding will also go toward building financing options and further integrating the platform with AI.

Qstay: $4.6 Million

Qstay , a vacation rental property manager and tech platform, has raised $4.6 million in pre-series A funding through a mix of conventional and convertible debt .

Dubai-based Qstay operates more than 300 properties in nine markets, with plans to expand between 2024 and 2026.

The startup says its website allows guests to complete bookings and includes a digital concierge service. The platform has facilitated bookings for more than 60,000 guests, the startup said. 

The company projects it will reach $63 million in revenue by 2025. 

Skift Cheat Sheet

Seed  capital is money used to start a business, often led by angel investors and friends or family.

Series A  financing is typically drawn from venture capitalists. The round aims to help a startup’s founders make sure that their product is something that customers truly want to buy.

Series B  financing is mainly about venture capitalist firms helping a company grow faster. These fundraising rounds can assist in recruiting skilled workers and developing cost-effective marketing.

Series C  financing is ordinarily about helping a company expand, such as through acquisitions. In addition to VCs, hedge funds, investment banks, and private equity firms often participate.

Series D, E, and, beyond  These mainly mature businesses and the funding round may help a company prepare to go public or be acquired. A variety of types of private investors might participate.

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Travel Agency

Back to All Business Ideas

How to Start a Travel Agency

Written by: Carolyn Young

Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.

Edited by: David Lepeska

David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.

Published on December 13, 2021 Updated on June 5, 2024

Investment range

$2,150 - $10,600

Revenue potential

$78,000 - $300,000 p.a.

Time to build

0 – 3 months

Profit potential

$62,000 - $90,000 p.a.

Industry trend

Who doesn’t love to travel? But most of us do not love the endless research, planning, and booking required, which sometimes feels like it takes more time than the vacation itself. This is precisely why the $35 billion US travel agency industry has been booming of late, and why it offers a real opportunity for the travel-minded entrepreneur.

By starting your own online travel agency, you can shoulder travelers’ burden and ease their anxiety, allowing them to enjoy their holiday while you make a healthy profit. And thanks to the post-pandemic boost, now is a great time to get in on travel.

Of course, starting a travel agency will not be a vacation – it will take diligence, patience, and strong guidance. Thankfully, you’ve come to the right place, as this step-by-step provides all the information you need to develop and launch your new travel agency and give you a head-start on your entrepreneurial journey.

Step by Step Business values real-life experience above all. Through our  Entrepreneur Spotlight Series , we interview business leaders from diverse industries, providing readers with firsthand insights.

Uncover the secrets to building a thriving travel agency with our interview with Casey Halloran of Costa Rican Vacations .

Aspiring travel entrepreneurs will find valuable insights in our interview with Augustin Ndikuriyo on building a thriving African wildlife tour business .

Looking to register your business? A limited liability company (LLC) is the best legal structure for new businesses because it is fast and simple.

Form your business immediately using ZenBusiness LLC formation service or hire one of the Best LLC Services .

Step 1: Decide if the Business Is Right for You

Pros and cons.

Every business has its pros and cons, and a travel agency is no exception. You should weigh these carefully to decide if the business is right for you.

• Flexibility – Work from anywhere, even while traveling!
• Minimal Training – Get accredited for free online
• Travel Discounts – Travel agents get top deals and reduced prices
• Demanding Work – With clients around the world you’re on call 24/7
• Fierce competition – Top sites like Expedia, travel networks, advisors, and more

Travel agency industry trends

The US travel agency industry expanded an impressive 75% in the decade leading up to 2020, which saw a massive pandemic-driven downturn. 

In 2021, many travel agents saw a surge in business as travelers unsure of all the constantly changing Covid-19 rules and restrictions turn to them for help, rather than booking their own trips. Global travel advisor InteleTravel experienced a 35% increase in business, not from the disaster year of 2020, but from 2019, which had set records.(( https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/14/travel/summer-vacation-travel-agents.html ))

Consumers are also turning more and more to online travel agencies, with a study by Expedia showing a 25% increase in the use of online agencies in 2020 alone. Brick-and-mortar agencies seem to be a dying breed, with British travel icon Thomas Cook closing in 2019.(( https://advertising.expedia.com ))

Industry size and growth

• Industry size and past growth – Market research firm IBISWorld values the industry at nearly $48 billion in 2022.(( https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/market-size/travel-agencies-united-states/ ))  
• Growth forecast – The industry is expected to grow further as the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted a 5% annual growth through 2030 in the employment of travel agents.(( https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/travel-agents.htm )) 
• Number of businesses – More than 73,000 travel agencies are operating in the US.(( https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/travel-agencies-united-states/ ))
• Number of people employed – The industry employs more than 250,000 people.(( https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/employment/travel-agencies-united-states/ ))

Trends and challenges

Trends in travel agency industry include:

• Home-stay rentals like Airbnb(( https://stepbystepbusiness.com/business-ideas/start-an-airbnb-business/ )) outperformed hotels in 27 top markets during the pandemic
• Book-now-pay-later options, such as those offered by Expedia and Booking.com, are gaining popularity
• Travel agencies undergoing digital transformation in response to the growing demand for online services

Challenges in travel agency industry include:

• Rising gas prices are impacting travel behavior
• Compliance with global Covid-19 protocols
• Keeping up with digital marketing opportunities

What kind of people work in a travel agency?

• Gender – 76% of travel agency managers in the US are female, while 24% are male. (( https://www.zippia.com/travel-agency-manager-jobs/demographics/#gender-statistics ))
• Average level of education – 64% of travel agency managers hold a bachelor’s degree.(( https://www.zippia.com/travel-agency-manager-jobs/demographics/#degree-level-types ))
• Average age – The average age of a travel agency manager is 51 years old.(( https://www.zippia.com/travel-agency-manager-jobs/demographics/#age-statistics ))

How much does it cost to start a travel agency?

The startup costs for a travel agency range from about $2,000 to $10,000, with an average of around $6,000. The high-end includes the rental of office space and a larger marketing budget, but you could easily run your online travel agency from home to cut costs.

How much can you earn from a travel agency?

The commission paid to a travel agency by travel vendors such as airlines and hotels is generally about 10%. Some travel agents also charge a nominal consultation fee for each booking, typically between $30 and $50. Those will be your two revenue streams.

The average cost of a one-week domestic vacation is $1,500 per person. The profit margin for a home-based travel agency is usually about 80%. With an office and staff, your margin will likely drop to about 30%.

In your first year or two, you could work from home and sell five two-person vacations each week. At a 10% commission, this would mean $78,000 in annual revenue. You’d have about $62,000 in profit, assuming an 80% margin.

As your brand gains recognition, sales could climb to 1,000 two-person vacations a year. At this stage, you would rent an office and hire staff, reducing your profit margin to 30%. With expected annual revenue of $300,000, you would make about $90,000.

What barriers to entry are there?

There are a few barriers to entry for a travel agency. Your biggest challenges will be:

• Competition – Big and small online firms; self-booking travelers
• Client Acquisition – Time and marketing will be required to build a reputation

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Step 2: hone your idea.

Now that you know what’s involved in starting a travel agency, it’s a good idea to hone your concept in preparation to enter a competitive market.

Market research will give you the upper hand, even if you’re already positive that you have a perfect product or service. Conducting market research is important, because it can help you understand your customers better, who your competitors are, and your business landscape.

Why? Identify an opportunity

As a travel agency, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Research online travel agents and booking platforms to see their offerings and prices, while keeping an eye out for something that might be missing.

Perhaps you could specialize in travel to an under-appreciated region, such as Southeast Asia, and build a network of relevant contacts and vendors. Or you could focus on finding travelers the most incredible home-stay rentals at the best prices.

You could specialize in family vacations, corporate retreats, or honeymoons. The potential niche options in the travel industry are nearly endless.

What? Determine your services and travel offerings

Travel can involve many facets, and you can handle some or all of them, in addition to flights, lodgings, and car rentals. These might include:

• Booking tours and excursions
• Dining recommendations/reservation
• Travel insurance
• Visa and emergency services

How much should you charge for travel agency services?

Travel vendors, such as hotels, airlines, and car rental firms, pay a commission to travel agents that’s generally about 10% of the booking. For instance, if you book a $1,200 flight on Turkish Airlines for your client, Turkish Airlines will give you, the travel agent, a $120 commission.

As a result, booking flights with a travel agent sometimes costs the traveler slightly more than booking directly with the airlines or through a travel site like Expedia or Orbitz. Thus, to attract customers and boost sales travel agents rely on discounted travel packages.

For instance, a return flight from Chicago to Cancun and a 6-day stay at a four-star all-inclusive resort, plus ground transport, might cost a traveler $1,000 or more to book directly. But travel agents get significant discounts from vendors because they place volume orders, so you’d be able to offer this trip as a $599 package deal.

Even after paying your commission, the traveler still saves a chunk of money by using your services, rather than booking themselves. And keep in mind, the discounts offered by vendors are likely to increase as you become a more established agent. You may be able to negotiate commissions from tour operators and excursion companies as well.

Once you know your costs, you can use this Step By Step profit margin calculator to determine your mark-up and final price points. Remember, the prices you use at launch should be subject to change if warranted by the market.

Who? Identify your target market

Your target market will depend on the concept you’ve chosen for your agency. If you’ve decided to specialize in family vacations, you’ll be targeting parents. You might find them on sites like Facebook or LinkedIn, rather than Instagram or TikTok.

Where? Choose your business premises

In the early stages, you may want to run your business from home to keep costs low. But as your travel agency grows, you’ll likely need to hire workers and may need to rent out an office. You can find commercial space to rent in your area on Craigslist , Crexi , and Commercial Cafe .

When choosing a commercial space, you may want to follow these rules of thumb:

• Central location accessible via public transport
• Ventilated and spacious, with good natural light
• Flexible lease that can be extended as your business grows
• Ready-to-use space with no major renovations or repairs needed

Step 3: Brainstorm a Travel Agency Name

Here are some ideas for brainstorming your business name:

• Short, unique, and catchy names tend to stand out
• Names that are easy to say and spell tend to do better
• The name should be relevant to your product or service offerings
• Ask around — family, friends, colleagues, social media — for suggestions
• Including keywords, such as “travel” or “bookings”, boosts SEO
• Choose a name that allows for expansion: “Wanderlust Adventures” over “Beach Bum Vacations” or “Honeymoon Haven Agency”
• A location-based name can help establish a strong connection with your local community and help with the SEO but might hinder future expansion

Once you’ve got a list of potential names, visit the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office to make sure they are available for registration and check the availability of related domain names using our Domain Name Search tool. Using “.com” or “.org” sharply increases credibility, so it’s best to focus on these. 

Find a Domain

Powered by GoDaddy.com

Finally, make your choice among the names that pass this screening and go ahead with domain registration and social media account creation. Your business name is one of the key differentiators that set your business apart. Once you pick your company name, and start with the branding, it is hard to change the business name. Therefore, it’s important to carefully consider your choice before you start a business entity.

Step 4: Create a Travel Agency Business Plan

Here are the key components of a business plan:

• Executive Summary: Present an overview of your travel agency, highlighting its focus on providing personalized travel planning and booking services for various types of travelers.
• Business Overview: Describe the services of your travel agency, including custom travel itinerary planning, booking accommodations, flights, and special experiences.
• Product and Services: Detail the range of travel packages offered, such as luxury vacations, adventure tours, and corporate travel services.
• Market Analysis: Assess the current travel market, identifying target customer segments like families, honeymooners, or business travelers.
• Competitive Analysis: Compare your agency to others, focusing on your unique offerings like specialized destinations, personalized service, or exclusive deals.
• Sales and Marketing: Outline your strategy for attracting clients, using methods like online marketing, partnerships with travel providers, or attending travel expos.
• Management Team: Highlight the experience and expertise of your team in travel planning, customer service, and business management.
• Operations Plan: Describe the process of service delivery, from client consultation to trip execution and post-travel follow-up.
• Financial Plan: Provide an overview of financial aspects, including startup costs, pricing strategy, and anticipated income.
• Appendix: Include supplementary documents such as travel industry certifications, partnership agreements, or detailed client testimonials to support your business plan.

If you’ve never created a business plan, it can be an intimidating task. You might consider hiring a business plan specialist to create a top-notch business plan for you.

Step 5: Register Your Business

Registering your business is an absolutely crucial step — it’s the prerequisite to paying taxes, raising capital, opening a bank account, and other guideposts on the road to getting a business up and running.

Plus, registration is exciting because it makes the entire process official. Once it’s complete, you’ll have your own business!

Choose where to register your company

Your business location is important because it can affect taxes, legal requirements, and revenue. Most people will register their business in the state where they live, but if you are planning to expand, you might consider looking elsewhere, as some states could offer real advantages when it comes to travel agencies.

If you’re willing to move, you could really maximize your business! Keep in mind, it’s relatively easy to transfer your business to another state.

Choose your business structure

Business entities come in several varieties, each with its pros and cons. The legal structure you choose for your travel agency will shape your taxes, personal liability, and business registration requirements, so choose wisely.

Here are the main options:

• Sole Proprietorship – The most common structure for small businesses makes no legal distinction between company and owner. All income goes to the owner, who’s also liable for any debts, losses, or liabilities incurred by the business. The owner pays taxes on business income on his or her personal tax return.
• General Partnership – Similar to a sole proprietorship, but for two or more people. Again, owners keep the profits and are liable for losses. The partners pay taxes on their share of business income on their personal tax returns.
• Limited Liability Company (LLC) – Combines the characteristics of corporations with those of sole proprietorships or partnerships. Again, the owners are not personally liable for debts.
• C Corp – Under this structure, the business is a distinct legal entity and the owner or owners are not personally liable for its debts. Owners take profits through shareholder dividends, rather than directly. The corporation pays taxes, and owners pay taxes on their dividends, which is sometimes referred to as double taxation.
• S Corp – An S-Corporation refers to the tax classification of the business but is not a business entity. An S-Corp can be either a corporation or an LLC , which just needs to elect to be an S-Corp for tax status. In an S-Corp, income is passed through directly to shareholders, who pay taxes on their share of business income on their personal tax returns.

We recommend that new business owners choose LLC as it offers liability protection and pass-through taxation while being simpler to form than a corporation. You can form an LLC in as little as five minutes using an online LLC formation service. They will check that your business name is available before filing, submit your articles of organization , and answer any questions you might have.

Form Your LLC

Choose Your State

We recommend ZenBusiness as the Best LLC Service for 2024

Step 6: Register for Taxes

The final step before you’re able to pay taxes is getting an Employer Identification Number , or EIN. You can file for your EIN online or by mail or fax: visit the IRS website to learn more. Keep in mind, if you’ve chosen to be a sole proprietorship you can simply use your social security number as your EIN.

Once you have your EIN, you’ll need to choose your tax year. Financially speaking, your business will operate in a calendar year (January–December) or a fiscal year, a 12-month period that can start in any month. This will determine your tax cycle, while your business structure will determine which taxes you’ll pay.

The IRS website also offers a tax-payers checklist , and taxes can be filed online.

It is important to consult an accountant or other professional to help you with your taxes to ensure you are completing them correctly.

Step 7: Fund your Business

Securing financing is your next step and there are plenty of ways to raise capital:

• Bank loans : This is the most common method, but getting approved requires a rock-solid business plan and strong credit history.
• SBA-guaranteed loans : The Small Business Administration can act as guarantor, helping gain that elusive bank approval via an SBA-guaranteed loan .
• Government grants : A handful of financial assistance programs help fund entrepreneurs. Visit Grants.gov to learn which might work for you.
• Venture capital : Offer potential investors an ownership stake in exchange for funds, keeping in mind that you would be sacrificing some control over your business.
• Friends and Family : Reach out to friends and family to provide a business loan or investment in your concept. It’s a good idea to have legal advice when doing so because SEC regulations apply.
• Crowdfunding : Websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo offer an increasingly popular low-risk option, in which donors fund your vision. Entrepreneurial crowdfunding sites like Fundable and WeFunder enable multiple investors to fund your business.
• Personal : Self-fund your business via your savings or the sale of property or other assets.

Bank and SBA loans are probably the best options, other than friends and family, for funding a travel agency. You might also try crowdfunding if you have an innovative concept.

Step 8: Apply for Travel Agency Licenses and Permits

Starting a travel agency requires obtaining a number of licenses and permits from local, state, and federal governments.

Federal regulations, licenses, and permits associated with starting your business include doing business as (DBA), health licenses and permits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ), trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual properties, as well as industry-specific licenses and permits. 

You may also need state-level and local county or city-based licenses and permits. The license requirements and how to obtain them vary, so check the websites of your state, city, and county governments or contact the appropriate person to learn more. 

You could also check this SBA guide for your state’s requirements, but we recommend using MyCorporation’s Business License Compliance Package . They will research the exact forms you need for your business and state and provide them to ensure you’re fully compliant.

This is not a step to be taken lightly, as failing to comply with legal requirements can result in hefty penalties.

If you feel overwhelmed by this step or don’t know how to begin, it might be a good idea to hire a professional to help you check all the legal boxes.

Step 9: Open a Business Bank Account

Before you start making money you’ll need a place to keep it, and that requires opening a bank account .

Keeping your business finances separate from your personal account makes it easy to file taxes and track your company’s income, so it’s worth doing even if you’re running your travel agency business as a sole proprietorship. Opening a business bank account is quite simple, and similar to opening a personal one. Most major banks offer accounts tailored for businesses — just inquire at your preferred bank to learn about their rates and features.

Banks vary in terms of offerings, so it’s a good idea to examine your options and select the best plan for you. Once you choose your bank, bring in your EIN (or Social Security Number if you decide on a sole proprietorship), articles of incorporation, and other legal documents and open your new account.

Step 10: Get Business Insurance

Business insurance is an area that often gets overlooked yet it can be vital to your success as an entrepreneur. Insurance protects you from unexpected events that can have a devastating impact on your business.

Here are some types of insurance to consider:

• General liability: The most comprehensive type of insurance, acting as a catch-all for many business elements that require coverage. If you get just one kind of insurance, this is it. It even protects against bodily injury and property damage.
• Business Property: Provides coverage for your equipment and supplies.
• Equipment Breakdown Insurance: Covers the cost of replacing or repairing equipment that has broken due to mechanical issues.
• Worker’s compensation: Provides compensation to employees injured on the job.
• Property: Covers your physical space, whether it is a cart, storefront, or office.
• Commercial auto: Protection for your company-owned vehicle.
• Professional liability: Protects against claims from a client who says they suffered a loss due to an error or omission in your work.
• Business owner’s policy (BOP): This is an insurance plan that acts as an all-in-one insurance policy, a combination of any of the above insurance types.

Step 11: Prepare to Launch

As opening day nears, prepare for launch by reviewing and improving some key elements of your business.

Essential software and tools

Being an entrepreneur often means wearing many hats, from marketing to sales to accounting, which can be overwhelming. Fortunately, many websites and digital tools are available to help simplify many business tasks.

You may want to use industry-specific software to manage bookings and scheduling, such as TravelPerk , TravelCEO , and TravelOperations .

• Popular web-based accounting programs for smaller businesses include Quickbooks , Freshbooks , and Xero .
• If you’re unfamiliar with basic accounting, you may want to hire a professional, especially as you begin. The consequences for filing incorrect tax documents can be harsh, so accuracy is crucial.

Develop your website

Website development is crucial because your site is your online presence and needs to convince prospective clients of your expertise and professionalism.

You can create your own website using services like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace . This route is very affordable, but figuring out how to build a website can be time-consuming. If you lack tech-savvy, you can hire a web designer or developer to create a custom website for your business.

Your website should showcase your offerings, customer testimonials, and detailed information about destinations.

Your clients are unlikely to find your website, however, unless you follow Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ) practices. These are steps that help pages rank higher in the results of top search engines like Google.

Here are some powerful marketing strategies for your future business:

• Leverage Social Media : Use platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to share stunning travel imagery, customer stories, and travel tips. Engage with your audience through regular posts, stories, and responses to comments.
• Content Marketing : Start a blog or a YouTube channel providing valuable content like travel guides, tips, destination reviews, and travel trends. This not only helps in SEO but also establishes you as an expert in the field.
• Build Partnerships : Collaborate with local businesses in your chosen travel destinations, such as hotels, tour operators, and local attractions. This can lead to exclusive deals or packages that you can offer to your clients.
• Email Marketing : Collect emails through your website and social media channels and send out regular newsletters with travel tips, special offers, and new package announcements.
• Customer Reviews and Referrals : Encourage your clients to leave reviews on platforms like TripAdvisor or Google. Word-of-mouth referrals are powerful, so consider offering incentives for referrals.
• Attend Travel Expos and Events : Participate in travel expos, seminars, and networking events to build contacts and stay updated on the latest industry trends.
• Offer Personalized Services : Tailor your services to meet individual client needs. Personal touches can make a big difference in the travel industry.
• Utilize Paid Advertising : Invest in targeted ads on social media and Google to reach potential clients. This can be particularly effective when you have special offers or new packages to promote.
• Stay Informed and Flexible : The travel industry is dynamic, so it’s important to stay informed about global travel trends, destination updates, and customer preferences.
• Sustainable and Responsible Travel : With growing awareness about environmental and cultural impacts, promoting sustainable and responsible travel practices can set your agency apart.

Focus on USPs

Unique selling propositions, or USPs, are the characteristics of a product or service that set it apart from the competition. Customers today are inundated with buying options, so you’ll have a real advantage if they are able to quickly grasp how your travel agency meets their needs or wishes. It’s wise to do all you can to ensure your USPs stand out on your website and in your marketing and promotional materials, stimulating buyer desire.

Global pizza chain Domino’s is renowned for its USP: “Hot pizza in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.” Signature USPs for your travel agency could be:

• Travel to Asia’s best secret destinations
• The best local insights and insider adventures
• Vacations for the whole family, from grandma to the baby!

You may not like to network or use personal connections for business gain. But your personal and professional networks likely offer considerable untapped business potential. Maybe that Facebook friend you met in college is now running a travel agency, or a LinkedIn contact of yours is connected to dozens of potential clients. Maybe your cousin or neighbor has been working in travel agencies for years and can offer invaluable insight and industry connections. 

The possibilities are endless, so it’s a good idea to review your personal and professional networks and reach out to those with possible links to or interest in travel. You’ll probably generate new customers or find companies with which you could establish a partnership. Online businesses might also consider affiliate marketing as a way to build relationships with potential partners and boost business.

Step 12: Build Your Team

If you’re starting out small from a home office, you may not need any employees. But as your business grows, you will likely need workers to fill various roles. Potential positions for a travel agency would include:

• Travel Agents – sales and bookings
• General Manager – scheduling, accounting, staff management
• Marketing Lead – SEO strategies, social media, other marketing

At some point, you may need to hire all of these positions or simply a few, depending on the size and needs of your business. You might also hire multiple workers for a single role or a single worker for multiple roles, again depending on need.

Free-of-charge methods to recruit employees include posting ads on popular platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Jobs.com. You might also consider a premium recruitment option, such as advertising on Indeed , Glassdoor , or ZipRecruiter . Further, if you have the resources, you could consider hiring a recruitment agency to help you find talent.

Step 13: Run a Travel Agency – Start Making Money!

Owning a travel agency means sharing the joy of travel for a living. What could be more fun? It’s also a huge, high-growth industry that you could tap into and grow a profitable business. Startup costs are low, and all you need is a simple accreditation — there’s no real training required. You just need a good concept for your agency and a great marketing plan. Having a strong online presence in this digital age is also an absolute must.

You’ve started off on the right foot by reading this guide, and now you’re ready to begin your trip to entrepreneurial success!

• Travel Agency Business FAQs

If you run your online travel agency from home, you could have profit margins of up to 80%. Costs to run your travel agency are very low, and you’re paid around a 10% commission on everything that you book. As a home-based, one-person show, you could make $60,000 per year to start, and much more once you’re established.

Consumers are turning to online travel agencies more and more, which you could easily run from home. If your business grows fast and you need to add staff, you may want to have an office.

Some consumers prefer the personal service of a smaller online agency that can offer more local, personal insights about travel destinations. The key is to differentiate yourself in some way. You could specialize in certain locations, a specific type of lodgings, such as cabins, or in a type of vacation such as corporate retreats.

Travel agencies engage in activities such as providing travel advice, booking travel arrangements, managing logistics, and offering specialized services tailored to clients’ needs.

Running a travel agency can have challenges due to intense competition, evolving industry dynamics, regulatory considerations, seasonal fluctuations, and the need for customer satisfaction and crisis management. 

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• Decide if the Business Is Right for You
• Hone Your Idea
• Brainstorm a Travel Agency Name
• Create a Travel Agency Business Plan
• Register Your Business
• Register for Taxes
• Fund your Business
• Apply for Travel Agency Licenses and Permits
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get Business Insurance
• Prepare to Launch
• Build Your Team
• Run a Travel Agency - Start Making Money!

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How Much Does it Cost to Become a Travel Agent?

How much does it cost to become a travel agent ? If you want to start your own travel agency, which is the most common way future travel advisors enter the industry, we've got tons of info for you! ( If you're looking for how much travel agents make, we've got another article for you.)

Our annual travel advisor survey finds that travel agency startup costs typically run between $0-$20,000, which isn't the most helpful. This vast range illustrates just how many factors impact how much it costs to start a travel agency.

In this article, we'll break down how much it costs to become a travel agent by the most common routes people enter the industry:

• Franchise travel agencies
• Hosted travel agencies
• Independent travel agencies

Below you can see the average startup cost for a hosted travel agent in 2023 was $2,846.

This article is going to look at the latest data for how much it costs to become a travel agent when it comes to hosted travel agents, advisors overall and why it's so stinking hard to get concrete data on startups for franchise owners and independently-accredited advisors.

This resource offers a run-through of what you can expect budget-wise for four different types of travel agency models.

⭐️ HAR Article Highlights: ⭐️

How Much it Costs to Become a Travel Agent: The Big Picture (+Infographic)

• How Much it Costs to Become a Hosted Travel Agent
• How Much it Costs to Start a Travel Agency Franchise
• How Much it Costs to Become an Independent Travel Agent

Travel Agency Earnings: What You Can Expect in the First 3 Years

Income for Travel Agency Startups: The Big Picture

How much does it cost to become a travel agent: the big picture.

If you balked at the massive range people are spending to become a travel agent ($0-$20,000), you’re not alone. Why is there such a disparity in how much travel agents invest?

If you forced me to give a bottom line, shoe-string budget number on how much you’d invest at minimum to register your travel and access an accreditation number to book travel, I’d say the bargain basement budget startup cost would run around $300 at a bare minimum.

Frankly, when folks say they start an agency for nothing, I don’t know how they do it. If you’re one of those people, give me a holler. I want to know your secret! I’m thinking it’s likely they’re not factoring in the cost of registering their business, investing in their accreditation number, or purchasing a website domain. Those costs seem negligible individually but can start to add up.

We're going to look at how much it costs to become a travel agent in a bunch of different ways. How do we do this with any amount of confidence or accuracy? I'm so glad you ask!

We pull new agent data from HAR's ridiculously comprehensive annual travel agent survey results .

1. Range: The range is the lowest and highest reported startup costs. This helps give a sense of how much it can vary and will guide you in making a budget that works for you.

2. Average: The average is the total sum of startup costs divided by the number of agents who responded to the survey. I like to think of average as the “ballpark figure.” A lot of time, the average is a “middle value,” but when you have some folks invest $20 bucks and some invest $20K, sometimes these averages aren’t the best representation of what you can expect to spend.

3. Median: Median is the true middle startup cost. It’s the startup cost entry with an equal number of higher and lower-cost entries. And because we like to go big rather than go home, we’ll also look at . . .

4. Mode Startup Cost: The mode is where it becomes a popularity contest: it’s the startup cost is the value that travel agents reported most frequently.

How Much it Costs to Become a Hosted Agent:

Host agencies are a great option for new travel agents who want to start their own business, but don’t have the time/resources/people power to research and invest in every nook and cranny of the backend of running an agency ( accreditation number , E&O insurance , Seller of Travel registration , CRM . . . the list goes on) and are looking for higher commissions.

It will come as no surprise to you that we’re fans of host agencies, and we recommend it to 99% of folks who are new to the industry and want to start their travel agency business and brand.

Hosts provide that administrative framework so you can focus on developing your travel agency brand identity and focus on selling travel. (You can read more on the benefits of using a host agency here . )

If you’re starting a travel agency with a host agency, here’s how much you can expect to invest in your startup cost:

1. IQ Range 1 of Travel Agency Startup Cost for Hosted Agents in 2023 : $500-$3,000

2. Average Cost to Become a Hosted Travel Agent in 2023: $2,846

3. Median Cost to Become a Hosted Travel Agent in 2023: $1,213

4. Mode Cost to Become a Hosted Travel Agent in 2023: $1,000

That brings us to . . . .

How Much it Costs to Start a Travel Franchise:

Above, I mentioned that hosts are a great option for those who want backend support but still want to develop their brand. If you want to run your travel agency, but do not want to spend time creating a brand identity from scratch, a travel agency franchise is a great option.

With a travel franchise, you get to use the franchisor’s established branding.

The benefit of this is that, rather than starting your brand identity from the ground up, you get to hit the ground running with a brand identity that has already been established for years. (In industry lingo, they call this a turnkey travel business.)

Is that up to your alley? You can learn about travel franchises here !

For the  franchise listings on our site , the startup cost to become a travel agent through the franchise route ranges from to $300-$8,995.

The latest data we have on startup costs for franchise owners is from 2020. Here's what that looked like back in the day:

1. Range of Travel Agency Startup Cost for Travel Agent Franchisees in 2020: $162-$15,000

2. Average Travel Agency Franchise Startup Cost in 2020: $5,690

3. Median Travel Agency Franchise Startup Cost in 2020: $9,250

4. Mode Travel Agency Franchise Startup Cost Mode for Franchisees in 2020: $2,000

How Much it Costs to Become an Independent Travel Agent:

When we say independent agent, what we mean is a travel agent who gets their own accreditation number, rather than using a host agency's..

Independent travel agents are on the opposite end of the spectrum from franchisees. Whereas travel franchisees (typically) have their entire business setup from backend to branding, and hosted agents typically receive backend structural support, independent agents do it all on their own.

They get their accreditation , their travel agent license , join their consortium  directly, forge their relationships with travel suppliers (etc.).

Why don't we have info on startup costs for independent advisors? Because most independent advisors started out with a host agency before going it alone.

Among the 2,600+ advisors who responded to our latest survey, only 9 were new, independent advisors.

Our survey asks for startup costs for agents with 0-2 years of experience. Among the 2,600+ advisors who responded to our latest survey, only 9 were new, independent advisors.

Wowza. Because of this, we don’t have enough data on startup costs for independent agents to provide reliable data. Sad face.

If you’re a newbie independent agent, we’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments below if you’re willing to share how many coins you dropped! But most importantly, take our survey so we can offer great more great data in the independent segment!

Travel Agent Earnings: What You Can Expect in the First 3 Years

Now that you have an idea of approximately how much it costs to become a travel agent, let’s talk about how much you can expect to earn.

I’m not going to sugarcoat this: It may take you a few years to be able to earn a living from your travel agent career . Why? There are a few reasons:

Here are a few reasons why it can take time (typically 3-5 years) to generate a steady income as a travel agent:

• It takes a while to build a client base and develop your brand.
• Even when you do make your first bookings, you're often not paid commission until after your client completes their travel (or after final payment for some vendors). So, if you make seven bookings in January but the clients aren't traveling until November, you might not get paid until the next calendar year. Let's just say, if you're wanting to walk off your current job, thinking that the big bucks will roll in the next month, you might want to reconsider your strategy. 😉
• (Leisure) travel is something most people only do 1-2 times a year. Even with referrals and repeat clients, it can take a lot longer to build a steady business compared to a new restaurant or other service industries like a hairstylist.

Now let’s talk about moolah.

We have loads and loads of in-depth travel agent research reports . In our hosted advisor report, we have a section specifically for newly hosted travel agents with 0-3 years of experience.

I’ll offer you a brief overview of new travel agent income data, plus show you how it’s trended over time.

The Latest and Greatest New Travel Agent INCOME Data:

New advisors earned $3,198 on average, according to HAR's 2023 survey. However, those with 2 years of experience earned nearly 8x higher average income. Here's a look at what hosted advisors earned!

What Factors Lead to More Income For Travel Agents?

The secret sauce to earning a higher income as a travel agent is not a well-kept secret. We’ve been collecting data on travel agent income for years now and here’s what we’ve seen:

Income potential increases if you:

• Work full time
• Charge a fee
• Sell certain travel products
• Have employees or independent contractor agents working with you

But that’s only part of it.

Investing in travel agent startup resources is step one. Leveraging those resources is step two.

What I’m about to say is going to sound extremely obvious, but hey, it’s what leads to earning more money: Investing in these resources is step one. Leveraging resources is step two.

Getting to a point of income stability is about so much more than investing dollars in a fancy website, joining a host agency or getting an accreditation, or ticking off boxes for travel certifications. It’s just as much about taking advantage of the tools and resources that are available to you through your host or consortium.

How do you know? You can find more details than you ever wanted in our travel agent income survey archive . (Psst, if you click on that link and get a little scared by the sheer volume of data, a good start is to check out our latest longitudinal travel agent income report .)

Ready to Get Started?

Not only are travel agency startup costs affordable, but there are also plenty of resources.

If you want to get a lay of the land, check out HAR's 7DS Accelerator course options . If you just want to dip your toes into the waters to see if it’s for you, give the trial a try.

Once you hit your stride as a travel advisor, our travel agent income data shows that earnings trend upward with experience, time investment, and industry engagement.

We'd love to hear from you—new and experienced agents alike! How long did it take for your agency to become sustainable? Did you find your cost to become a travel agent was similar to those in the article? For agents with a few years under your belts, what do you wish you did differently? For new agents, where are you feeling the need for additional support?

Let us know in the comment section below or email us!

*Editor's Note: This post was originally published on July 17th, 2018. We updated the information to reflect current income trends. (You can find the original article here .)

• IQ (Interquartile) Range: Layspeak? An IQ range is a more “typical” range, looking at averages that are between the 25th percentile and 75th percentile. This helps us give advisors more of an idea of what they can realistically expect when it comes to things like income, fees, and startup costs. ↩

About the Author

Mary Stein has been working as a writer and editor for Host Agency Reviews since 2016. She loves supporting travel advisors on their entrepreneurial journey and is inspired by their passion, tenacity, and creativity. Mary is also a mom, dog lover, fiction writer, hiker, and a Great British Bake Off superfan.

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PRESS RELEASES

Travel advisor tech startup tern wins entrepreneur of the year competition and $10,000 prize.

Three finalists competed at the Travel Advisor Conference May 29-31 in Dallas, TX, where audience members voted for the award winner.

Alexandria, VA, June 5, 2024  —The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) congratulates the three finalists who participated in the annual  Entrepreneur of the Year  competition during the annual Travel Advisor Conference.  

“Congratulations to all the finalists of this year’s Entrepreneur competition, each one deserves recognition for innovating while taking risks as they built a creative business,” said Gloria Bohan Founder, President & CEO at Omega World Travel. The competition is sponsored by the Dan and Gloria Bohan Foundation, “Finding new ways to apply technology solutions in our industry is going to make a big difference, and I’m delighted to be a part of it. Along the way to entrepreneurship, one needs the support of likeminded people who cheer you on. It is important, too, to develop an entrepreneurial spirit in others. Large companies need to innovate and develop the mindset of an entrepreneur within their teams."

This year’s finalists; Lisa Watson, Founder & Owner of  FyndTravel , Richard Earls, President of  Arqiteqt Software , and David Shull, CEO & Co-Founder of  Tern , each presented their three-minute ‘pitch’ to the General Session audience members, vying for their votes. The winner was David Shull of Tern, a software company built for travel advisors that streamlines business workflows for maximized growth.  

“Winning the ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year award is a tremendous honor,” said David Shull. “My team and I flew to the ASTA conference in San Francisco in 2022. While there, we heard firsthand the intense need from advisors for one system that could power their travel businesses. We committed then and there to building something that would transform the way industry uses technology. This award is a powerful testament to the impact we’ve had to date, and we’re just getting started. We’re incredibly grateful for this award and opportunity and are excited for what the future holds for the travel industry.”

ABOUT ASTA Rebranded in 2018 as the American Society of Travel Advisors, ASTA is the leading global advocate for travel advisors, the travel industry and the traveling public. Its members represent 80 percent of all travel sold in the United States through the travel agency distribution channel. Together with hundreds of internationally-based members, ASTA’s history of industry advocacy traces back to its founding in 1931 when it launched with the mission to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. For more information about the Society, visit our mission statement .  

RETURN TO PRESS RELEASE LISTING

List of Top Travel and Tourism Startups in India

Ashwini , Shilpa sharma

“It will be much more about responsible travel now. We are going to value our freedom a lot more" – Deep Kalra, Founder of MakeMyTrip on impact of Covid on travel industry

The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest industries in India, it's a major driver of economic growth globally. India's tourism industry is experiencing a good period of growth, driven by the flourishing Indian middle class, growth in high spending foreign tourists and coordinated government campaigns to promote 'Incredible India'. But Due to restrictions linked to Covid-19, the number of foreign tourist in India during 2021 decreased to 1.52 million compared to 2.74 million in 2020, dropping by 44.5%, though foreign exchange earnings grew during the same period, as per the India Tourism Statistics 2022 report. In 2019, India saw 10.93 million foreign tourist arrivals, which dropped by 75% in 2020.

In 2021, the travel and tourism industry in India contributed around 178 billion U.S. dollars to the country's GDP. Just a few days ago the Indian government has said that the country's tourism sector will recover to the pre-pandemic level by mid-2024 , they also said that by 2030, the tourism sector will contribute $250 billion to the country's gross domestic product (GDP).According to the recent India Travel Market Report by Phocuswright, the total Indian travel market stood at US$19.1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $40.4 billion in 2025, with online penetration reaching 58% in 2025.

The booming IT and outsourcing industry has led to a growing number of business trips made by foreigners to India. After Covid, along with work from home, a new trend has come, i.e., workcation for which travel companies are coming up with very good offers and packages. These plans comprise elegant and peaceful places to work with sightseeing and event sports in the evening. These packages are varied and diverse.

From choosing destinations to connecting with locals and customizing the holiday, the travel startup business in India is looking to add a new dimension to the ever-evolving traveling story.

Here is the list of successful tour and travel startups.

Travel & Tourism Industry in India - Key Highlights

Top Travel and Tourism Startups in India:

Pickyourtrail

Scoutmytrip, thrillophilia, travel triangle, extravelmoney, travel & tourism industry in india - key highlights.

Also Read: Travel and Tourism Industry Trends in 2021: Post-Covid Scenario

Top 20 Travel and Tourism Startups in India

MakeMyTrip is one of the oldest travel startup in India . The inspiration for this startup came to Kalra when he was booking a holiday to Thailand. He realized that the internet could offer more competitive prices by cutting out the middleman. MakeMyTrip's mission is to provide customers a one-stop-shop for all their travel needs by providing online travel services that include flight tickets, domestic and international holiday packages, hotel reservations, rail and bus tickets.

Cleartrip, headquartered in Mumbai , was founded by Stuart Crighton, Hrush Bhatt in the year 2005. The company operates an online travel aggregator website for booking flights and train tickets, hotel reservations, and activities in India and the Middle East countries. Cleartrip is one of the few business travel startups in India. It has offices across India, UAE , Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Cleartrip is another travel tech company in India, started its services to the Persian Gulf nations of Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt. On June 21, 2018, Cleartrip announced the acquisition of Saudi Arabia-based online travel aggregator (OTA) Flyin.

Clear trip also operates -

• Cleartrip for Business , an online corporate travel management tool. It is a business travel solution for companies
• Agent Box , a travel tool for travel agents.
• Cleartrip Mobile , a travel booking app for consumers.
• Expressway , to let users store traveller profile and payment details securely to make one-click bookings.
• Flexifly, a solution that enables flyers to change their travel date and time and switch flights between airlines without any hefty penalties.

Within few years goibibo became a big payer in travel industry . Goibibo acquired redBus in 2013 to enhance its product offering. The 2016 merger of MMT and Goibibo gave MMT depth of content and an access to a bigger consumer base. It's core value differentiator is the most trusted user experience, be it in terms of quickest search and booking, fastest payments , settlement or refund processes. Along with the usual services travel startups provide, Goibibo became the no 1 travel startup to introduce real travel booking currency named as Go Cash which can be used without any restrictions or limits of use .

In small towns, this start up company has built up good trust and about 48% of new users are associated with tier 2 and tier 3 cities, it has seen a 65% increase in transacting users since January this year and that it has been 'successful' in consolidating its position as the 'second largest' OTA brand in the country.

It is the largest hospitality startup from the list of top hospitality startups in India comprising budget hotels. It is usually one of the first names that pop up in people's minds when they think of cost efficient hotel bookings in India. The startup works in liaison with existing hotels and offers travellers vacant rooms at a cheaper price . OYO Rooms start at a nominal price of Rs. 999. Besides bulk renting hotels, they have also invested in their own properties as well. Click here to know how exactly OYO Rooms work .

The users can also opt for OYO Premium which provides a more-than-basic experience. OYO Rooms are located in the prime areas of the city and therefore they ensure travellers of having the best experience, it is also close to the best sight-seeing destinations and various dining options. The startup also raised an investment of $90 million from Softbank earlier in 2016. In 2019, OYO raised $1.5 Billion in Series F funding led by SoftBank Group , Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Sequoia India .

Hari Ganapathy and Srinath Shankar got the idea of the startup after their experience from a self-planned trip to Europe in 2012.  This platform uses deep tech to let travellers create, customize and book international vacations . Pickyourtrail considers more than 40 factors like duration, travel time, ratings, etc to build personalized itineraries that travellers can further customize & book .

After the trip is booked, travellers can use Pickyourtrail’s app to keep track of bookings and get real-time information on flight and weather updates, restaurant recommendations, and on-trip chat support.

Their goal is to perform best in the tour and travel business when it comes to international trips.

ScoutMyTrip is a road trip planner , It works for all sorts of outings, from short weekend travels to long excursions.

The motive that the duo has been able to solve through their startup is to collate information that is currently very diversified. Basically it is an information portal that makes travel easy and accessible for anyone. The company plans to connect travellers with people who want to travel on any particular vehicle. It will also facilitate customised tour packages.

With artificial intelligence, customers can create an itinerary containing the information necessary for their road trip—gas stations, toilets, restaurants, hotels to stay, and points of interest. The human intelligence aspect brings in the ability to personalize information as per one's needs.

The corporate outdoor and experiential learning model adopted by Thrillophilia in its early days, has proven to be of great significance since it was fairly new concept in India.

Thrillophilia provides you with handpicked adventure travel options. It is best suited for travellers seeking an off-the-beaten-track package for sightseeing, sports, and adventurous activities like water rafting, snorkelling, bungee jumping, and skydiving. The travellers can also curate the best tours and authentic suppliers.

Travel Triangle operates their services with a versatile team of 450+ peopl e. Travel Triangle is operating as an online marketplace model bringing both travellers and trusted & expert travel agents on a common platform. Travel Triangle is a S aaS-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform to help them manage and analyse customer interactions and data.

goMowgli is a travel startup that had its name inspired by the fictional character we all loved growing up –Mowgli from Jungle Book. It has a fleet of buses across different states (using the concept of “hop-off buses”) and the travellers can buy a pass for a fixed number of days – a week or two. It is suitable for solo travellers and backpackers who want to travel without a fixed plan or do not want to get in trouble of booking cabs while traveling the city.

goMowgli claims to be India's first flexible bus network for travellers. Flexible bus network mean is you can catch the bus anytime you want from any place in their network, and get off anytime, at any place.

goMowgli will tell you the exact location of the nearest bus when you switch on the GPS feature on your smartphone. The app is growing in popularity very fast. At present, their revenue generation is basically based on the passes they sell (Rs. 1700/day) . And their marketing is mainly based on social media and word of mouth.

Tripoto is a Delhi-based startup founded by Anirudh Gupta and Michael Lyngdoh and one of the best travel startups in India. It allows users to create itineraries for their future trips that they can also share with other travelers. They can share their travel experiences, related content and pictures, itineraries, maps, stories, and reviews.

The startup has one of the largest communities of travellers in the world where people get a chance to share their travel experiences, discover unique trips and travel itineraries by other travelers and connect with them around the world through the website. Tripoto’s aim is to become the largest source of crowd-sourced travel content platforms in the world by enabling users to share their credible travel information.

ExTravelMoney is an online aggregator and marketplace for forex services that bring the hyperlocal eCommerce model to foreign exchange business and is helping users save money on currency exchange and money transfer from and to abroad. Users can use this platform to search for banks and money changers near them who offer these forex services. They can also compare the exchange rates and total cost of a forex service including the services fees, tax charges, even the rating of each forex store they are searching for.

The users can therefore make an informed decision based on this knowledge and book the cheapest and the best forex services near them directly from their app ExTravelMoney. If you are traveling in a foreign country, foreign exchange is an important component to plan. It isn’t easy to purchase forex due to the time and the hassle it takes in finding the best exchange rates. The website provides travelers with forex dealers across the country to bring them the best available exchange rate in the market and all they need to do is log in to their website, state their forex requirement, and then it connects you to the nearest forex dealer.

Nearify is an app founded by Mayank Kumar, Saurav Singh and Vivek Srivastava in 2012 that provides users with updated information on events that are happening around them. Like information on the city, major tourist attractions, and fairs & festivals happening in the area. All the user needs to do is to key in the name of the city to find listings of meet-ups, workshops, music concerts, and cultural hangout places in their close proximity.

It is best suited for travelers who want to know what’s happening in other locations of the place they are traveling to and wish to plan their itinerary and also don’t want to miss out on the social events happening in nearby cities or locations.

TripHobo is a Pune-based travel startup that has an innovative new travel platform where the collective effort of their dedicated team of travel enthusiasts. They are trying to transform its user's travel experience by making travel more sharable and personally tailored. The platform lets you connect with travel buddies around the world and hence makes your experience even richer and memorable.

TripHobo is a vacation planning website that is also the world’s leading vacation planning platform on which you can plan trips to about 150,000 destinations worldwide. It lets users discover great itineraries created by travellers just like them.

It's an online travel platform for travellers to explore travel destinations, plan and book their trips in advance. It allows users to dynamically create self-serviced customized travel packages after receiving inquiries from clients.

The users can also compare reviews and plan their activities and sightseeing for their trips, it also involves native wholesale suppliers who are responsible for the operational aspects of the business of your trip that includes ground handling and fulfillment. iTraveller has created more than 2 lakh trips featuring over 20 travel destinations across the globe and more than 60 native wholesale suppliers from across these destinations. The brand of iTraveller is now changed to Lastminute.

The mobile marketplace connects travellers with the local people in the city you are traveling to. These people are called “Sherpas” and are chosen after a thorough background check and verified authenticity. They offer numerous itineraries, popularly known as “micro tours”, from sightseeing, photography tours, and heritage walks and food walks to explore a location from the eyes of a local guide – Sherpa.

Sherpas can be from any profession and list experiences that will cost you less than Rs. 3,000 per participant. This is a unique feature that SeekSherpa offers, it helps you in traveling better by interacting with the residents of the place you are seeking to explore. This way, your trip is better, well experienced, and more memorable.

SOTC India is a leading travel and tourism company active across various travel segments including Leisure Travel, Incentive Travel and Business Travel . It is one of the leaders in segments, namely Escorted Group Tours, Customized Holidays,  and Incentive Travel amongst others. SOTC offers customized holidays around the world, Corporate Tours and provides packages for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events) related travel needs.

Travelling is one of the most exciting and important parts of our life. It teaches us a lot. These startups in the tourism industry in India are helping us to make our journey better, safer, and easier. If we have missed out on any travel startup in India, do let us know in the comments.

FAQs on Travel Startups in India

How to start a travel business in india or how to start a travel company in india.

Best tips to start a travel business in India or a travel company in India:

• Step 1: Prepare a plan for your travel business.
• Step 2: Brand your travel business along with dealing in legal formalities.
• Step 3: Manage your funding strategy.
• Step 4: Pick a great location and hire employees.

How to start an online travel agency in India?

The list of requirements to start an online travel agency in India :

• Make a thorough research on your competitors and the market.
• Find your own niche in the travel industry.
• Build your team.
• Take a call on a travel website or a travel software, or both.
• Make a strategy for marketing.
• Target a location.

Must have tools for startups - Recommended by StartupTalky

• Manage your business smoothly- Google Workspace

Hisham Mundol, Chief Advisor at Environmental Defense Fund, India, Shares Insights on the Country's Green Future

In the spirit of World Environment Day, StartupTalky presents an exclusive interview with Hisham Mundol, Chief Advisor at Environmental Defense Fund, India. Explore his expertise as he discusses India's sustainable growth, EDF's impactful initiatives in climate action, and the crucial role of businesses and individuals in protecting our environment. Gain

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Advancing customer experience solutions at World CX Summit and Awards

03rd June 2024, Mumbai: The 11th global edition of the World CX Summit and Awards, an event by Trescon, drew to a close at the Leela, Mumbai on 22nd May 2024. The event was attended by over 200+ CX experts participating in a day filled with insightful discussions focusing on

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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Vladimir Putin repeats warning he could send weapons to adversaries of the West

Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin also says he does not see the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons as set out in Russia's nuclear doctrine - but adds he could not rule out a change to it.

Friday 7 June 2024 17:15, UK

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• Russia economically strong despite 'illegitimate sanctions'
• Ukraine has right to strike targets in Russia - NATO chief
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• Biden to discuss $225m package with Zelenskyy in France
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• Big picture:  Everything you need to know about the war right now
• Your questions answered: Are there any signs of an underground resistance in Russia?
• Live reporting by Andy Hayes and  Ollie Cooper

Thank you for reading.

We will be back soon with more updates from the war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has said he does not see the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons as set out in Russia's nuclear doctrine - but added he could not rule out a change to the doctrine.

"We have a nuclear doctrine which states that the use of nuclear arms is possible in an exceptional case, when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country is threatened," he told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"But the doctrine can be changed.

"The same applies to nuclear tests. We will carry out tests if needed, but so far there is no such need."

Russia could send weapons to adversaries of the West, Vladimir Putin has warned for a second time.

The Russian president repeated the warning from earlier this week during the St Petersburg Economic Forum.

He did not say what countries or entities he was referring to, and he stressed that Moscow is not doing it currently.

"If they supply (weapons) to the combat zone and call for using these weapons against our territory, why don't we have the right to do the same?" he told the crowds. 

"But I'm not ready to say that we will be doing it tomorrow, either."

On Wednesday, Putin told international journalists that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

He also reaffirmed Moscow's readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.

Joe Biden has apologised to Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the recent delay in approving new US aid for Ukraine.

Last month, following months of political disagreements, the Senate passed $95bn (£76.2bn) in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan .

"I apologise for those weeks of not knowing," the US president said.

"Some of our very conservative members [of Congress] were holding it up. 

"But we got it done, finally. We're still in - completely, totally." 

The Ukrainian president thanked his counterpart for American assistance.  

"It's very important that you stay with us," he said. 

"It's very important that in this unity, the United States of America, all American people stay with Ukraine, like it was during World War Two - how the United States helped to save human lives, to save Europe." 

The two men were speaking in Paris, the day after D-Day commemorations in Normandy.

Russia needs to boost its use of non-Western currencies, Vladimir Putin said as he addressed the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

He also said his country needs to reduce imports while calling for a major expansion of its domestic financial markets.

Trade with Asia is soaring, he told delegates, adding that almost two fifths of Russian external trade is now in roubles.

The share conducted in US dollars, euros and other Western currencies has declined.

Russia will try to boost the share of settlements conducted in the currencies of BRICS countries - which include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Mr Putin said.

"Last year, the share of payments for Russian exports in the so–called 'toxic' currencies of unfriendly states halved, while the share of the rouble in export and import transactions is growing - it is approaching 40% today," the president said.

Russia has referred to nations that imposed sanctions on it as "unfriendly".

 The session begins with an address by the Russian president. 

Vladimir Putin says there is a race among world powers to establish sovereignty. 

He speaks of the need for countries to both establish partnerships and also to look internally to tackle challenges presented by the current global economic landscape. 

Despite all the "obstacles and illegitimate sanctions", Russia remains one of the world's economic leaders, he says. 

He adds that "friendly countries" - those that have not joined sanctions against Moscow - account for three quarters of Russia's mutual trade turnover, and praises them for that. 

Countries including India and China have strengthened economic ties since Mr Putin launched his war in Ukraine. 

Vladimir Putin has taken to the stage in St Petersburg to address the International Economic Forum there.

He's joined by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwais and Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora. 

Chairing the session is Sergey Karaganov - a Russian political scientist. 

We'll bring you any key lines here in this live blog. 

A T-shirt is on sale at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum printed with a phrase attributed to Vladimir Putin, Sky News has discovered. 

"If a fight is inevitable, throw the first punch," it says.

The Russian president reportedly said it in 2015.

He apparently explained that it was something he had learned while growing up on the streets of Leningrad - a former name of St Petersburg. 

The Russian defence ministry has accused Ukraine of injuring 20 people, including children, in a missile attack on the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, using US-supplied ATACMS missiles.

Four of five missiles were shot down by air defence systems, the ministry said in a statement.

However, one of the missiles damaged two residential apartment blocks, it added, claiming it was deliberate.

Sky News is unable to verify the allegations.

There has been no immediate comment from Ukraine. 

The European Commission supports starting EU accession talks with Ukraine, the country's prime minister has said.

Denys Shmyhal said the commission had confirmed in a report that Kyiv had fulfilled the remaining steps required to start negotiations. 

"Now we expect our European partners to take the next step - to start negotiations on European Union membership this month," Mr Shmyhal said on Telegram. 

Earlier (7.43am post) we reported that the commission was reportedly ready to recommend that accession talks get underway.

It is part of an attempt to signal support for Kyiv before Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the EU next month, the Financial Times reported.

The EU announced earlier this year that it was sending an additional £42bn in aid to Ukraine - but only after  weeks of resistance from Hungary , which reportedly has concerns about minority rights in Ukraine. 

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French citizen arrested in Moscow on charges of collecting military data

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's top state criminal investigation agency on Thursday announced the arrest of a French citizen accused of collecting information on military issues, a move that comes as relations between Russia and France have grown increasingly tense over the fighting in Ukraine.

The arrest was announced just as France hosted world leaders on the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday. Russia wasn't invited.

Russia's Investigative Committee said the suspect, whom it didn't identify, is accused of failing to register with authorities as a foreign agent while collecting “information about military and military-technical activities of the Russian Federation.” It added that the information could be used to the detriment of the country's security.

Russia's state news agency Tass identified the arrested French citizen as Laurent Vinatier, an employee of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a Geneva-based nongovernment organization.

HD confirmed Vinatier's detention in a statement released to The Associated Press.

“We are aware that Laurent Vinatier, an adviser at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), has been detained in Russia,” it said. “We are working to get more details of the circumstances and to secure Laurent’s release.”

French President Emmanuel Macron told French television Thursday night that the French citizen was “in no way...working for France" and that he "works for a Swiss NGO founded by former UN chief Kofi Annan and which carries out diplomacy of working discussions.″

He is receiving consular protection, Macron said.

Vinatier's LinkedIn page, which describes him as a “conversationalist,” says he has worked for the center for over a decade and indicates that he has had a focus mostly on former Soviet republics, Turkey and the Middle East over the years.

Russia's Investigative Committee posted a video showing officers detaining the suspect at a cafe and driving him to the committee's Moscow offices for interrogation. The charges carry a penalty of up to five years in prison.

The arrest comes during a strain in Russian-French ties that followed French President Emmanuel Macron's statements about the possibility of deploying the country's troops in Ukraine .

Moscow has warned that French soldiers would be legitimate targets for Russia if they are sent to Ukraine.

The charges against the French citizen are based on a recently approved law that requires anyone who collects information on military issues to register with authorities as a foreign agent.

Human rights activists have criticized the law and other newly endorsed legislation as part of a multi-pronged Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists intended to muzzle criticism of its actions in Ukraine.

Arrests on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia since it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Recent high-profile arrests include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on espionage charges in March 2023, and U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was taken into custody in October 2023 for failing to register as a "foreign agent."

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

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