Six out of 10 young Africans have never travelled within Africa. Travelling within the continent can be expensive, infrequent, and sometimes a frustrating experience for travellers. Planning a trip can also be a complex task. One has to navigate issues such as making hotel bookings and reservations, managing transportation arrangements at desired destinations, early flight bookings, finding tourist site attractions, securing a tour guide, learning the local language amidst the novel and sometimes disorienting experience of being a foreigner in a new country. It can be an overwhelming experience. Thankfully, travel companies are using technology to solve all of these pain points for travellers.
Travel technology is the application of technology in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. In simple terms, travel tech means using technology to plan trips. Travel tech has opened up the travel and tourism sector to innovation and African travel tech startups are using technology to give African travellers a seamless travel experience.
In this article, we will explore 6 African travel tech startups:
Wakanow
Founded in 2008 as Nigeria’s first online travel agent, Wakanow is one of Africa’s leading travel booking portals. On Wakanow’s platform, travellers can access services like flight bookings, hotel booking/reservation, visa assistance, affordable travel package and deals, airport transfer, and much more.
This travel tech company is aiming to make the travel process- planning, organising, and payment, as seamless and enjoyable as possible.
Zaniheza
This travel tech startup is leveraging AI to bridge the gap between travellers and local tour operators. Built out of the founders’ desire to showcase the beauty and rich culture of Rwanda, Zanihezea is an AI-powered platform that caters to two broad users- travellers and travel curators.
Local travel curators can post their tour packages and media content on the platform and customers (the travellers) get to browse through these packages and purchase whichever they desire. The startup has also partnered with local brands to curate and display African merchandise to tourists in their merchant shop called Zanistore. In this way, Zaniheza is empowering local small businesses, in addition to promoting local tourism.
Backdrop
Getting an aesthetic restaurant or hotel at your dream vacation spot might seem like a trivial issue but backdrop figured it was a tangible problem so they built an app to solve it.
Backdrop is a travel discovery app that aims to help travellers locate picturesque locations for photos and an overall pleasant experience. Users can enter their location on the app and see photos and suggestions of aesthetic places to visit. Considering that it is a photo-sharing platform, users can also upload places they have visited on the app.No longer will you need to break the bank by booking a luxury travel experience, Backdrop is curating these pleasant travel experiences for you.
Mizormor
Mizormor meaning ‘Let’s travel’ intends to be an online travel marketplace curating a vast array of experiences for tourists, ranging from travel and tour guide booking, local information about the destination and so much more.
Yet to launch live, the platform says its mission is to build a platform that connects tourists with premium travel locations, tour guides, and travel deals on the continent.
