Hi {{ first name | there }},
One of the best (and hardest) parts of what I do is putting together the FutureTravel Summit agenda. And now, here it is.
Behind the scenes, it’s been moooonths of curating, editing, and connecting dots across travel, hospitality, mobility, and of course the tech + innovation driving it all. All of that so you can expect insights from some of the most brilliant minds in travel innovation right now.
We’ll probably add a few updates in the coming weeks. But for now, this is it: the starting point for what I hope will be our best conversations yet. ✨
and hey - you can use the code AGENDA-DAY for a nice discount on your tickets. Active until Monday, Sept. 22.
TOGETHER WITH NUITÉE
Not long ago, building in travel meant contracts, integrations, and months of development.
Now, with AI and a few lines of code, you’re live with 2.4M+ hotels. That’s the power of liteAPI - and it’s at the heart of the Travel-Lite Hackathon, co-hosted by Nuitée and Google.
The challenge: reimagine how we search, browse, and book travel.
The winners will receive:
🏆1st place: €10k + a weekend getaway
🏆2nd place: €5k + a weekend getaway
🏆3rd place: €3k + a weekend getaway
Funding Spotlight 💸
🇫🇷 Alltheway raised €3.5M in seed funding to expand its “luggage operating system,” working with airlines, rail, and urban mobility partners to streamline baggage handling for both travelers and operators.
🇬🇧 Nory secured $37M Series B to scale its AI-powered hospitality management platform, helping restaurants cut costs and grow more efficiently.
🇨🇦 Lake.com landed $2.6M pre-seed for its vacation rental discovery platform, with a niche focus on lakeside homes and cabins.
OTHER STORIES
🦁 Uber Safari launched in Nairobi, where users can now book wildlife tours straight from the app. It’s both a tourism twist and a transport test. And yes, it made a lot of industry folks look twice 👀 Read more
🌏 Trip.com + Traveloka are joining forces on attractions and tours across Asia, boosting their reach in the fast-growing experiences market. Read more
🛂 Lufthansa + Amadeus are rolling out a digital ID wallet across the EU, aiming to make passenger verification faster and more seamless. Read more
🌐 TourRadar launched AI Discovery, plugging into ChatGPT, Perplexity, Instagram, and more to help travelers find and book adventures through conversational and content-driven channels. Read more
✈️ Oneworld Alliance is creating a SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) investment fund to accelerate adoption across member airlines. Read more
Before checking out
Not funding rounds. Not product launches. Not deals. Just things we saw this week that made us think twice…
🧲 Where B2B traveltech is heading
Nauta Capital shares an investor-lens take on one of our favorite topics: opportunities in B2B traveltech, and why the next breakout players may not look like today’s big names.
🕶️ A glimpse of smart glasses travel
Meta and Ray-Ban’s leaked ad shows AI-powered glasses overlaying digital context onto real-world views. Big shift on how we interact with spaces around us.
See you next week,
Ana
Thank you for reading until the end.
The content of this newsletter is curated and published by Ana Metz, an innovation expert, passionate about technology and excited about the future of travel.
Looking for a space to promote your business or service for more than 26k subscribers? Let’s talk.
FutureTravel is a weekly newsletter about the future of travel, featuring the most exciting news about innovation, trends and startups in the industry.
