FOCUS: Travel apps & the ‘Silicon Wadi’

A plethora of travel app startups is helping Tel Aviv make a play for title of ‘smartest city in the world’

Most of the ‘smart stuff’ in travel so far has been at airports, with barcodes on smartphones fast replacing boarding passes. But there are now a number of smart apps now creeping into cities around the world. AirBnB and Booking.com, of course, but a host of others.

The smartest city?

Of source, it matters not where these apps originate from. However, for some reason many of the latest apps come from developers in Tel Aviv. For long a hub for app development and new tech, Israel has been known as the ‘Silicon Wadi’ for some time, but now its capital Tel Aviv is embracing travel apps that have a global reach.

Made in Tel Aviv

There are a bunch of genuinely innovative travel apps mage in the Israeli capital. Sidekix helps you make the most of each walk by personalising your route based on what you want to see or do along the way. Eatwith is a global community that lets you enjoy authentic and intimate dining at a local’s home. LocalYoo enables you to explore your destination from the local perspective: to discover all the little secrets that are known only to the ones living in the city. Another great apps is App-to-Eat, which enables travellers to find favourite dishes or local specialties wherever they go.

Apps on the fly

Are you an early-bird buyer who often feels hard done by when the prices go down? FairFly enables travellers who’ve already purchased an airline ticket to rebook their ticket when a better priced option becomes available. Bored of AirBnB? Roomer connects travellers that have to cancel and who are stuck paying for an empty hotel room with the travellers looking for a last minute sweet deal. And avid travel writing fans will love Booksonmap, which connects between book quotes, and places on the map where they took place.