Travel involves far more than just hotels, airlines, online booking sites, travel vaccines, car rentals, and destination guides. It’s also about the individuals who make all of these aspects of the industry actually function. Countless people have had an influence on the travel industry, but some have really set the bar for their competitors and ultimately shaped travel news. Here are Passport Health’s Top Ten most influential people in travel so far this year.
1. Rafat Ali – Founder and CEO of Skift
In 2012, Skift, a travel intelligence company, was founded to offer news, information, data, and services to professionals in the travel industry as well as to individual travelers with the goal of helping them make smart decisions about their journeys. In the two short years since its launch, Skift has become the preeminent source of travel intelligence and industry analysis. The brand features reports on topics including transportation, destinations, hotels, and just about everything in between. The brand continues to expand into the social sphere, as CEO Rafat Ali recently raised an additional $1.1 million dollars in seed funding to successfully launch SkiftSocial, which offers social media data for travel brands. Under Ali’s leadership, we look forward to continued growth for Skift, as it truly does become the business of travel.
skift.com
2. Erica Tabacoff- Creator of World Wize App
Every day, countless new apps are created for electronic devices: from time-saving productivity tools to fun games users just can’t put down. Erica Tabacoff, however, created a travel app that stands out from the rest, after quitting her full time job to travel around the world and experience everything she had been missing out on. After traveling for a year and relying on guidebooks for advice, she realized how hard it is for travelers to meet local residents as well as the speed with which recommendations become out-of-date for many destinations. After some brainstorming, Erica came up with the idea for an app, World Wize, that would allow users to post or receive tips from other travelers and connect with local residents who could pass on those hidden local secrets. The app was recently released on the iTunes app store and is free for users to download.
worldwizeapp.com
3. Travis Kalanick- CEO of Uber
Uber has changed the way the world moves by seamlessly connecting riders to drivers via apps. American entrepreneur, Travis Kalanick, has raised an astounding $1.2 billion dollars in funding for his company, Uber, from mutual fund managers and venture investors, bringing the company’s value up to a whopping $17 billion. Uber has accelerated to the top of the ground transportation industry and has expanded from San Francisco to over 128 cities. Kalanick is currently in the process of expanding Uber and its services to even more global customers. He believes that Uber’s unique technology platform that connects riders and drivers not only provides convenience, but could even one day replace car ownership entirely.
www.uber.com
4. Brian Chesky- CEO of Airbnb
By the end of this summer, Airbnb will usurp the Intercontinental Hotel Group as the world’s largest hotel chain, without owning a single hotel. Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences and allows people to share their home and spaces with millions. In the past few years, Airbnb’s revenue has tripled to an estimated $250 million. Chesky has presided over the growth of Airbnb to 192 countries with over 550,000 listings, including 600+ castles.
www.airbnb.com
5. Elon Musk- CEO of Tesla
Creating a major new car company is a tremendous undertaking, especially if it’s an electric car company. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla cars, set out to build an electric car that could truly be described as awesome, and indeed he has. The car is recognized as “the fastest charging car on the planet,” as it can “fuel” up in as little as forty minutes. In the beginning of this year, Musk’s company took another big leap and expanded its rapid charging station route to more than seventy locations. Tesla owners are now able to drive coast-to-coast for the first time.
www.teslamotors.com
6. Ruzwana Bashir- Co-founder & CEO of Peek
After traveling her way through forty different countries and experiencing a variety of events, Ruzwana Bashir wanted to create a travel-experience site that would help curate trips and events for vacationers. Since she started up Peek about a year ago, the company has stood out among the travel-startup crowd because of its growth. Peek works with the highest quality vendors to offer and display activities from all around the world and makes them easily bookable online and from a mobile device. This one-stop shop for booking amazing activities has taken off this year, and Bashir is largely to thank for the company’s success.
www.peek.com
7. Mei Zhang- Founder of WildChina
After launching her own travel company a decade ago, Mei Zhang has successfully built her business into one of China’s most internationally acclaimed travel brands. WildChina takes groups on highly customized, meticulously planned adventures with knowledgeable guides through various areas of the country. This year, Mei Zhang has focused on a new market for her Chinese tourists and has expanded by organizing trips to destinations outside of China, including the United States. Wherever the destination may be, Mei’s goal is to create life-changing experiences for independent-minded adventurers.
wildchina.com
8. Sam Shank- CEO of HotelTonight
HotelTonight, which allows users to find cheap hotel rooms at the last minute, has recently added innovative features to fuel its international expansion. This app, whose growth has been overseen by CEO Sam Shank, has managed to stay one step ahead of its competitors by building out services and adding features like “gifting” a room to someone else and “Snap Your Stay,” which encourages users to upload pictures of their hotel room to receive credits ranging from $5 to $10. The company also just reached another milestone by signing agreements with major hotel brands including Best Western and Hyatt, allowing HotelTonight to negotiate lower reservation rates for guests.
www.hoteltonight.com
9. Philip Bloom- British Filmmaker
Recently, the Skift travel website posted an article entitled, “This May Just Be the Best Travel Video of 2014.” The film was produced by world-renowned filmmaker, Philip Bloom, and it illustrates the creative possibilities of a travel video, when in the right hands. The video, Koh Yao Noi, shows how the least developed island in Thailand actually sits right in the middle of the most touristic bay in the country. Bloom also maintains a detailed, informative website featuring his work and numerous blog posts with instructions on producing creative video.
philipbloom.net
10. Anthony Foxx- Secretary of Transportation
Foxx joined the U.S. Department of Transportation in July of 2013, and he has already made great improvements to how people move about the U.S. In addition, he has been focusing on cracking down on distracted drivers in order to keep our roads safe, especially as the number of crashes and deaths related to distracted driving has significantly increased. Foxx realizes how important this issue is and recently launched the ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ crackdown. He is also committed to getting every state to prohibit texting behind the wheel.
www.dot.gov/secretary