PROFILING THE INNOVATORS
WAYNABOX:ǞAn organisation that runs surprise trips around Europe, as well as surprise experiences in its clients’ own cities ŨďËŨǝĒİçĨŭíóǝďĺŨóĨƺǝíĒİİóśǝËİíǝæśóËĥĈËšŨǝĒİǝĈĺŭśǝËİíǝƛƂóǑšŨËśǝ hotels. More than 60 destinations are available, and users can select the number of travellers, dates and point of origin.
GROWPRO: TďĒšǞĈśóóǝŘĨËŨĈĺśįǝŘśĺƂĒíóšǝŭšóśšǝƃĒŨďǝ opportunities to study and work abroad. The GrowPro team provides advice to students who require it throughout their stays in international destinations ËİíǝĺśĉËİĒšóšǝƃóĨçĺįóǝšóššĒĺİšǝËİíǝĨĺçËĨǝóƂóİŨšƿǞ
HOTELSPEAKER: This startup has developed a platform capable of responding almost instantly to all online comments that customers publish about hotels they stay in, irrespective ĺĈǝǝĨËİĉŭËĉóƿǞTďóǝŘĨËŨĈĺśįǝŘŭæĨĒšďóšǝŨďóǝśóšŘĺİšóšǝËĈŨóśǝ ƂóśĒƛçËŨĒĺİǝæƉǝŨďóǝďĺŨóĨšǝŨĺǝśóĒİĈĺśçóǝæśËİíǝĒįËĉóƿ
THREE TO WATCH: TRAVEL TECH STARTUPS IN SPAIN Ǟ
Clockwise from top: Vueling; Renfe; Valencia
International Airlines Group’s main aims is to develop digital solutions to drive its digital transformation, alongside strategic programme Vueling Transform. The company’s tech team has
developed biometric boarding at Barcelona airport, chatbots to improve customer service and support models for network planning. Another notable step forward is
Vueling’s agreement with cryptocurrency ŘĨËŨĈĺśįǝ śĒŘŨËİǝŨĺǝĺƖóśǝçŭšŨĺįóśšǝ ŨďóǝƜóƈĒæĒĨĒŨƉǝĺĈǝŘËƉĒİĉǝĈĺśǝŨĒçĥóŨšǝ using cryptocurrencies and to explore non-fungible token (NFT) technology. One of Vueling’s disruptive
initiatives is to develop standards for interoperability between metaverses. This will enable operational processes and the exchange of information æóŨƃóóİǝíĒƖóśóİŨǝšƉšŨóįšƿǝ Ferry In April, shipping company Baleària successfully completed the inaugural sea trials of the Cap de Barbaria,ǝSŘËĒİǛšǝƛśšŨǝËĨĨǑóĨóçŨśĒçǝ passenger and cargo ferry. Now operational, Cap de Barbaria
connects Ibiza and Formentera. Its electric propulsion system and advanced lithium batteries mean navigation and
port stays are emission-free, and it has up to 12 hours of autonomy while in port. The vessel’s power plant has an
intelligent management system íóšĒĉİóíǝŨĺǝĺŘŨĒįĒšóǝóƗçĒóİçƉǝËİíǝ minimise emissions during approach, manoeuvring, mooring and port stays.
HOSPITALITY INITIATIVES
In April, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts announced that the Iberostar Cristina hotel in Majorca is now a 100% electric, emission-free facility. The hotel is partly powered by
photovoltaic energy, and uses induction hobs and electric dryers instead of gas in the kitchens and laundry rooms. bóËİƃďĒĨóƺǝŨďóǝƛśįǝďËšǝśóŘĨËçóíǝŨďóǝ natural gas boilers with heat pumps. In June, Meliá Hotels International,
Cetaqua, IDP and Aquatec introduced Magnum, a project to develop a pilot tool to tackle sustainable water management in the tourism sector. Magnum will use digitalisation as
well as water footprint and behavioural analysis technologies to develop ‘digital twins’ of Meliá’s two hotels and their water infrastructures. These virtual replicas will enable Meliá to remotely monitor and analyse data in real-time
to optimise water consumption, detect anomalies and identify areas where it can improve sustainable water use.
PRIVATE SECTOR
Mabrian: The Barcelona-based business intelligence solutions and services provider has developed a technology to help clients make data-driven decisions in 40 countries around the world. ForwardKeys: This data and business intelligence company powered by AI is part of the Data Space for Tourism Project, an EU initiative to provide a single market for tourism data. The ƛśįǝĒšǝďóËíŚŭËśŨóśóíǝĒİǝ·ËĨóİçĒËǝ so it can be aligned with the city at the forefront of tech innovation. Hotelbeds: The bed bank hopes to foster innovations through partnerships with like-minded organisations, such as Wayra and New York University. Its TravelTech Lab collaborates with startups to discover technological šĺĨŭŨĒĺİšǝŨďËŨǝçĺŭĨíǝśóíóƛİóǝďĺƃǝ travellers connect, move and explore. eDreams ODIGEOƹǝTďóǝĨËśĉóšŨǝĺİĨĒİóǝ travel group in Europe is based in Spain and listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange. It has tech hubs in cities including Barcelona and Madrid.
TRAVOLUTION.COM — OCTOBER 2023 — 25
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