A 4-month impact entrepreneurship program for small businesses in travel and tourism addressing social and environmental challenges.
Since 2021, Amadeus and its educational partner IE University have been running Travel4Impact – an innovation initiative designed to support startups and small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) having social or environmental impact at the core of their business. In 5 years, the program has supported 120+ impact entrepreneurs
Travel4Impact takes the best of the academic world, the travel industry and the tech ecosystem to help impact entrepreneurs thrive.
The program includes a fully funded 4-month training course with live and asynchronous sessions on impact management, communication & digital marketing, and Artificial Intelligence, delivered by IE University’s top faculty
During 4 months, selected participants will be invited to live core sessions, group tutorials, live collaborative sessions and curated virtual coffees with other like‑minded professionals, fostering collaboration, networking, and the exchange of best practices.
As a participant to Travel4Impact, you can apply to our Amadeus mentorship program to receive tailored advice, connections, and support from an Amadeus leader to help grow your business.
At the end of Travel4Impact, you will have the opportunity to join the exclusive Amadeus Impact Entrepreneurship Community. This community provides additional learning opportunities, visibility, curated networking and additional support from Amadeus teams.
Travel4Impact has been running one edition per year since 2021. The program is open to the following profiles:
Founder / Co-founder
CEO
C-Level roles
Travel
Tourism
Travel tech
Your business must address social or environmental challenges.
Businesses addressing challenges related to accessibility in travel, overtourism, decarbonization and safety & security will be given special attention in 2026
Developing an innovative solution which drives positive impact is a good to have
Proven traction in the market (being operating with buying customers)
At least 2 people working in the business including 1 full time
Ideally operating for more than 2 years
International: with a good command of english
Dedication: 2 hours per week from September -December
Collaborative: willing to share and learn from peers
Online connection: sufficient bandwidth to allow microphone and camera on
Reviewed every year to adapt to feedback and latest trends, the 4-month online program includes 3 modules. Each of them has live core sessions, asynchronous learnings through videos and exercises, group tutoring, and live collaborative sessions. Dedicate about 2 hours weekly!
Your business impact: Impact measurement and management
Your business positioning: Strategic storytelling and digital marketing
Your AI-driven growth: Customer experience and operational efficiency through AI
Since the inception of the program in 2021, Travel4Impact has supported more than 120 entrepreneurs. Here are some key figures from the past edition:
Overall satisfaction
Feel more confident to run their business
Improved their understanding on sustainability and impact-driven tourism
improved their knowledge on digital tools to increase operations efficiency
Entrepreneurs supported since inception
Editions run to date
The program has also received 3 external recognitions since inception including the World'Leading Sustainable Education and Training Program and the Best Digital Project oriented towards Sustainability!
We compiled for you the answers for the most frequently asked questions we received in previous editions
To apply, you must complete the application form. Applications to enter Travel4Impact open once a year. For 2026, applications will be open from March 2nd to May 4th (11:59pm CET UTC+2). Your application will then follow a selection process consisting of experts' reviews, individual interviews, and an internal jury. We will be in contact with you during the entire process which will run up until June 2026.
No, the program is fully funded by Amadeus and delivered in collaboration with IE University, making it free for selected businesses.
The core training phase lasts for four months, from September to December 2026. After completing this phase, from January to March 2026, participants will be invited to join the Amadeus Impact Entrepreneurship Community which includes a range of additional benefits to grow and scale their business.
If you are selected to participate in Travel4Impact, you will be expected to secure about 2h of your time per week from September to December 2026. The online sessions will all take place at 2:30-4:00pm CE(S)T UTC+1/2 (Paris, Brussels, Madrid time zone) and you will be expected to actively participate with your microphone and camera on. Along the program, there will be three specific weeks when, instead of a live session, you will be asked to watch recorded content and complete an individual exercise –those weeks, please, also expect the same time dedication of about 2h of your time.
The program’s format and contents are carefully tailored for CEOs and founders of impact driven tourism small businesses. Our goal is that their thinking gets triggered to eventually implement strategic decisions and practices in their business. Additionally, throughout the Launchpad sessions many exchanges among peers take place, it is thus important that the same person connects to all the sessions to facilitate the networking online. We only make exceptions for those companies having several co-founders, or for specific sessions for which the CEO or founder would like to bring someone from the team with him/her.
The program is conducted in English to accommodate a diverse and international cohort.
While the program is fully global and welcomes applications from impact entrepreneurs worldwide, applicants must be aware that all live sessions will happen from 2:30pm-4pm CE(S)T UTC+1/2 (Madrid, Paris Brussels).
After completing the program, alumni are encouraged to remain active with other impact entrepreneurs and with Amadeus. Participants will access a full membership to be part of the Amadeus Impact Entrepreneurship Community, made up of participants from previous Travel4Impact editions, but also other impact entrepreneurship programs supported by Amadeus. This community will continue supporting your growth with masterclasses, connections with like-minded entrepreneurs, networking, and Amadeus expert support.
