ITB Berlin

Meeting place for start-ups – the eTravel Start-up Day offers newly formed companies a platform to present their innovative business models

On Friday, 9 March 2018 the eTravel Start-up Day will be taking place for the first time, providing newly formed companies with a platform at the World's Leading Travel Trade Show®. On the same day start-ups from Europe, America and Asia will come together on the eTravel Stage in Hall 6.1. The new digital community will be presenting its travel technology innovations at a start-up competition and several sessions.

The Start-up Day will kick off with an introductory speech, followed by a session on 'How start-ups and travel innovation are redefining the Chinese market'. Company founders will discuss their future in one of the world's fastest growing travel markets. Afterwards, French start-ups will present their innovations. The latest edition of the Start-up Pitch powered by Phocuswright promises to be an exciting event. Four international start-ups will compete for top spot, closely scrutinised by the jury members, the so-called 'dragons'. Taking as their slogan 'Fun & Technology', seven innovative Spanish start-ups will give a brief summary to the international audience on how one of the world's most popular travel destinations is coping with the challenges facing the industry.

In the afternoon visitors can look forward to two highlights, the Early Stage Start-up Panel and the GetYourGuide Panel, all about German start-ups. The German Start-up Panel and Start-up Cluster powered by VIR (Verband Internet Reisevertrieb) will open a double session at the eTravel Start-up Day. The moderators will be Michael Buller, chairman of the VIR, and Axel Jockwer, a start-up coach and digital expert, who will also be the host for the day. After a brief introductory speech there will be a round introducing start-up ideas currently established on the market, followed by a panel discussion. Immediately afterwards Johannes Reck, CEO of GetYourGuide, and other globally expanding leading start-ups will talk about the latest trends and give their forecast on travel technology innovations. At the subsequent networking event on the eTravel Stage all participants will have an opportunity to meet and exchange views.

"Internet search engines, travel apps, data goggles for a virtual holiday experience – digitalisation has had a massive impact on the tourism business. Small, innovative and pioneering companies are among the biggest innovators in the travel technology market. ITB Berlin took the important step of bringing all the players together on a single day to enable experts, investors and trade visitors to engage with a variety of start-ups pursuing different approaches and business models", said David Ruetz, head of ITB Berlin.

Start-ups will be showcasing their innovations everywhere in the eTravel World at ITB Berlin. On Wednesday, 7 and Thursday, 8 March 2018presentations will take place honouring the winners of various competitions from Germany and abroad, among them Myhotel.com, Conichi and Bookingkit. For more information please visit: www.itb-berlin.com/etravel.

About ITB Berlin and the ITB Berlin Convention

ITB Berlin 2024 will take place from Tuesday, 5 to Thursday, 7 March. Since 1966, ITB Berlin has been the World's Leading Travel Trade Show. As in previous years, the internationally acclaimed ITB Berlin Convention will take place parallel with the show as a live event on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. Under the heading "Pioneer the Transition in Travel & Tourism. Together.", leading speakers from business, science and politics will discuss the industry's current and future challenges on 4 stages with a total of 17 themed tracks and more than 24,000 attendees. Additional information is available at www.itb.com and from the ITB Newsroom and social media.

Emanuel Höger
Press Spokesman and Press and Public Relations Director, Corporate Communication - Messe Berlin Group
+49 30 3038-2270
Messe Berlin GmbH

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