Your weekly travel news, simplified.

Hi there,

First thing I did when I got to the office today was check out how many applications we got for our Pitch Competition. It’s my goal to see more applications roll in each year, and guess what? We did it! 🎉

Super excited to see so many founders working on innovative travel and tourism solutions.

If you applied, keep an eye out for an email from us soon with the next steps.

And hey, if pitching isn’t your thing, no worries - we’ve just added a fantastic new speaker to the lineup! 🙌

Happy to share that Tino Klähne is back speaking at the FutureTravel Summit! For his third time, Tino and his team at Lufthansa Innovation Hub are the go-to experts for spotting and analyzing industry trends. We couldn't ask for a better person to kick off the event and set the stage for great discussions ahead, right? :)

And now… I've rounded up the best travel stories this week, so you don't have to. Here we go:

Insuring your trip, one app at a time. Faye, the travel insurance startup, raised $31 million in Series B funding. Their app is a one-stop-shop for travel insurance, offering instant claim payouts, 24/7 support, and travel-related financial solutions.

When market dominance turns sour. Spanish regulators have fined Booking.com €413.24 million for allegedly exploiting its market dominance by imposing unfair conditions on hotels and stifling competition. Booking plans to appeal, emphasizing that these issues should be addressed at the EU level through the Digital Market Act.

Cutting jobs and boosting profit. Deutsche Bahn plans to cut 30,000 jobs over the next five years after reporting a €1.2 billion loss for the first half of 2024. Blaming infrastructure issues, strikes, and severe weather, DB is pushing for a turnaround with modernisation and cost-saving strategies, aiming for a €1 billion profit by year-end. Despite setbacks, passenger numbers are rebounding and DB expects to generate €1 billion operating profit for 2024.

Africa’s best PR playbook. Tech Safari recently highlighted Rwanda's bold "Visit Rwanda" campaign. After investing $40 million in sponsoring Arsenal's shirts, Rwanda has seen a surge in tourism and business. The campaign, which includes football sponsorships and MICE events, has led to $620 million in tourism revenue and 1.4 million tourists last year. DMOs, take note :)

Making the most of local stuff. Cardiff-based travel platform Lovetovisit raised €3.8 million to boost their local tourism platform. Founded by twin sisters Georgia and Alice Aubrey, this travel site makes it easy to find and book local attractions and events. The funds will support UK operations and international growth, enhance its AI capabilities and with the ambitious goal to double growth anually for the next three years.

Better deals ahead. Trivago has acquired a 30% stake in Holisto, an AI-driven hotel rate aggregator, for $10 million with an option to purchase the remaining 70% within 15 months. This partnership aims to enhance Trivago's "Book & Go" service, offering users smoother booking experiences, better hotel rates, and improved conversion rates. For Holisto, this means a significant boost in market presence and technology growth.

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.

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