The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in association with Globalia, a leading group in the tourism sector in Spain and Latin America, is launching the first major global tourism start-up competition (1st UNWTO Tourism Startup Competition), the the first and largest initiative in the world to identify new businesses that will be at the forefront of tourism sector transformation. In order to bring out the best projects, the competition will be launched in 164 countries

Start-ups and emerging companies that are transformative, with innovative ideas that can revolutionize the way we travel and live the tourist experience, whether technological or not, mature or nascent, are invited to compete.

The goal is to select the best solutions and the most innovative projects. In this respect, one of the main thrusts of the competition is to give visibility to projects aiming at more sustainable tourism.

This process of identifying start-ups is as ambitious as it is complex : it is about identifying the best projects in every corner of the planet. UNWTO and Globalia have entrusted this prospecting stage to the innovation consulting firm www.barrabes.biz/en/, which has more than 20 years of experience in the creation, connection and activation of entrepreneurship ecosystems and innovation.

To expand the scope of the competition and facilitate the registration of interested emerging companies, the program will be operated from the digital platform YouNoodle, Silicon Valley's reference company for global start-up research.

"Tourism innovation and investment is not an end in itself, but a means to develop better tourism products, improve tourism governance and take advantage of the proven sustainability of tourism by creating jobs and providing opportunities, "said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Globalia's CEO, Javier Hidalgo, confirmed the support for this new initiative: "As a global tourism group, we want to give the winners the opportunity to work with us to transform sector."

Pour participer à ce concours mondial, les start-up doivent présenter des modèles d’activité économique liés à l’un au moins des quatre grands domaines :

• The future of travel;

• The tourist experience;

• The impact on the environment;

• Community development.

For more information and to apply, visit the website: www.tourismstartups.org

Registration is open until September 3, 2018. Projects will be evaluated according to 5 criteria:

• Singularity and viability of the solution;

• Potential impact;

• Business model

• Extensibility (scalability);

• Team profile.

A jury will evaluate the records and retain the best for a semifinal to be announced in September 2018.

Winners of the contest, will have the opportunity to integrate the leading companies of the tourism sector.

HL/ HaitiLibre