Edition #59, April 21

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Dear ,

It’s amazing what a few days by the sea, with sunshine and blue skies can do to us. Ah… I’m fully energised to be back at work with our weekly emails, especially after receiving some good insights and feedback from some readers on the content I write in this newsletter - thank you! I’m hoping to keep this lighter mode for the upcoming weeks, too.

And now, let’s dive straight into your weekly roundup of news on innovation, trends and travel startups.

• Recent data shows that 8 out of the 10 busiest airports in the world in 2021 were located in the US. On the top of the list is Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International, with 75,704,760 passengers passing through the airport last year.

• A group of people travelling together to celebrate a soon-to-be-married friend can be an interesting audience to target when growing a business. I’m sure the group of investors behind the $8 million raised by Bach would agree. The app was launched in 2020 and is designed for helping users plan bachelorette trips with their friends from start to finish. For now, Bach offers experiences that can be booked in 10 different locations, all of them in the US.

• Another business focusing on group travel trips is Groups360, which landed $35 million earlier this month. The platform, which provides real-time availability and instant booking capabilities for hotel room blocks and meeting space, will use the money to expand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, plus the Asia Pacific region.

• By the end of this year, Sonder plans to completely eliminate single-use plastic amenities in their guest units worldwide. Nice!

• Radisson is freshening up some of their concepts with design strategies that are well-suited to meet the needs of travellers as the world emerges from the pandemic. They just announced a new brand which is targeting gamers and influencers. In what they are calling “Creative Content Studio” you can expect big screens, gaming chairs, hyper-fast internet connection and some cafe-like lobby spaces.

• While many talk about this Summer being the one in which the industry experiences a very high demand and makes a comeback, there is also lots being said about how chaotic things can get for travellers when they try to reach their relaxing holiday destination. CNN wrote an eye-opening piece about what some are expecting for this Summer.

• Two news wrapped-up in one: The Dutch startup Campspace raised €3 million and acquired their German competitor, Pop-up Camps. Since the pandemic, nature-based and sustainable-focused travel choices have been one of the standout trends in the travel industry, and this also reflects in the growth of startups focusing on the sector. Bravo!

• The “affordable luxury for the people” startup citizenM has launched an innovative loyalty program for the hospitality industry. To put it simple: instead of earning points to reach a certain status level, their program perks are unlocked with a monthly fee. And they keep growing: citizenM will be opening six new locations in 2022 and five more in 2023.

• Nature plays a big part in the outdoor activities that people can experience while travelling across Europe. From world-famous mountains to the most beautiful beaches and vast forests, the landscape is breathtaking and attracts a variety of travellers. But how can tourism experiences be designed to protect biodiverse ecosystems with space technologies? On the weekend of May 12-14, at CASSINI Hackathons you can join innovators from different locations to see how solutions for challenges like this one can be developed. Join now!

See you next week,Ana

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The content of this newsletter is curated and published by Ana Metz, innovation expert, passionate about technology and excited about the future of travel.

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