- FutureTravel
- Posts
- Rethinking tourism: rewards for good behavior
Rethinking tourism: rewards for good behavior
who gets the best of the city?
Hi there,
I have this habit of saving things: screenshots, quotes, links buried in press releases. Small stuff that might not make headlines, but say something about where the industry might be heading.
I keep them, stored and organize, revisit them, and try to connect the dots… to make sense of the changes here and there. I love doing it, especially together with our clients.
This week was a good one for that. Fewer startup announcements, and some interesting stuff from destinations and brands trying new things: loyalty tied to values, tourism designed for participation, brands stepping back from overcrowded fame.
It all raises the same question: what kind of tourism do we actually want to bring forward?
In the second edition of The Tourism We Want, we spotlight CopenPay: a city-wide program that rewards tourists for low-impact choices like cycling, using public transport, or staying in eco-certified hotels. As a payoff, they get real access to kayak tours, museum entries, and curated cultural experiences.
What I love about it is the whole thinking behind the system: visitors earn rewards based on what they do. So the more their choices reflect local priorities, the more they unlock. It’s a system that gently invites people to engage more intentionally with a place.
Launched just last year, the program has already scaled across more venues and longer timeframes.
Funding Spotlight
Hull-based Candid Hospitality raised over €915k to expand its anonymous recruitment platform for bars, pubs, and restaurants. Built around values-based matching, the tool connects talent and employers based on culture, skills, and pay expectations, without traditional CVs or open job listings.
It’s not strictly travel buuuut still relevant to anyone watching how hospitality teams are built. Especially as talent continues to be a top pressure point for the wider industry.
Also on our radar:
🇺🇸 Canary Technologies raises €43M Series D to expand its guest experience platform across hotel groups.
🇫🇷 Expliseat lands €36M to scale its ultra-light hardware seating technology for aviation, rail, and auto.
PITCH COMPETITION
If you’re building something new in travel and haven’t applied yet, consider this your reminder. 👀
You can still in time to apply to this year’s FutureTravel Pitch Competition, until June 29th
The competition is carefully designed for those who need visibility, support, and smart connections. The winner gets a prize package worth over €350,000, curated specifically for early-stage teams.
We’ll select 10 startups to pitch live on October 30, in Barcelona, as part of this year’s FutureTravel Summit. It’s one of my favorite parts of the event :)
INSIGHTS
✈️ An airline opens a restaurant
If the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “airplane food” is chicken or pasta?, Air France might surprise you. The airline is launching a pop-up restaurant at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, featuring dishes by Michelin-starred chefs and its own onboard culinary team.
🇬🇷 Greece beyond tourism
Greece has been working to position itself as more than just a holiday destination. Now, it's launching a rewards program for remote workers (👋, digital nomads), offering perks like museum entries, cultural passes, and discounts on coffee and coworking. The strategy is to turn guests into long-term advocates, and reposition Greece as a place to stay, contribute, and connect year-round.
🎧 Spotify climbs aboard United’s inflight entertainment
As onboard experiences evolve and media and travel continue to blur, United passengers now have access to Spotify-curated playlists, audiobooks, and podcasts during their flight.
🧭 Evaneos reframes what travel is for
Evaneos is going beyond typical bookings this Summer. They’ve removed Santorini and Mykonos from their offering to address overtourism. As part of a broader repositioning, their latest campaign shifts the focus from popularity to purpose. Evaneos is challenging their clients to rethink what a meaningful trip actually looks like.
In 3 years, what will travel companies regret NOT doing today? |
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. |  |