Revenue has tripled since winning Global Startup Pitch two years ago – improving access to travel for more than 20,000 people
Wheel the World, the award-winning online travel marketplace making the world accessible to people with disabilities, is empowering tourism offices, destination marketing organisations and convention and visitor bureaus to unlock the emerging market of accessible travel.
This move comes just over two years after it won the Global Startup Pitch competition, run by WiT (Web in Travel) and Phocuswright, and marks a significant step forward in the company’s mission to make travel more inclusive and accessible for everyone.
The WiT and Phocuswright Global Startup Pitch is an annual competition that identifies and showcases promising early-stage travel startups from around the world. The competition is a joint initiative of Web In Travel, a leading online travel publication in the Asia Pacific region and Phocuswright, a leading travel research and events company.
Entries are currently open for the 2025 competition.
The Global Startup Pitch, currently in its fourth year, identifies the world’s most high-potential travel tech start-ups, and is open for entries.
“Winning the Global Startup of the Year award was perfect timing for us,” said Arturo Gaona, co-founder and Chief Partnerships Officer at Wheel the World. “It helped attract investors, including one from Singapore, just as we were coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and looking to scale. We’ve since been able to launch a key b2b solution, Destination Verified, which helps destinations around the world become more accessible.”
“Destination Verified has transformed our business in the past two years,” Gaona explained. “By helping tourism offices to unlock this emerging market, we’ve been able to capture more supply and welcome 110 new destinations without using only our own resources. It’s a complex and capital-intensive process, but we’ve been able to find ways to scale efficiently.”
Since launching Destination Verified, Wheel the World has experienced remarkable growth, and has tripled its business since winning the Global Startup Pitch in 2022.
“It’s been gratifying to watch Wheel the World continuing to innovate and push the boundaries of accessible travel,” said Siew Hoon Yeoh, founder of WiT. “Its new b2b platform for tourism offices demonstrates the company’s commitment to making the travel industry more inclusive.
“WiT and Phocuswright are proud to have recognised Wheel the World’s potential early on and to continue supporting its journey. Recognizing the most high-potential startups through the Global Startup Pitch is a testament to our commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the next generation of travel technology leaders. We believe that by identifying and showcasing these promising startups, we can help to shape the future of the travel industry.”
Key achievements for Wheel the World since winning the award include:
- Guaranteed accessibility – the company now guarantees that every hotel room booked on its platform is accessible, offering a full refund if accessibility is not as described.
- Expanded offerings – Wheel the World has broadened its range of accessible travel experiences, adding new destinations and activities to its portfolio.
- Significant funding – the company has secured $6 million in Series A funding to further expand its operations and technology.
- Growing community – Wheel the World has fostered a thriving community of travelers with disabilities, providing a platform for sharing experiences and connecting with like-minded individuals.
Looking ahead, Wheel the World plans to expand its global reach and enhance its technology:”We aim to double the number of destinations we have with Destination Verify and export this model to other markets,” said Gaona. “Wheel the World is also investing in technology to improve the user experience and make it easier for travelers to find and book accessible travel options. We are building the largest database of accessibility data in the travel industry and the company’s plan is to make this data accessible via API and sell it to OTAs, hotel chains, and others. This data has the potential to unlock a market worth $180 billion.”
Wheel the World has already helped around 20,000 people travel the world and has built a community of 150,000 people interested in accessible travel in North America.
Ahead of this year’s Global Startup Pitch, Gaona offered some advice to other travel startups aspiring to win: “Take all opportunities you can to expose your solutions. The more hands you shake, the more opportunities will come. You’re exposed to an organic audience, and from an investor’s point of view, it’s helpful to have traction and clout from these types of awards. Do all you can to get the word out there.”
Submit your entry here.
Header image credit: Wheel The World
