The FutureTravel Summit 2024, held on November 28th in Barcelona, was a spectacular gathering of innovation in the travel and hospitality sector. With over 400 attendees, 20+ speakers, and a dynamic lineup of activities, the event once again lived up to its reputation as the premiere stage for exploring the latest trends and innovation in the travel sector.
Startups, innovators, investors, and executives came together to discuss the future of travel and spotlight the brightest minds driving change in the industry.
At the heart of this year’s summit was the FutureTravel Pitch Competition, a showcase of 8 startups chosen to present their visions for transforming the travel industry. After consideration by the judging panel, Belli, a next-generation air cargo software for airlines, was announced as the winner.
Finding the world’s hottest travel startup
The pitch competition provides startups with an opportunity to showcase their ideas in front of an engaged audience and judges. This year’s finalists represented a wide range of sectors within travel, from sustainability and hospitality to logistics and automation. The competition exemplified the summit’s core mission: to spotlight those actively shaping the industry’s future.
While Belli won out, the other finalists also deserve recognition for their creativity and passion. The FutureTravel Summit is proud to provide a platform for these startups to share their ideas and connect with the people who can help turn their visions into reality.
- Boatscribe: Founded in 2023, Boatscribe is a yacht rental comparison platform based in Ukraine and Greece. The platform allows travelers to compare and choose verified yacht charter offers from multiple websites in real time, saving time and money. Boatscribe provides transparent descriptions, availability, and final prices without hidden fees, directing customers to the official charter company websites for booking.
- GetYourVisa: Based in Germany and the Philippines, GetYourVisa simplifies global visa applications powered by AI for a stress-free visa experience. The app simplifies the process by avoiding confusing government websites, automating document extraction, pre-filling forms, and pre-verifying applications to boost approval rates. It also saves visa information for future use and generates essential travel documents.
- Hands In: Established in London, Hands In is a payment solution that seamlessly splits transactions across multiple cards and multiple people, overcoming credit limits. Perfect for long-haul flights, pricey tickets, and group holidays, it reduces payment declines, enhances booking and improves the customer experience.
- Holiwise: A London-based project founded in 2024, Holiwise streamlines group trips using AI and machine learning. It offers personalized itineraries based on your budget and preferences, with custom recommendations and real-time collaboration tools. Groups can explore destinations, flights, accommodations and activities, all with booking details in one place.
- Inspirational Adventures: Settled in the UK since 2021, Inspirational Adventures enhances travel for both travelers and tour operators. It’s an all-in-one marketplace, optimised for all devices, that helps travelers plan and discover adventures while boosting tour operator conversions with secure, reviewed options. Travelers can follow guides and build their bucket lists confidently.
- SwiftON: From Spain, SwiftON is an innovative and smart IoT device designed to encourage water conservation by promoting shorter showers in hotels and other tourist accommodations. Using AI and machine learning, SwiftON offers smart solutions, like gamified challenges to optimize water use and delivers real-time data to hotel managers through dashboards.
- TRAPI: Set up in 2024 in the UK, TRAPI simplifies tech complexities by offering a connected travel ecosystem that enhances user experiences. TRAPI is an AI-powered marketplace that enables travel sellers to integrate with travel-related APIs in under an hour, at a fraction of the cost, enhancing the user experience for their customers.
The jury and the prize
The FutureTravel Summit 2024 Pitch Competition brought together a prominent panel of judges, each representing years of experience in fostering innovation and scaling startups in the travel and hospitality sectors. These experts evaluated the pitches with a focus on innovation, market potential, and industry impact.
Meet the judges:
- Bobby Demri – ROCH Ventures
- Jose Gaytan de Ayala– Kinnevik
- Suzanna Chiu – Amadeus Ventures
- Virginia Bassano – Eight Roads Ventures
The winner of the FutureTravel Pitch Competition didn’t just receive recognition; they were awarded a robust prize package. Valued at €330k, the package includes:
- Google Cloud Credits: Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits, including 1 year of free Google Workspace for new signups in the Startup Program, fast-tracked support from a dedicated Startup Success Manager at Google, technical support, and co-marketing.
- Simpleshow Enterprise License: €9.9k in credits for an explainer video maker account of simpleshow. This enterprise license corresponds to 1 year and includes up to 5 users, and it contains all customization features and access to all the assets on the platform.
- EU-Startups Summit 2025 Booth: €2k worth Exhibition Booth at the EU-Startups Summit 2025 including 3 event tickets.
- SEMrush Guru Plan: €2.2k in 1 year Guru Plan for SEMrush which gives you access to their SEO and online visibility management SaaS platform.
- Media Exposure: A mention in the FutureTravel Newsletter and dedicated features on EU-Startups.com, amplifying the winner’s visibility across key industry audiences.
About the winner
Headquartered in Singapore and Spain, Belli aims to revolutionise the air cargo industry. Designed to digitise and automate airlines’ air cargo operations, Belli’s software offers an alternative to traditional manual workflows and outdated systems like spreadsheets. By optimising cargo management processes, Belli enables airlines to increase revenue, improve efficiency, and focus on strategic growth. Jeff Pan, pictured above, is the Co-founder and CEO. Formerly the Chief Product Officer for AirAsia Cargo, he has also worked on aviation logistics platforms for SpaceX, consulted for airlines with McKinsey & Company, and built API connectivity for Booking.com. Jeff’s entrepreneurial spirit is evident in his history of founding and selling three startups.
The impact of the FutureTravel Summit
The FutureTravel Summit continues to solidify its place as a must-attend event for anyone interested in the future of travel. This year’s edition not only showcased the latest trends but also fostered meaningful conversations about the challenges and opportunities ahead. Attendees left with fresh insights, new connections, and a deeper appreciation for the innovators shaping the travel landscape.
In addition to the pitch competition, the summit featured engaging panel discussions, thought-provoking keynote speeches, and ample networking opportunities. Topics ranged from sustainable tourism and the role of AI in travel to strategies for adapting to post-pandemic shifts in consumer behaviour.
Once again, congratulations to Belli, the winner of this year’s pitch competition, and thank you to all the participants and attendees who made the summit a resounding success.
Here’s to shaping the future of travel, one innovation at a time.
Made possible by sponsors
Airwallex is a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance. With their proprietary infrastructure, Airwallex takes the friction out of global payments and financial operations, empowering businesses of all sizes to unlock new opportunities and grow beyond borders. Proudly founded in Melbourne, Airwallex supports over 100,000 businesses globally and is trusted by brands such as Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more.
Amadeus’ solutions connect travellers to the journeys they want through travel agents, search engines, tour operators, airlines, airports, hotels, cars and railways. Amadeus helps connect over 1.6 billion people a year to local travel providers in over 190 countries. They are a company with a global mindset and a local presence wherever their customers need them. Their purpose is to shape the future of travel. They are passionate in their pursuit of better technology that makes better journeys.
Emburse provides innovative travel and expense management solutions trusted by over 12 million professionals worldwide. Serving 20,000 organizations in 120 countries, we help Global 2000 companies, SMBs, public agencies, and nonprofits streamline travel planning, booking, and expense management. Our automated, mobile-first solutions eliminate manual processes, saving time, enhancing financial visibility, and improving spend control and compliance. This enables organizations to optimise business travel, empowering their teams to focus on delivering meaningful value.
Scalapay is revolutionizing the travel industry with its innovative Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions. As a leading player in Southern Europe, Scalapay empowers travelers to book experiences, trips, and accommodations with flexible payment options, driving higher conversion rates for travel brands. Their seamless integration allows partners to offer a stress-free way for customers to enjoy travel today and pay over time, enhancing both customer satisfaction and business growth. Scalapay’s community of 7 millions users is a precious opportunity for every travel company to meet their target audiences.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/11/meet-belli-the-winner-of-the-future-travel-summit-2024-pitch-competition/
