diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 562d2955..5bce9547 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@ install:
   - /tmp/tools/cmake --prefix="$HOME" --exclude-subdir
 
 before_script :
+  - "export DISPLAY=:99.0"
+  - "sh -e /etc/init.d/xvfb start"
+  - sleep 3 # give xvfb some time to start
   - mkdir bld
   - cd bld