Travel, tourism and hospitality is in a tough spot as it reaches the final few months of a devastating year.
Airlines, hotels and other product suppliers are trying their best to restart operations, as countries open or close borders or restrict movement.
Realistic forecasts of the sector suggest that it will be at least another 12 months before there is any sense of returning to 2019 levels of volumes in leisure travel. As well, business travel may have a very different future ahead of it.
Traditionally, PhocusWire has marked the beginning of The Phocuswright Conference every November with the release of our annual Hot 25 Startups (read about the 2019 and 2020 collections here and here respectively).
Over the course of this summer, we considered whether it seemed appropriate or worthwhile to create a list of new businesses to watch during the forthcoming year.
We didn't need to mull this question for too long.
In the midst of the nervousness for the future that many businesses face, these startups deserve to be highlighted in our next Hot 25 Startups list.
The wheels of the industry keep on turning and many new companies are doing their best to either assist in recovery with their services or are well-positioned to capitalize on recovery in their market or region.
In short: Our Hot 25 this year is a collection of companies that have survived the onset of the global pandemic and that can, as equally important, thrive in 2021.
The criteria that we've used from previous years are still relevant, despite the unusual circumstances the industry finds itself in: ability to grow customer base and expand geographically, product innovation and quality of the leadership team.
All the companies featured in this year's list were created in the last five years.
The 2021 collection, produced with the support of our partner Salesforce, is listed below. Click on the company name for details about each startup and how they plan to tackle the next 12 months.
* We would like to thank our teams for their help with compiling the 2021 list, especially PhocusWire's senior reporter Mitra Sorrells and Mike Coletta, manager for research and innovation at Phocuswright.
The Hot 25 Startups 2021 collection is brought to you by Salesforce
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