Meet the Digital Champions:
Traveleco, Leading Sustainable Tourism through Digitalization
Traveleco, an innovative startup and recognized as a Digital Champion within the EUDigiTOUR High-Growth Programme, is at the forefront of revolutionizing sustainable tourism. Established in 2021 as a Benefit Company, Traveleco is dedicated to guiding and supporting hospitality facilities in their journey towards ecological transition while enhancing their sustainability performance. Notably, Traveleco has actively participated in the EUDIGITOUR initiative, a European project focused on the digitalization of tourism.
Highlighting their commitment to fostering innovation, Traveleco is set to take part in the upcoming Hackathon in Verona on March 25th. During this event, they will be paired with a traditional SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise), fostering collaboration between digital champions and traditional businesses. This unique partnership aims to bring about on-site innovation, combining digital expertise with the established practices of a traditional SME. Traveleco's participation in the Hackathon showcases their dedication to driving positive change in the tourism industry through cutting-edge digital solutions.
Welcome to Traveleco! Could you start by telling us how the idea of creating this innovative startup in the sustainable tourism sector came about in 2021?
Traveleco was founded as a Benefit Company with the goal of accompanying, supporting, and guiding hospitality facilities in their ecological transition, simultaneously enhancing their sustainability performance.
You participated in the European project EUDIGITOUR for the digitalization of tourism. What prompted you to join EUDigiTOUR?
We were recommended by Associazione Startup Turismo and then participated also at the Ecotandem project, leveraging European collaborations. In terms of digitalization, we already had a custom website completed by 2023, focusing on sections like green crowdfunding and implementing sustainability reviews on our showcase site. But we would like to improve it!
What are you looking for in terms of digitalization, and how can it help your startup?
Our digitalization efforts include the completion of our custom website, incorporating green crowdfunding and encouraging users to review sustainability.
What was the most helpful mentoring/meeting during the program?
All sessions were valuable. Being established for a while, we hadn't revisited our vision, mission, and business model. The fundamental questions about mission/vision/business model were challenging and required a deep understanding, so they were really useful.
What was the topic of your pitch/project presented at the Demo Day?
Our pitch focused on actively involving users in supporting the sustainability of hospitality facilities, using Sardex as a complementary currency. We incentivize users (B2C) to review facilities' sustainability on our platform, offering a virtual currency called Sardex. Users earn Sardex for reviews with photos, and we've introduced an innovative aspect: hospitality facilities wanting to innovate, like installing solar panels, can request user contributions in Sardex. Users can use their Sardex to support these causes. There's a fee for publication and consultancy.
What do you expect from the Hackathon?
We approach the Hackathon with a problem-solving and consultative mindset. We aim to identify non-perceived essential services, test new ideas, and advance a shared project to enhance our business model.
Thank you for the insightful information. We look forward to following Traveleco's journey and seeing how you continue to lead innovation in sustainable tourism through digitalization and community engagement. Good luck!


