Virtuoso has selected five promising travel technology companies to take part in its Incubator program for 2017. Virtuoso Incubator, the industry’s first formal program focused on nurturing tech solutions specifically for travel advisors, researches emerging companies, then helps them refine and iterate their product.
Over 60 companies submitted applications. The strong interest is indicative of a continuously growing travel technology sector, which saw corporate investment deals reach a five-year high of $3 billion in 2016.
Incubator companies receive input from Virtuoso advisors who test the product and suggest improvements so it will better serve the needs of agencies, consultants and clients. Each company receives a dedicated panel composed of Virtuoso advisors, composed of over 60 volunteers and a member of Virtuoso’s Technology Committee. The Technology Committee also assists with vetting applicants and approving the companies that are offered Virtuoso preferred partner status.
This year’s participants are:
- Approach Guides: Its Trip Reads destination content service, with inspirational and thought-provoking videos, articles, books and podcasts, highlights cultural aspects of places around the world.
- TravelContact (formerly Alanna): A CRM technology that includes a client and provider database, an email and newsletter marketing platform, smart multichannel communication, a beginning-to-end trip builder, an interactive client portal, and a dashboard to view daily tasks.
- Tagible: Software that extracts keywords, making the words interactive and overlaying curated content such as YouTube, Google Maps and Pinterest. It can potentially drive engagement and increase conversion rate and session lengths by keeping visitors on the agency’s website.
- tripFiles: A private social network where travelers can store all their videos and photos and safely share trips—all at no charge.
- Xlpr VR: An app-based VR platform tailored for the travel industry. It guides users on an immersive journey to a destination, leading to potentially increased sales, conversion rates, and foot traffic.
Virtuoso Incubator has a partnership with Phocuswright, who is referring innovative travel technology startups to the program, and sharing its research into the sector with Virtuoso as well as attendees at its exclusive network events.
Interested companies can contact the program at incubator@virtuoso.com.