Travel Start-up Night

Exciting finale in Munich

The die is cast: The Augsburg-based company Avanera is the start-up of the year! The expert jury and participants of the Travel Start-up Night final evening of the Travel Industry Club (TIC) and the German Travel Industry Association (VIR) found it visibly difficult to decide between the young founders and their innovative business ideas for the tourism industry. In the end, Avanera won the race with its newly developed software that combines sustainability and profitability in hotels. Wependio followed in second place with its all-in-one AI travel app, which can already be used to book over two million accommodations and experiences. The sharing economy platform Alpaca Camping was close behind in third place. The young company has already been able to arrange over 100,000 overnight stays on special and natural camping pitches.

"Start-up companies are the drivers of innovation for the tourism industry. It is therefore important that the industry gives them space and promotes cooperation and exchange. With this format, we are bringing the industry and the start-up scene together," emphasized Markus Tressel, President of the TIC, in his welcoming speech. Around 100 guests accepted the invitation to the premises of Touristik Vertriebsgesellschaft (TVG) in Munich and showed great interest in the business ideas of the finalists.

VIR Board Member Michael Buller summarized their path to the final round once again: 40 start-up founders had applied for this year's four Travel Start-up Nights organized by TIC and VIR in the cities of Stuttgart, Cologne, Munich and Zurich. Five participants each had the opportunity to present their entrepreneurial vision for the industry. All of the first-place winners in the preliminary rounds and the two best runners-up now went through to the grand final in Munich.

"It is important that we give young entrepreneurs and their innovative business models a stage," emphasized Michael Buller.
This year there was a winner's package worth a total of 100,000 euros, more than ever before, which was made possible by the numerous sponsors. The package includes valuable services specifically geared towards start-ups - including consultations and coaching, media presence and interviews, event tickets, association memberships, hotel and car rental vouchers and trade fair appearances.
The finalists were judged by a high-caliber jury of 15 experts from the tourism industry. Their verdict was based on the criteria of innovative strength, business model, USP, relevance in the industry and founder/team. 80 percent of the assessment was made by the jury, with the remaining 20 percent coming from the public vote on site.
Read more about the three winners in the January issue of CC VIP.

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