A cruise and personalised travel - how do they go together? The university's latest start-up provides an answer.
"CruVidu - your cruise, your way" is developing an online platform for individual shore excursions along cruise routes. Computing Science graduates Dr Matthias Mertens and Simon Eilers from the OFFIS affiliated Institute and Janine Mertens, a business administration graduate and tourism expert, have now received an EXIST start-up grant of 126,000 euros to further develop their start-up idea. The one-year grant is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the European Social Fund.
For many people, it's part of preparing for a holiday: poring over travel guides to get an overview of the destination. However, there are some special features to consider when travelling on a cruise. In addition to various destinations on a route, there is only a limited time frame for sightseeing, which depends on the ship's berthing times.
The start-up CruVidu, coached by the university's Start-up and Innovation Centre (GIZ), is developing a user-friendly e-tourism platform that takes precisely these special features of a cruise trip into account. The web application clearly displays the local sights and offers elaborate route suggestions, always taking into account the ship's berthing time and the traveller's preferences. Alternative offers from tour operators can also be booked.
The founding trio wants to offer cruise travellers alternatives to the guided excursions offered by the shipping companies, citing cost savings, insider tips and greater individuality and flexibility during shore excursions as advantages. In addition to private travellers who like to travel individually, the target group also includes travel agencies. They can use CruVidu to organise tours for their customers and sell optional services.
