Milky way: This startup wants to help travellers discover the best music festivals around the world

A new startup wants to help travellers experience some of the best music festivals around the world.

Milky Beats Travel founder Elizabett Akerlund, an avid traveller and music enthusiast herself, says music festival holiday tours are well established in the UK but are essentially untapped in Australia.

“Some of my greatest memories have been at music festivals where I have had some of the best natural highs because music is something that really brings people together, no matter where you come from,” she tells StartupSmart.

Akerlund started working on her startup when she realised how difficult it was to organise trips from Australia to her favourite music festivals overseas.

“It’s hard to get enough people to travel with you, there are language barriers and some of these festivals are located in really remote areas so it’s very difficult to organise yourself,” she says.

Milky Beats Travel provides all-inclusive tour packages with VIP access to some of the world’s most exciting music festivals.

Unlike traditional sightseeing tours offered by a majority of Australia’s travel industry heavyweights like Contiki and Top Deck, Milky Beats Travel focuses wholly on the music festival experience.

Additionally, Akerlund designs her tours to encourage people to use them multiple times.

“Music festivals change every year so the experience is never the same,” she says.

Akerlund plans to run her first five tours this year, taking music lovers to Ultra in Korea, Fuji Rock in Japan, Barrakud in Greece, Sziget Festival in Hungary and Zokout in Singapore.

Over the past few years, Akerlund has travelled the world to develop a customised selection of music festival holiday tours based on her own experiences and travel adventures.

“I’ve officially linked with major travel festivals to provide VIP transfers and VIP festival tickets.

“I’ve selected the best accommodation available, whether it be camping at the festival or in a prime location nearby. Every restaurant I take them to, I have been to and loved. Everything is personally handpicked,” she says.

Akerlund continues to network in the travel and entertainment industry to build up her contact base and enhance the experiences and activities that are included in her tours.

“In 2016, my main goals are to give it a red hot go in running all five tours, get lots of people on board and keep growing, learning and developing,” she says.

While there are plans to launch a Milky Beats Travel app, the website is mobile, laptop and computer friendly, and will go live on January 15, 2016.

In terms of advice for fellow entrepreneurs, Akerlund says it’s all about making sure you’re always learning.

“Do your research, you can never learn too much, speak to lots of people – you do need that tunnel vision so you can get stuff done but always have a positive attitude,” she says.

“Write down why you’re doing what you’re doing and refer back to these notes when you feel discouraged.

“Find people you can rely on to bounce off ideas and help you stay on track.”

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