In the wake of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, questions like “Would we spend our honeymoon in space? push conversations beyond the normal and open new opportunities for the world’s largest service sector. It’s also in light of such questions that the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in partnership with Globalia, has recently announced the 1st UNWTO Tourism Startup Competition, the world’s largest initiative dedicated to identifying the startups that will lead the transformation of the tourism sector!
The search is on for the most disruptive Startups that are transforming the way people travel and experience tourism . Start-ups are invited to compete for the opportunity to network and pitch their disruptive solution to a jury of global tourism leaders, including top global investors and corporations, at high-level tourism events.
THE PRIZES
The 20 runners-up will have the opportunity to pitch at the official celebrations of World Tourism Day (WTD), on September 27th 2018 in Budapest, Hungary.
The selected startups will receive a fully-sponsored trip to present their initiative to the jury, governments, industry leaders and international investors attending WTD.
In addition, participants will benefit from a master class on how to talk to investors, ways for scaling up companies, etc.
The 10 finalists will have sponsored participation at FITUR, the International Tourism Trade Fair, from 24 – 27 January 2019 in Madrid, Spain.
They’ll be of one of 10 startups selected to pitch in front of potential investors, mentors and experts during FITUR 2019, the first of the world’s largest gatherings of tourism leaders. They’ll receive a fully-sponsored trip and access to the four days of networking, mentoring and events. Connect to a network of over 200,000 participants from hundreds of countries.
The winning startup will receive the opportunity to design a pilot project with Globalia, Spain’s largest travel corporation. Work closely with Globalia’s brands including Air Europa (airline), Halcón Viajes (travel agencies), Travelplan (tour operator), Be Live (hotel chain), and Groundforce (airport handling) and more.
Who can apply?
They are targeting Startups that:
- Are for-profit or non-profit projects
- Are in their Early Stage or Series A Stage
- Are innovative in nature and provide value-added and sustainable solutions for the tourism sector
- Have potential for scalability and a vision to grow internationally
- Have a business plan
Read the full terms and conditions here.
Application closes on Sept 3rd 2018.
