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"Germany wants to travel! Early bookers are back and travel agencies and tour operators have started this year at full steam,"
explained Norbert Fiebig, President of the German Travel Association (DRV), at the ITB travel trade fair in March. The reason for the good mood were the positive figures that made the tourism industry forget the Corona crisis: January 2023 – traditionally the strongest month for bookings of the year – surpassed not only the previous year, but also January 2019. According to data from the industry service Travel Data + Analytics, the total value of bookings was 3 billion euros, and thus 12 percent above the value of 2019. February then continued with a Plus of 22 percent continued the positive trend. Further positive news followed at the end of April, when the cumulative sales for the summer season exceeded the 2019 level.
The travel industry has now finally recovered from the pandemic, albeit somewhat later than investors had hoped. After a near standstill in 2020 – a year in which only €69 million flowed into Munich-based travel startups – investors were already very active again in 2021. This year, they provided a total of €350 million to start-up teams in the tourism industry. In 2022, the amount then fell back to €138 million.
Munich travel startups and their platforms
The startup Flyla However, the company was unable to benefit from this generosity. Founded in 2016, the company offers students and young people exclusive, affordable last-minute flight tickets on its platform. However, the portal was temporarily shut down in 2020 due to the pandemic. Flyla only became active again last year, thus missing the peak period for investments in travel startups in 2021. Even so, the startup's user numbers are rising again. We explain exactly how Flyla works and what the founders have been doing during the hiatus starting at minute 5:45.
Faircations in turn, only launched in 2021. The startup offers vacationers sustainable trips from a variety of providers, which can be booked through the platform. Faircations isn't just about meeting a growing demand for such trips. The startup also wants to demonstrate that even a normal beach vacation in Mallorca can be sustainable. We present the strict sustainability criteria that the founders apply with their Sustainability Board starting at minute 8:15.
Wellness trip or camping holiday?
Traveler Travador, in turn, focuses on hand-picked short and wellness trips. Founded in 2013, the company aims to differentiate itself from its competitors in this highly competitive market through good value for money and excellent customer service. Founded by Groupon co-founders Sebastian Schmidt and Thorsten Schröppe, Travador has undergone several changes in its ten years of existence, which we report on starting at minute 11:40.
Another special type of holiday, namely camping and caravanning, has Roadsurfer (from minute 15:30). The startup operates a fleet of over 5,000 camper vans from various manufacturers, which customers can rent via the online platform. The vans are then picked up and returned at one of the numerous stations that the startup now operates in 12 countries. With additional offerings such as the sale of used vehicles, the option of long-term rentals, and a booking platform for individual and private parking spaces, Roadsurfer aims to further enhance the vacation experience for travelers.
Iris Capital Management under the microscope
To conclude this episode we take the French VC iris under the microscope (from minute 19:00). Iris Capital Management is headquartered in Paris, with offices in Berlin and Munich. The investor, which has a broad focus on enterprise technology and cloud, Industry 4.0 and supply chains, fintech and insurtech, e-commerce, and sustainability, invests from the seed stage to growth capital.
