Download Magazine
Anticipating the impact of technology, 13 years ago, TravelBiz Monitor introduced an industry-first live news portal, with hourly online reporting on travel, tourism, aviation and hospitality industries. Since then, we have created a niche for ourselves by providing analytical stories and statistical information to the travel trade on a regular basis. To keep this momentum going, the Editorial team has decided to showcase new-age technology products and services every month that have the potential to disrupt the market further. Moreover, the time now is also appropriate as the on-going pandemic has further widened the scope of using technology.
For this unique initiative, TravelBiz Monitor has partnered with ‘Start-up Mentor Board’, a visionary platform with credentials in business, technology, e-commerce, digital market place, payment solutions and IT infrastructure, to highlight the stories of new-age technology ideas. Start-up Mentor Board has been set-up as an initiative to mentor and guide the travel technology driven start–ups and facilitate collaboration in the larger travel ecosystem.
Website – https://startupmentorboard.vgmrtechsolutions.com
The Board is spearheaded by well-known thought leader Ashish Kumar, who is also the Co-Chairman of FICCI Travel Technology Committee. It comprises Bharti Maan, who has led start-ups to scale rapidly; Patrick Richards, an experienced travel industry leader in the UK; Chetan Kapoor, an analyst with deep understanding of the travel and tourism business and trends; Kartik Sharma, an artificial intelligence practitioner; Karthik Venkataraman, a digital transformation & an e-commerce visionary; Jure Bratkic, who led innovative solutions in the USA and Kyasha Bhoola, with expertise and advanced insight into the travel industry across Africa.
*One can register for the SMB Program at https://startupmentorboard.vgmrtechsolutions.com/form.html
Startup Name: Augtraveler
Core Team: Pankaj Manchanda – Founder & CEO, Manish Upadhyay – Founding Partner & Sumit Gupta – Founding Team/ Tech LEAD
Founding Year: October, 2018
Company Website: www.augtraveler.com
Augtraveler is an award-winning DIPP-approved Start-up in the Heritage and Culture Travel space. The platform uses Augmented Reality (AR), Geo Fencing and Multimedia to enhance the visitor experience at the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Cultural trails of India.
1. The mandate is to further sensitise the masses of the rich cultural heritage of India, which ironically lacks authentic and accurate interpretation despite its richness and value.
2. The platform builds on self-guided AR and Geo location-based heritage trails, which connects the travelelrs directly with the ‘host communities’ in the vicinity of the sites – ensuring tourism dollars reach them and therefore facilitating in evolution of a sustainable livelihood model for the ‘host communities’. The communities are also provided an ‘online marketplace’ where they can push the authentic crafts, cuisines and related services. The essence is to evolve a sustainable livelihood model for them whilst promoting and therefore preserving the intangible cultural heritage of a region.
3. Augtraveler also have a school outreach programme where they have evolved multidisciplinary activities using experiential learning pedagogy, using a World Heritage Site as a premise. The mandate is to help school kids apply their knowledge on concepts picked up in classrooms and evolve these monuments as knowledge dissemination zones.
The project vision is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals of 12.b, 10, 11, 8 and 4.