The international travel company Join Up!, founded in Ukraine, is shifting from the model of a traditional tour operator to its own travel ecosystem called Travel Universe. The company is developing a digital platform for booking tours, an offline sales network, and services for travelers, investing €7 million in this transformation in 2026, according to a company press service.
The company is moving from a classic tour operator focused on package tours to a comprehensive travel service called Join Up! Travel Universe. The updated model allows customers to independently combine flights, hotels, excursions, transfers, or car rentals within a single service.
“We have already launched direct online booking (in Ukraine with installment payment options), are developing travel shops under a new brand identity as an offline channel, have introduced the Join Up! Wallet loyalty program and the Pocket Guide digital travel assistant, updated our websites, and expanded our product offering with hotel bookings,” said Join Up! co-founder Alina Alba.
The company already controls about 70% of the tourism value chain. Plans through 2027 include a full launch of dynamic tour packages in Ukraine, an updated model for its partner network, and the release of a mobile app. Other updates include deeper integration with SkyUp Airlines.
Join Up!, founded in Ukraine in 2010, is present in Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Moldova.
Over 15 years, the company has grown from a small travel agency into a business that has served more than 8 million travelers, continuing to operate through major crises and challenges. It has expanded from a single market to a presence in nine countries and evolved from an agency into a vertically integrated group combining an airline, travel products, distribution, and destination management companies.
According to CEO Alina Alba:
"the changes are not just a rebranding, but a deeper transformation of the business: moving toward a “travel universe” where travel becomes a unified experience rather than a set of separate services, integrating all customer touchpoints into a single ecosystem and focusing on the overall value of the customer experience."
