Four Asian social enterprises have qualified as part the top ten travel startups to participate in this year’s Booking Booster Programme, by Booking.com. They will join six others in Amsterdam this May to take part in a three-week long accelerator programme, designed specifically for startups working in sustainable tourism.
The four Asian startups are: Community Homestay Network (Nepal), Global Himalayan Expedition (India), Sakha Consulting Wings: Women on Wheels (India) and HiveSters (Thailand).
The programme is part of Booking.com’s activate effort to cultivate and strengthen the sustainable tourism sector. Alongside the Booking Booster Programme, it launched Booster Labs and the Booking Cares Fund last year.
The Booking Booster Programme includes a series of lectures, workshops and coaching. Its climax is a startup pitch wherein participants compete to win up to €500,000 out of Booking.com’s €2M fund, to help the next stage of the startups projected growth.
Each startup is selected based on how its business model is designed to tackle issues associated with tourism that are largely overlooked by many travellers, from female empowerment to support for local communities.
HiveSters for one, specialises in tours and activities throughout Thailand that are designed to not only generate income for Thai communities but to also preserve local heritage, tradition and practices. It also works directly with local communities and other social enterprises through its own “Hivesters incubation programme” that helps create and promote social activities.
The Community Homestay Network on the other hand, is a community-based homestay network that connects travellers with local hosts in Nepal. It aims to encourage interaction between indigenous communities and the rest of the world, through tourism, with support going to village schools and learning centres.
Global Himalayan Expedition is an expedition organiser to remote areas of the Himalayas, which supports the set up micro solar grids across villages within the territory. Providing villages with electricity granted residents with the tools to develop their own businesses like homestays, generating income for the local community.
Sakha Consulting Wings is a social enterprise that launched safe transport options for women by women in selected Indian cities, including full and on-call chauffeurs, as well as cab hire services. The startup recruits and trains women from lower income and marginalised areas as drivers. They are also taught self-defense by police, should they encounter any issue.
The founder of Sakha Consulting Wings commented that with the support of the programme, “we hope to reach out to hundreds of more women enabling them to break barriers and take on non‐traditional livelihoods that can potentially transform their lives.”
Collectively, this year’s selection spans six different countries and continents, including the USA, Netherlands, Switzerland, parts of Africa and even Antarctica.
Participating startups will also have access to several months of mentoring and coaching from Booking.com’s network of travel experts. It also offers startups the opportunity to collaborate with the company’s other innovation initiatives, designed to foster startup growth.
“Our aim is to build a network of like‐minded organisations and individuals that are leveraging technology to create a more sustainable future for destinations worldwide,” said Booking.com’s CEO, Gillian Tans.
Image credit: Getty images
