Strong investment in traveltech companies and a thriving startup scene reveal traveltech is key to meeting the challenges facing the travel sector, 根据一份新的报告.
的 Traveltech报告2021, a collaboration between Tech Nation and Traveltech for Scotland, shows that more than £1 billion has been raised by UK traveltech companies over the past three years, including £358 million in 2020 despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Half of the UK’s traveltech companies are at the seed investment stage, showing a pipeline of high-growth-potential companies in the sector.
2015年至2019年, UK traveltech companies saw equity investment more than double from £190 million to £504 million – and investor appetite for the sector proved remarkably resilient in 2020.
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Traveltech for Scotland is a cluster organisation launched in 2020 to make Scotland one of Europe’s leading traveltech hubs, hosted by the Edinburgh Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh and supported by Edinburgh Innovations.
的 UK’s traveltech sector outperformed the international trend during the pandemic. 的re were 1,044 deals completed globally in 2019 with $10.投资80亿美元，降至5亿美元.2020年(1 - 11月)20亿. This was a 51% fall globally, while investment in the UK sector fell only 29%.
Traveltech is defined as the intersection of tourism, hospitality and tech industries where innovations in artificial intelligence, 虚拟现实, specialised software and other areas are transforming services, 旅行中的输出和过程. 的 term encompasses both the transformation of the travel industry by technology, and the co-creation of tech products and services.
Traveltech for Scotland is jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and the 2014–2020 European Structural and Investment Fund through SPRITE (Scottish Programme for Research, 创新及科技生态系统).
It is part of the University of Edinburgh’s wider drive to boost data-driven innovation through its role in the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal.
应对行业挑战
It has supported traveltech companies over the past year as they find innovative ways to respond to the challenges facing the travel industry caused by the pandemic and the need to meet carbon reduction imperatives.
Traveltech will be a key feature of meeting these challenges and there has been a surge in new traveltech companies over the past five years.
Travel and technology are seen as key contributors to Scotland’s economy, culture and society. Scotland is already home to Skyscanner, which is valued at more than £1.4 billion and has more than 1,500 staff according to Pitchbook data.
旅游科技报告2021, which aims to increase understanding of the fast-growing traveltech space, 是第一阶段的研究吗. 的 next stage will be led by Traveltech for Scotland and will look in greater depth at traveltech’ s potential impact on the Scottish economy.
伊万·麦基MSP, 博天堂入口政府商务部长, 贸易, 旅游与企业, commented: “Scotland strives to become a European leader in Traveltech innovation. With UK equity investment in this growing sector topping £350 million in 2020, amidst the greatest crisis the travel sector has ever faced, it is clear that traveltech will play a vital role as Scotland recovers from the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and embraces the challenge of driving truly sustainable tourism.
“的 Scottish Government will continue to encourage and enable the growth of the traveltech sector in Scotland, and the Traveltech报告2021 will help us better understand this innovative fast-growing space and support our entrepreneurs and businesses.”
“非常令人鼓舞”
约书亚Ryan-Saha, 博天堂入口旅游科技总监, said: “的 findings of this report are hugely encouraging and confirm that traveltech holds the key to a thriving future for travel, 博天堂入口和英国的旅游业和酒店业.
“Traveltech for Scotland is here to maximise that opportunity and help businesses big and small, 已建立的和新的, 发掘他们的潜能.”
乔治·温莎博士, Tech Nation的洞察力主管, the growth platform for tech companies and leaders, said: “It’s clear that traveltech is a nascent and rapidly growing part of the UK’s tech economy.
“50%的旅游科技公司处于种子阶段, we look forward to supporting and charting the growth of these game changing firms over years to come.”