From September 15 to 17, the Start-up Village once again brought together young companies at IFTM to showcase their solutions, meet industry players, and expand their networks.

For its third year partnering with IFTM, Orchestra supported the Start-up Village and its contest with a clear ambition: to provide visibility to entrepreneurs developing the solutions and practices of tomorrow for the travel industry.

Designed as a true hub for networking and discussion, the Village is part of a broader support program that includes advance preparation, experience sharing, meetings with industry leaders, and pitches to the trade press.

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Six finalists, four winning projects

The highlight of the program was the grand finale, where six young companies presented their solutions to a jury of experts from the tourism, entrepreneurship, investment, and media sectors.

Six startups competed in the final: Caladeo, CONTROLH, Elia, Pilgrimz, planexplora, and simpleSIM.

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Following the pitches, four projects were awarded:

simpleSIM – 1st Jury Prize

An eSIM platform dedicated to travel professionals, allowing for the seamless integration of mobile connectivity into travel offerings.

Elia – 2nd Jury Prize

A payment platform designed for travel agencies that simplifies payment management and financial reconciliation.

Pilgrimz – 3rd Jury Prize

A geolocation-based audio app that guides travelers throughout their visits and allows them to share their discoveries.

YouCheckInn by CONTROLH – Top pick

A solution that digitizes and secures property condition reports for vacation rentals, simplifying management for both professionals and travelers.

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Four distinct approaches that illustrate the diversity of innovations currently being developed to address new trends and challenges in the travel industry.

A collective initiative

This new edition also benefited from the involvement of our jury members: Marie Allantaz (IFTM), Ronan Daniel (Travolution France), Evantia Giumba (Amadeus), Julien Meir (Montefiore Investment), Romain Roy (NG Travel), and Ana Domenech (Orchestra).

We would also like to thank Thelma Peuch and Nathalie Dalle for their dedication to organizing the Village and the Contest, as well as the IFTM teams for this renewed partnership focused on entrepreneurship and innovation in tourism.