December 29, 2016 TnH Global

FICCI launches India’s travel startup launchpad

“Travel Tech Launchpad” will be a platform that encourages innovation and growth of travel startups during the second edition of FICCI’s flagship event titled “Digital Travel, Hospitality and Innovation Summit” scheduled to be held on March 22-23, 2017 in New Delhi.

As part of its mandate to further enhance India’s digital drive in the travel and tourism industry the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) launches its maiden initiative aimed at travel start-ups. “Travel Tech Launchpad” will be a platform that encourages innovation and growth of travel startups during the second edition of FICCI’s flagship event titled “Digital Travel, Hospitality and Innovation Summit” scheduled to be held on March 22-23, 2017 in New Delhi.

Over the last few decades, FICCI has consistently spearheaded the strengthening of travel and tourism ecosystem. The organization recognizes the need to leverage technology and plays the role of a catalyst that encourages evolution in the business of travel. FICCI has developed the summit content to enhance the potency of travel start-ups, digital tourism and IT-based infrastructure development for the travel and hospitality sector.

The Summit will offer an opportunity for travel startups to learn from experts in the field of travel, exhibit their business ideas, and display their products & services in addition to providing a unique opportunity to connect with right set of ecosystem partners. A number of travel startups, hospitality and technology companies from across India and abroad will gather during the summit in addition to the participation of leading investors such as Sequoia, Inventus Capital, Kae Capital and several angel / venture capital firms.

Travel & tourism carries a tremendous potential that is acknowledged as essential for the future of India’s travel sector. The Indian travel & tourism industry has been growing steadily and needs to be explored with new innovations. The sector’s direct contribution to GDP is expected to grow by 7.2 per cent per annum during 2015–25, as per IBEF. The tourism sector has witnessed investments worth $42.9bn in 2015 and is expected to attract $132.9bn by 2025.

Travel Tech Launchpad 2017 is being organized by FICCI in association with Agnitio Consulting LLP, Nucleus Partners, TravHQ Media and Charson Advisory. “FICCI is launching The Travel Tech Launch pad with an objective to encourage entrepreneurship and technology innovation in the field of Travel & Hospitality” – Rahul Chakravarty, Director and Head – Tourism, FICCI.

“The next generation of Startups should embrace and incubate in the existing travel eco system to not only make an impact, but also help innovate the landscape around us” – Ashish Kumar, Managing Partner at Agnitio Consulting LLP, a travel advisory firm. “There is an ample scope for innovation in Travel space in India; on customer side (trip planning, deal discovery, ancillary services, payments), Distribution (NDC Technology, effective properties / services management), Operations (integrated internal systems, automated processes). There is a good opportunity for Startups to effectively work in these areas and several others with out-of-the-box thinking, effective use of emerging technologies, and robust execution” – Abhishek Vaish, Director, Nucleus Partners, a financial advisory firm.

Travel startups have played a significant role in driving the industry forward with their aggressive approach and innovative solutions tailored to the local market conditions. According to TravHQ’s recent research, in 2015, over USD 1.4 billion of travel startup investments were reported in India – Daksh Sharma, Managing Partner, TravHQ, a travel-tech media firm

“India’s travel and tourism sector is a highly competitive industry; innovation with technology, customer service and prudent fiscal management must go hand in hand with a well-defined image & brand strategy that is inculcated at an early stage.” Carl Vaz, CEO, Charson Advisory, an image & brand management agency.