Nadya Eka Lestari
TechInAfrica — The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in partnership with Globalia, the leading tourism group in Spain and Latin America, has selected the finalists of the 2nd Global Tourism Startup Competition, an initiative that the two entities have been collaborating on since its first edition in 2018.
In the competition’s first two editions, Wakalua, the global tourism innovation hub powered by Globalia, in association with the World Tourism Organization, has received proposals of nearly 5,000 startups from 150 countries. The countries with the highest number of projects submitted have been Spain, followed by India, the United States, Portugal, Nigeria, and Colombia.
The second edition features startups in a more mature stage, with 10% having had more than EUR 500,000 in turnover in 2018. The finalists will showcase their projects at the Wakalua headquarters in Madrid. Seven will bring home awards in their several categories.
Deep Tech, rethinking location and geolocation: With the backing of Amadeus, the aim in this category is to select the best startup that simplifies trips for customers or suppliers using location systems. Solutions that combine location data with artificial intelligence can be used to identify tourism regions, associate them with nearby airports, optimize, and offer opinion mining, among others.
Smart Mobility: In partnership with Telefónica, this category features projects that improve the quality of travel and that facilitate the mobility of users using any transport system. The objective is to reduce economic, environmental and time costs.
Smart Destinations: With the collaboration of Distrito Digital Valencia, solutions will be identified to improve the sustainability and profitability of destinations from the economic, environmental and socio-cultural perspectives by leveraging technology to help foster innovation and accessibility in an increasingly globalized world.
Disruptive Hospitality: Intu Costa del Sol will analyze companies that contribute to optimizing the total experience of travelers by combining the best solutions in the world of retail, shopping centers, food, leisure, and hotels, so that, through personalized services and digital connectivity, every trip can be as efficient and effective as possible.
Rural Development: Globalia will emphasis on rural areas with the objective of transferring knowledge and innovation, and improving their viability and competitiveness. With the overall objective of promoting a shift towards an increasingly low-carbon economy, this category also seeks out companies devoted to risk management and animal welfare, as well as the restoration, preservation, and improvement of ecosystems.
Innovative tourism solutions: Turismo de Portugal will present an award for the best innovation project outside the above categories.
Special award for sustainability: In addition, the UNWTO and Globalia will present a special sustainability award with the aim of giving more visibility to projects that are committed to more efficient and sustainable tourism.
Eventually, the IE Africa Center will recognize two projects addressing social impact in Africa, awarding them with the Social Innovation Retreat scholarship, Sun Cycles Namibia and Enjoy Agriculture Senegal, presenting their initiatives. The winner of the Travel Tech 4 Good accelerator, Halla Travel, will also present its startup in collaboration with the Tui Care Foundation and Enpact.
Finalists by category:
- Deep Tech:
Klustera (Mexico)
TravelX (India/USA) - Smart Mobility:
Eccocar (Spain)
Zeleros (Spain) - Smart Destinations:
Road.Travel (Russia)
Visualfy (Spain) - Disruptive Hospitality:
Hackpacking (Peru)
Questo (Romania) - Rural development:
i-likelocal (Netherlands)
Rutopia (Mexico) - Innovative tourism solutions:
HiJiffy (Portugal)
LUGGit (Portugal) - Sustainability:
Adventure Junkies (Australia)
La Voyageuse (France)
Live Electric Tours (Portugal)
Pikala (Morocco)
Source: hospitalitynet.org
