TravelTech听startup听Byway听is growing听fast despite COVID-19’s devastating impact on the travel industry.听
Thanks to a surge in appetite for unique and environmentally听friendly travel,听the听鈥榳orld-first鈥櫶齠light-free holiday platform has announced 拢1.1听million听of funding from an Innovate UK SMART grant as听well as Founders Factory and angel investors.听听
Angels include founder/CEO of Viator and Rome2Rio, Rod Cuthbert, slow travel guru Ed Gillespie, and former Chair of Visit Britain, Christopher Rodrigues CBE.听
Byway听is building a new type of holiday focussed on slowing down the journey, personalising the experience and keeping the carbon footprint to a minimum. Its mission is to bring sustainable leisure travel to the mainstream, building a vibrant travel ecosystem away听from tourist hotspots and boosting local economies.听听
Byway offers hyper-personalised flight-free holidays that take travellers away听from the crowds by train, bus and boat, built in just a few clicks.听听
Its dynamic packaging technology听allows holiday makers to instantly create slow travel holidays built to their preferences.听Since launching听in mid-2020, over 7,500 trips have been built with Byway鈥檚 dynamic trip builder.听
Cat Jones,听founder and CEO,听said:听听鈥淥ur听tech-driven approach to slow travel is not just about providing holiday experiences grounded in travelling through, rather than flying over, but about accelerating the world鈥檚 transition to sustainable travel.听听
鈥淭he听past year saw the world forced to slow right down. Emerging from lockdown,听many people are now choosing slower, more sustainable holidays that take them away from the crowds and help them enjoy the journey as much as the destination.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking the time, and the work, out of planning and booking off the beaten听path trips by train, boat and bike – and the reception we鈥檝e had has been glowing.听听
鈥淥ur personalised, experience-based approach and on-demand WhatsApp support means holidaymakers get to spend a whole lot of time enjoying their trip and听none at all听managing multiple听tickets, complicated timetables, and changing travel restrictions.”听
Angel investor Gillespie said:听鈥淥ur investment in Byway is not just about a great听bet on a company with a superb founding team and obvious traction, but also about supporting a future of reducing carbon emissions.听听
鈥淎viation is a massive contributor to climate change, and over-tourism is a huge ecological issue. Tourism can be restorative听to both the people on the trip, and the places they visit. That鈥檚 a future I want to invest in.鈥�听
Byway packages up complete ABTA-protected holidays,听built by matching an intricate understanding of each traveller鈥檚 wants and needs with its deep knowledge of slow travel gems across its destinations听in the UK, France, and Italy.听
Nicky听Borasinski, who travelled with Byway to the Isle听of Mull, Scotland and has booked a second trip later this year, added:听鈥淲e originally booked with Byway because the pandemic meant we听couldn鈥檛 travel听internationally听and we鈥檇 been looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint, but we had such a great time that slow travel holidays will now be firmly part of our lives for years to come.鈥澨�听