Travel Startups and Innovation News

PhocusWire's in-depth coverage of the startups in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry, featuring news, analysis, interviews, research and more.

Startups are a powerful force driving innovation across the travel industry—from AI-driven personalization and fintech solutions to next-gen mobility and booking platforms. PhocusWire delivers the most relevant travel startups and innovation news, spotlighting emerging companies that are rethinking the way people search, book, and experience travel.

Emerging travel startups and innovations driving the industry forward

Our coverage highlights breakthrough ideas, early-stage funding rounds, and strategic partnerships that bring fresh energy to the travel ecosystem. Whether it's reshaping trip planning, optimizing operations, or solving pain points across the journey, travel startups are challenging incumbents and building the future of travel with agility and purpose.

shank-sam-hoteltonight-startups-2
News / Startups
Sam Shank's advice for startups after HotelTonight's "f*cking crazy" ride
By Jill Menze | July 23, 2019
Speaking during Phocuswright’s Battleground event, the CEO shared how HotelTonight fought through its... Read More
travelperk-series-c-extra
News / Startups
TravelPerk completes Series C round with an additional $60M in funding
By Linda Fox | July 18, 2019
TravelPerk has raised about $134 million in three rounds since launching in 2015.... Read More
Pickyourtrail Tourism Australia partnership
News / Startups
Travel tech startup Pickyourtrail targets booming market of Indian travelers to Australia
By Mitra Sorrells | July 17, 2019
Indian travel planning startup Pickyourtrail is partnering with Tourism Australia to target the... Read More
India, part 2: Investors express optimism as travel market grows
News / Startups
India, part 2: Investors express optimism as travel market grows
By Mitra Sorrells | July 15, 2019
For the second piece in our series on India, we talk to some of the country's travel industry... Read More
Life House 100M real estate equity investment
News / Startups
Life House hotel chain and tech provider secures $100M investment
By Mitra Sorrells | July 12, 2019
Boston-based Blue Flag, an investment, real estate development and branding firm that has a collection... Read More
Startup Stage Tryps Tech
Interview / Startups
STARTUP STAGE: Tryps.Tech is digitizing tour and activity distribution for the Middle East
By Mitra Sorrells | July 12, 2019
Tryps.Tech is an online distributor of more than 14,000 tours, activities, attraction tickets, airport... Read More
startup stage spoton
Interview / Startups
STARTUP STAGE: SpotOn wants to make ride-hailing easy for pet owners
By Jill Menze | July 9, 2019
SpotOn is a pet-friendly ride-hailing service that matches animal owners with drivers to take the... Read More
startup-stage-setoo
Interview / Startups
STARTUP STAGE: Setoo wants to create love for travel insurance
By Linda Fox | July 5, 2019
The company's vision is to offer a B2B insurance service to online intermediaries so they build... Read More
cozycozy-funding
News / Startups
Cozycozy lands €4M in funding to launch accommodation search service
By Linda Fox | July 4, 2019
France-based accommodation startup Cozycozy is a metasearch for hotels, vacation rentals and other... Read More
ConnexPay 7 million series a
News / Startups
Travel payment startup ConnexPay raises $7M Series A round
By Mitra Sorrells | June 28, 2019
Travel payment solution provider ConnexPay has raised $7 million in a Series A round led by BIP... Read More
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